An Alternative approach to Stage IV Health and choices

Heidi has posted another study in the research forum.  It's a full in vivo study and very long.  I'm still trying to make sense of it. It seems to be saying they could achieve the same results without the metformin but on a low energy diet.  This gets back to the basics of all the dietary methods as you mention.  I don't see how this fits with all the people like my father who stopped eating for the last six weeks of his life when the pancreatic cancer took away his appetite.  Maybe he needed to be getting anti-oxidants to starve the cancer.  Similarly my elderly relative with BC has always been shockingly thin but still developed a primary cancer, but though she speaks about good nutrition, her diet may not be so good in reality.  Since Gawler was also almost starving on the Gerson diet I always felt that could have something to do with the remissions.  I found reading his and Grace's story interesting as I feel somewhere in those books is the key to a harmless natural cure.

It was 1924 when Otto Warburg discovered glycolysis.  I realise that much research has been done since then but meanwhile so many have been derided for trying to follow Warburg's principles and they may turn out to be closer to a cure than is realised.  At last researchers are getting close to that elusive recipe we're all waiting for.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110829114723.htm

One strategy for blocking food transport to cancer cells uses synthetic tryptophan, which however has no impact on er- cancer.

Best of luck in whatever decision you decide to make.  I wanted to say that I chose against chemotherapy and decided on vitamin c infusions and I also do fresh carrot juice (try daily although sometimes that doesn't happen) my last tumor markers were down to 10.7!  I am a firm believer in the vitamin c.  All the best, Ginger

thats-life - I'm not Stage IV (yet, ugh), so I hope you don't mind me responding.

I think diet and exercise are VERY important in fighting this disease, especially for us triple negatives, but I don't think it can cure us when the cancer burden becomes too much, or the cancer is too aggressive, as is my case.  In these cases, I think combining medical treatments with alternative is a great way to improve our odds, and if Stage IV, help us stay healthier for longer.

The WINS study showed that for TNs, a low-fat diet reduced recurrence rates by up to 42%!

I feel that a low-carb, low fat diet is best - as fresh as you can get, limited processed foods.  I don't shy away from fruits, because they are natural, and do eat complex carbs such as whole wheat, oats, etc.  But I really try to avoid "white" carbs and sweets.  Way back when, fat was a small part of our larger diet, and humans were much more active.  I do my best to eat this way, although I'm not always successful.  When I went through my first round of chemo, I often craved fresh fruit and veggies, but had such bad heartburn that it was agony to eat them. With the chemo I'm on now, I once again have those cravings, and can thankfully indulge.

I think the dietician was handing out bad advice.  But it is very very tough to eat ANYTHING on chemo sometimes, and it is important to keep up with calories and protein.  And I'm not a doctor, so grain of salt and all that .

ETA - I understand diet isn't everything - many of the women here were VERY healthy when diagnosed.  Cancer is such a complex disease, I'm not sure doctors will ever know completely why we get it. 

that's life, have you read the lifeovercancerblog.com?  It is Dr. Block's blog - he has the Block Center in Illinois. He is  an integrative oncologist who treats a lot of Stage IV patients.  He FIRMLY advocates a specific diet - no sugar, no dairy, very little organic meat, tons of fruits and vegetables, and low fat, esp saturated fat and has had a lot of success with his patients.  In fact, he has one Stage IV woman who gave up dairy, sugar, and meat 24 years ago and has been stable ever since.  Might even be NED, I'm not sure.  He also does lots of supplements and conventional therapies, but he definitely believes that diet and lifestyle can make a huge difference.  His book is called Life Over Cancer.

an apple a day

just do it.

I have heard that vitamin c isn't good for patients who have breast cancer. I have also read that tumeric shoudln't be used with tamoxifen. I am so confused. I am planing on taking tomaxifen and I want my nutrition to be as good/perfect as possible. Has anyone else heard the above?

Heidi, If my interpretation is correct, both Tamoxifen and curcumin use the CYP2D6 drug-metabolizing cytochrome (enzyme) in the liver.  This is the reason why several other drugs such as some anti-depressants inhibit tamoxifen.  However, the amount of curcumin reaching the liver is probably not enough to make any difference.  It's not really clear.

that's life..Thank you for opening this discussion.  I am new to this site, but very glad that I found it, as I am just beginning my journey towards a diagnosis.  I won't know for certain until late October whether I have BC, because I am waiting until I return to my State of residence, Florida to have my final testing done.  I have had the unfortunate opportunity of watching a friend pass away in less than two years from small cell lung cancer, and the chemo treatments she was on took her down to a state that she couldn't eat or function at any quality level.  The last six months of her life were living Hell for her. Now we have learned my boyfriends sister has the same thing, is just beginning treatment, and already is very sick.  Before she decided to go the chemo route, pressured by her oncologist, we were exploring alternative therapies.

 There was one therapy (don't think I'm supposed to mention the name on the site) that was interesting in that it spoke of using a diet that would starve the cancer cells.  They feed on certain foods, and the example that comes to mind is sugar.  They do not thrive on most vegetables, particularly green ones.  Cancer also thrives on acidic diets, but not on alkiline ones.  I'm no expert on any of this, but I would think it is worth exploring diet and supplements as an alternative to chemotherapy.  There is even an institute where you can go and learn to follow his teachings, but, of course, it isn't covered by insurance and it's expensive

I can also tell a story of a friend who put her auto immune disease in remission by going on a completely vegan diet.  The doctors had pretty much given up on her, but I saw her last year and she is doing great.

 I can understand the reluctance of many to forego the traditional tried and true methods of putting cancer into remission, vs rolling the dice on some program that has not been given the seal of approval by the medical community.  In the case of our friend and our sister, the prognosis is very grave...the only hope chemo gives is to extend life by maybe six months, so why not try some alternative therapy that would allow you to have some quality of life to the end

After reading so many positive stories on here about women who have lived for years with stage IV BC, utilizing the standard treatments, it is a tough decision to make, particularly if you are young and have young children

At my ripe old age of 71 years young, I am more interested in quality of life rather than quantity of life, so I would be more inclined to explore some alternative options.

I just bought the book "Healing Spices" from Dr. Aggarwal who is at MD Andersen in Texas. He's fantastic! He's authored several hundred scientific articles and mentions this and that study on specific spices, including therapeutic doses for various ailments. I will definitely be adding Spices as a fifth leg to my anticancer strategy (after Femara, Exercise, Fruits and Vegetables, and Vitamin D)! The recipes in the book also look pretty good. I would add intermittent caloric restriction as a sixth leg, but I'm not exactly sure how that would work either.

Ango74,  Did you ask them?  I'm a big fan of the Block Center, although I haven't been.  I have his book and I go to the blog regularly.  It seems they would definitely know about potential interactions between supplements and any medications.  I'm on Tamox and Herceptin and have been taking Curcumin as well.

Hi been reading this regularly and wanted to jump in. I go to the Block Center and they too recommended curcumin even though my oncs pharmacy said not to take it. I then googled a bunch if Dr. Aggarwals articles in the MD Anderson site and they all talk about benefits of cucumin so I'm taking it along with Gemzar and Herceptin..a vegetarian diet and daily exercise..

No dairy.. I do eat fish which i really enjoy since im not eating meat or chicken.. No sugar or refined foods.. They recommend 4,000 mg a day.. I take 3,000 only because that's how much is in my current pills.. Once they run out will do the 4,000.. Most oncs are against mushrooms and I take lots of variations of those which Block supports!