Early Stage Natural Girls!

Women with breast cancer continue to smoke, drink

September 29, 2011

New research shows that Australian women are prepared to make lifestyle changes, such as altering  their diet, following diagnosis with breast cancer, however they are unwilling to give up alcohol and cigarettes - increasing their risk of further cancers.

Associate Professor Robin Bell, Deputy Director of the Women's Health Group at Monash University led the research, published in the journal Supportive Care in Cancer. 

The longitudinal study surveyed 1500 Victorian women about their smoking and drinking habits on two occasions. The first time was between 2004 and 2006, when women were asked about smoking and drinking at the time of their breast cancer diagnosis. The participants were surveyed again two years later.

Findings showed that two out of three women who were smokers when their breast cancer was diagnosed continued to smoke cigarettes.

Alcohol consumption is a known risk factor for breast cancer and women already diagnosed with breast cancer are at risk of both recurrence and development of another primary breast cancer. However, one in 12 study participants continued to drink more than four drinks per occasion, at least once a week. 

Australian Government guidelines recommend drinking no more than two drinks per day.

Professor Bell said more support was needed for women with breast cancer to adopt evidence based changes for a healthier lifestyle.

"We know that around the time of diagnosis of serious disease people make changes to their lifestyle. In this study about one-third of women made some change to their diet and one-third to their physical activity.

"However, not all the changes being made are based on solid evidence. For example, some women eliminate dairy products, which is not evidence based.

"In contrast, there is no argument that stopping smoking and choosing to moderate alcohol intake are good things to do. However, the women who would benefit most from making these lifestyle changes seem to choose not to, or aren't getting help to do so," Professor Bell said.

"The outlook for women diagnosed with breast cancer continues to improve. Overall, five-year survival for women diagnosed is nearly 90 per cent, and even higher for women diagnosed in the early stages of the disease,

"Women with breast cancer should be looking to optimize their health for the years beyond their diagnosis. This includes making healthy life choices that will prevent the development of a new breast cancer or a recurrence of past disease." 

Provided by Monash University

 medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-women-breast-cancer.html

I wouldn't be surprised if the same were true for American women.  

ETA : Alcohol Link to Breast Cancer Reaffirmed
 

November 1, 2011
Results from a large study confirm the link between regularly drinking alcohol and an increase in breast cancer risk. Read more...

Peer Reviewed Publication Supporting Intravenous Vitamin C for Cancer Patients

Collaboration between Conventional Oncologists and Alternative Medical Practitioners Results in New Direction for Old Methodology

WICHITA, Kan., March 25, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Riordan Clinic announced today publication in the Journal of Translational Medicine results of a collaboration between oncologists, alternative medicine practitioners, and basic researchers, which proposes a new use of intravenous vitamin C for treatment of cancer.  

The paper, available freely online at http://www.translational-medicine.com/content/pdf/1479-5876-9-25.pdf, describes the possibility of using intravenous vitamin C to treat inflammation associated with cancer.  The rationale is provided that intravenous, but not oral, vitamin C may be capable of addressing issues in cancer patients such as wasting (cachexia), immune suppression, and improving quality of life. Citing 246 references, the paper synthesized existing knowledge regarding the use of intravenous vitamin C for numerous medical conditions and seeks re-evaluation of the place of intravenous vitamin C in the context of conventional oncology practice.

"Currently there is a great divide in the way intravenous vitamin C is viewed," said Thomas Ichim, Board Member of the Riordan Clinic and first author of the publication. "On the one hand, you have alternative medicine practitioners, who have been claiming very interesting results in practical treatment of cancer patients, but cannot explain any molecular rationale for its use or potential effects.  On the other hand you have a great amount of scientific literature supporting possible relevance of this approach in cancer.  This paper is a significant step towards closing the divide."

In the past, the use of vitamin C in the treatment of cancer has been considered controversial since some studies have claimed excellent results in extending lifespan of cancer patients, whereas other studies have not seen any effects.  The discrepancy seems to be explained by studies seeing positive effects utilizing intravenous vitamin C, whereas the failed studies used oral vitamin C.  Scientists at the Riordan Clinic were the first to publish, and patent, that intravenous, but not oral vitamin C, can achieve significant concentration in the blood in order to selectively kill tumor cells....READ MORE

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/peer-reviewed-publication-supporting-intravenous-vitamin-c-for-cancer-patients-118646729.html

DR. GETOFF (KEVIN GIANNI'S NOTES)

It's not a broken record if it's good advice.

Dr. Getoff started his presentation talking about how the body can combat cancer. Here's what he said..."I think the most important way to help a body combat cancer is to reduce its toxic load, so we stop consuming the foods that I believe led towards the cancer. We replace them with foods, which support the health of the body. We add in all the supplemental vitamins, minerals and enzymes herbs etc." Dr. Getoff says this telling quote in the middle of his talk that I wanted to highlight..."I have never not been able to extend somebody's life."

[PDF]   Getting Well With Getoff www.naturopath4you.com/./CHEKReport16thIssue2007Email.pdfSimilar

How the studies really dupe you.

You can't get wrapped up in cancer number statistics all the time. Here's why:

"So, for example, you do a study and in the placebo group one in a thousand people get a benefit and the result in another group that's getting a drug: 2 in 1000 people get a benefit. The math says we're going from 1/10th of 1% which is 1 in 1,000 to 2 tenths of 1% which is 2 and 1,000 which is not statistically significant and a good statistician would throw it out the door.

But instead,.... the cancer researchers say when you go from 1 in 1000 to 2 in 1000, that's a 100% increase in survival rate and they publish it that way. And to me, that's a fraudulent research study because you're telling the public, what we get out of the news that comes up on NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox, new cancer study was done and this particular drug increase survival time by 100% without anybody even knowing the difference between standard risks, relative risks and realizing that that doesn't mean a thing."

What's also valuable to note is that any increase in percentage of survival and quality of life is significant - statistically or not. Ask the family and friends of that 2nd person in the above study that survived. I'm sure they'll tell you there's some significance.                                                                   

He said  "What gets us into trouble is not what we don't know, It's what we know for sure, that just ain't so."    Mark Twain

MIKE ADAMS (KEVIN GIANNI'S NOTES)

Consumer health advocate, Mike didn't waste any time getting into what he thinks is a problem with the cancer industry.

When I asked Mike to talk about some of the sketchy side of the natural cancer industry to give an equal voice, he responded with this very strong and important statement...

"What is going on in the cancer industry today is a medical holocaust. We cannot allow ourselves to say each side needs to have their equal voice... No! We need to give people ways to treat cancer that don't kill them period because to continue down this road of chemotherapy is a crime against humanity. I mean I have seen people, many people, close friends, even a close personal friend of mine who is a physician, a doctor, strongly believed in conventional medicine, and didn't believe in herbs and medicinal mushrooms and anything. He said that was all voodoo. He said that was quackery. Well, he's dead. He died I think what two months ago, three months ago.

He died from taking thalidomide, which is a chemotherapeutic agent that used now and as he was dying, during this cancer treatment process, at every stage he said to me ‘Mike I'm using the best method available today. These doctors have assured me it's going to turnaround. This is my best chance. It's going to get better if I can just survive the chemotherapeutic side effects.'"

To me, there's no question that Mike is on to something. Throughout the entire program, we heard doctors explaining that people could not only heal using these natural and integrative approaches, but their quality of life could also improve.

 An important cancer prevention nutrient.

Mike talks very specifically about taking vitamin D as a cancer prevention tool.Vitamin D has been shown to lower the risk of some cancers so I'd say it's pretty important to get your blood levels tested to see if you're deficient. All you have to do to get this done is ask your doctor for a 25-hydroxy-vitamin D test. It should cost about $50-60 (covered by insurance) and you're good to go. There is some discussion around what your levels should be, but most natural doctors are now saying between 50-80 ng/mL.

One thing to consider is that in my experience, I've talked to many people who spend massive amounts of time in the sun and live in tropical areas and their vitamin D levels were still low. So if you're outside often and think your levels are fine, you may want to consider getting tested so you'll know for sure!

How do you introduce natural and alternative healing methods to family members?

"You know you can't. Look I know that's not what you want to hear but in my conclusion you can't. Family are the last people you can help for some reason and this has been my experience and I've heard this from many others who have the exact same experience. I'm talking about even people who are holistic practitioners. Their own family members won't even listen to them. You can't help family members who are invested psychologically in the culture of death and the culture of fear, which is conventional cancer treatment.

"You got to understand that a conventional oncologist uses the weapon of fear. That is their recruitment weapon and fear is very, very effective and it takes the form like this. They run a blood test, you take a biopsy, they come back, they give a stern look, and they say you're going to die in six months if you don't start chemotherapy immediately, like tomorrow, all right.

"Now first of all, this kind of statement happens probably thousands of times across the country every single day. This statement I think is a crime. I mean this should be outlawed. This is the worst form of invoking a negative destructive placebo effect that you can possibly imagine. Doctors have authority in the minds of patients. They've also taken an oath, which is supposed to say first do no harm. Doctors do not yet fully realize that what a patient believes he or she will make real, right. We've seen this with the placebo effect. It's very, very powerful in curing disease, in reversing disease, even in controlling blood pressure and things like that. I mean real physiological effects. It's been proven that the placebo effect alters the physiology of the spinal cord for example.

"When a doctor comes to a patient and says you're going to die in six-months the patient makes it real. So that doctor is essentially giving that patient a death sentence."  The power of suggestion is very, very powerful.

How many more pink pens do we need?

Mike speaks out against some of the  cancer fundraising groups in his lecture. Many of these organizations gather highly motivated and passionate people to help the cause, but in the end, no progress is really being made. After listening to a program like this, you would wonder why they're not putting money toward finding out how effective these natural and integrative techniques are.

Antidepressants and natural alternatives

by Marcelle Pick, OB/GYN NP

....antidepressant prescriptions have more than quadrupled in the past couple of decades, with twice as many women as men - by some estimates over 1 in 10 women in America - now taking one. Advertisements for Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, Wellbutrin, Celexa, Cymbalta, Effexor, and others bombard us everywhere we turn - there's even a designer antidepressant for menopause symptoms called Pristiq, and another one for PMS symptoms called Serafem. But advertising doesn't portray the full picture about these prescription drugs, just images of happy people relaxing in the sun.... Aside from their short-term side effects, antidepressants can alter the biochemistry of the brain, and can be very difficult to discontinue. ...

READ MOREAntidepressants and alternative treatments for ... - Women to Women

http://www.womenshealthnetwork.com/emotionsanxietyandmood/antidepressants.aspx

ETA: THE LINK DOES NOT WORK SO GOOGLE THE TITLE

Edited by Mods to fix and update links

bexybexy, I am convinced that 12 years of medical school deconstructs their common sense to get them to a place where they can actually poison and radiate people and then turn around and call nutrition quackery. (lol)

It's good that you are reading and researching. We have to be proactive. You may want to consider getting a naturopatic oncologist to help you along your health journey too.

Marianna, that sucks!  Have you done a topic search to see if others here have noticed weird growths after rads? ETA: How were you being selfish?

painterly, welcome. Your onc sounds mentally abusive. How dare she advise you not to talk with other BC sisters, experiencing similar SEs. That's really f*cked up!