Early Stage Natural Girls!

As with everything, there is controversy about soy and flax being estrogenic. I think a lot of our problems with plants is that so many are GMO and/or full of pesticides. That said, the Gerson treatment seems to have been very successful for many years. I would not hesitate to use it for a short term, but like all foods, I think we need to consider not consuming the same foods on a daily basis. Variety is the spice of life.

Sherry, good for you for filtering your water. You will find you will drink so much more. I have been in contact with a guy who is a water authority. He has been studying water for his whole life. I am hoping to get him to write a blog for my website. I will let you know if he does.

DougBrimor-good for you for taking control of you options. You are so right that we have to trust in our faith and listen to our innner voices. I wish I had had the strength to do that and said no to rads. I am still trying so hard to get my breasts repaired from that. 

Gigi-it is great that your hubbie practices integrative medicine. Perhaps you will be his teacher and encourage him even more. The best doctors learn from their patients. Many like Dr. Strand and Dr. Northrup changed their practices because of what they learned from their patients and walked away from the standard of care. It just seems crazy to me, that if the traditional slash and burn were the answer, and it has been the standard for decades, then why is cancer now the number one killer and why have they not changed the protocol much? Heaven forbid if women should learn that the iodine protocol will keep them from recurrance as much, and possibly more so , than any drugs, with no side effects. The one thing that convinced me to say no to drugs was that I read studies that proved exercise reduced chance of recurrance by 50%, the same as arimidex. So I had a choice between a drug that would destroy my joints and exercise that would strengthen them. I chose to walk. I walked away from the oncologists and took to walking around our river and adding wt training and yoga. As a result, I not only do not fear cancer, I feel better than at any time in my life.

This has put me on my mission to help educate others. I will be working with a couple of holistic docs to come up with easy ways to encourage and inspire others to incorporate healthier choices  into  their lives. I will be posting it soon on my website. If you are a member, you will get the announcements, so stay tuned. I am hoping that by keeping it simple, and going month by month, we can encourage others to make 2012 the healthiest ever!

Happy Healthy New year to you all.

And now, for the link!

 http://www.amazon.com/Wheat-Belly-Lose-Weight-Health/dp/1609611543

Marianna - interesting you should post about Wheat Belly. I was just looking at this book too. I am a bonafide carb lover, but I am transitioning myself away from wheat. It's not my favorite way to eat, but I am moving toward fruits, veggies, healthy lean protein and nuts. I do love bread and pasta, but not enough to be unhealthy. What I'm wondering about is the range of substitutions available. For example, I've completely subbed stevia for sugar. I even switched to sourdough bread because it minimizes glucose spike vs regular bread. I love sourdough but sadly it does contain wheat. Have you found substitutes in your research? Ezekial bread maybe? Not very sandwich worthy but decent as toast. I was earning brown rice pasta for a while, but found out it is very high on the glycemic index.

dougbrimor, I was on flaxseed oil for a couple years before BC for dry eye.  My MO said to discontinue due to inconclusive studies.  There are different studies on flaxseed oil, and flaxseed consumption.  I just googled it and came up with lots of info.  Mostly mice studies, nothing proven, but I am staying away from flaxseed in any form. 

My daughter has celiac's so only buy gf. In addition to Udi's, which makes muffins, hamburger buns etc. Whole Foods carries a brand called Rudy's. Very good too. You can often find coupons on line and special deals if you "like" them on facebook.

Caryn

I'm still looking for a different way to reduce my estrogen level. Your right I can't find any doctor to do the hormone testing.  I can't believe everytime I try to do anything natural, insurance or doctors won't do it. 

Boy how true! Your comment: Of course, they will pay for viagra for men!  That kinda lets you know whose in charge of the medical profession these days!

So anyone know where I can go for help on getting a blood test to test where my hormone levels are?

 I saw this on the SS website:

Does Estrogen Deserve the Bad Rap?

For years, the medical community has been railing against estrogen replacement for women, based on studies that showed an increased risk of breast cancer when women took Premarin, a version of estrogen derived from horse urine. And that's led many women to avoid replacing this necessary hormone, causing imbalances that lead to hot flashes, sleepless nights, weight gain, and loss of libido - not to mention throwing all your other hormones completely out of whack!)

But most of the medical community now agrees that the past research on estrogen replacement and cancer was flawed. If you skip the synthetic version of estrogen and use bioidentical formulations, you can help bring the body back into balance without increasing the risk of cancer. Here's how to do it:

• Contact a doctor who specializes in antiaging medicine. He'll be able to run the appropriate blood and urine tests to determine your hormone levels and bring you back into balance.
• Balance out the estrogen with progesterone. You'll need to take the estrogen with a natural (not synthetic) version of progesterone two weeks out of every month, to help counter the cell proliferation that estrogen can cause - and to get you closer to the hormonal balance you had when you were younger.
• Pay close attention to your estriol levels. Low levels of this essential component of estrogen can contribute to your likelihood of developing cancer. But bioidentical hormones can help boost your levels of estriol.
• Don't go overboard. Too much estrogen (or any other hormone) can have many of the same ill effects as too little - for instance, too much estrogen can actually cause the same bloating and weight gain that too little causes.

Healthcheckusa is specifically mentioned by name in this interesting PubMed article called Do It Yourself Diagnosis.

"While some labs are ethical and provide adequate counselling, other labs are more motivated by profits...   The lack of regulation, especially in the internet era, has also opened the door to fraud. "People who are selling tests on the Web could be offering completely bogus tests and giving you information that could be very misleading and potentially harmful to you," commented Kathy Hudson, founding director of the Genetics and Public Policy Center at Johns Hopkins University (Washington, DC, USA). "

My nutritionist uses Metametrix testing, but we did these tests through his practice and he helped me with the results..... which were faxed to my docs.

Merrit they showed it on the Dr. Oz show.  You can view it there as well and see the interview with her and the Dr.  She is part of a clinical trial using stem cells to rejuvinate.

edited to add: the youtube was a very good video.  It showed much more of SS actual breast than what was shown on Dr. Oz

 I went to the Iodine prodocol page and it says to do a iodine loading test first.  Did any of you do this test first? 

Diagnosis: 6/21/2011, IDC, <1cm, Stage I, Grade 2, 0/2 nodes, ER+/PR+, HER2-

Any doctor who specializes in BHRT will do hormone testing, but will probably not prescribe any therapy if you have been dx with bc.  At least you could find out what your levels are.  Mine were very low for both estrogen and progestrone, yet I still got the dx with ER/PR ++.  The doctor I went to was connected to BodyLogic, which has doctors all over the country.

My holistic physician is a believer in balanced hormones, but he wants to see the results of my circulating tumor test (from bloodwork) before he makes any decision of prescribing BHRT.  He is a board certified physician, and his medical license is important to him, so he must proceed with caution. 

I made an appt with a Naturpathic doctor in my area.  $190/hr.  They said I can try to submit to insurance for reimbursement.  I contacted ins. co. to ask if that was possible - NOPE!  They don't cover naturopathinc doctors.  Period.   End of story.  I sure wouldn't want to be preventative with my health!  I'll just wait for stuff to happen so they can prescribe me a bunch pills!!!  Grrrr.  So annoying.

When I was having my pre-surgery interview with the nurse, she was amazed that at 42 years old, I am on no medication whatsoever.  Isn't this a sad state of affairs?  They're shocked I'm healthy enough that I don't need medication for anything. 

 I'm done with my rant now.  Thanks for listening.

I was fortunate to find my naturapathic doctor here in Florida who is also a board certified physician.  He has been very helpful to both me with my bc and my boyfriend with his MS.  None of our treatments are covered by insurance and it is expensive.  The price we pay for our health, and to think that we are trying to do something to be proactive rather than put drugs into our system!  I'm just thankful that I have the option of paying out of my own pocket, at least for now.  I don't feel the least bit guilty about all of the multiples of tests the other doctors are running that Medicare has to cover the cost of.  They could save so much money with a little common sense, but since when does the government use common sense.

Angie-why are you having all those treatments stage 1, no nodes? They did not even push that much on me and I had a tumor the size of a grape. But my nodes and margins were clear, so I insisted on no chemo. Did you get more than one opinion? Do you have good insurance? I did, and that is why I think they wanted to use the whole arsenal. I am so glad I said no to drugs. I finished rads (which I also wish I had said no to) 4 years ago from yesterday and have spent all this time learning that there are lots of ways to do this. You need to do the research and figure out what is best for you. And yes, acupuncture and reflexology will help, but you have to find good ones. That too can be a dilemna. Just follow your instincts. Your body will tell you what right.

Nothing saddens me more than the fact that we are not "allowed" to get holistic health care if we choose and it is rarely covered by insurance. This is going to one of the goals of the non profit I am starting. I want to make it more available to all who want it. It is our bodies. WE should get to decide what we want to do, and we should also be given the whole truth, not just the standard of care. I hope many of you will join in my crusade. If there are enough of us singing they will hear us at last.

Check out the Canary Party too!

Thanks vivre and sherry c. Yep I'm HER2+ with an oncotypeDX score of 35 (24% recurrence). I have some family history on my father's side (two of his sisters). I'm still waiting on the BRCA results. I do have pretty decent insurance, thank god. My MO suggested this treatment as appropriate. Now, I'm having difficulty managing the side effects. Especially the nausea. Here's hoping the addition of Ativan and some acupuncture and reflexology will give me back my appetite.

Angie