Vitamin D Takers?

Hi Ladies

I wanted to drop by as I too was tested and found my D was at 27. I know prior to my DX I avoided the sun but did get some sun in my day to day activities. I wanted to mention something interesting about my MO. I know some of you mentioned your MO's did not even like to discuss a correlation between BC and D blood levels. My MO tested me right away at our first appointment. Interestingly enough, her very own elderly mother was recently just DX with breast cancer. She mentioned to me a couple of things her mother had experienced. Like a very large and troublesome hematoma, cellulitis, and trouble healing. When my Oncotype # came back, she was so happy that she did not have to give me chemo. I get the feeling that she is very deeply concerned. I think having it hit so close to home makes her really understand what it's like to be a patient.



I am trying to get my numbers up with about 20 minutes in the sun when it's sunny and about 6000 iu's of D3 from Cost Co that my MO recommended. Hope it helps.

Thanks ladies for the recommended amounts of Vit D intake that your Dr's advise.  I have started taking an extra 1000iu's on my own, and am planning to change PCP's.  Hopefully she will be open to retesting me and take an interest in my concern.  

Thanks zuvart!

CancerStinks, you are still recovering from radiation. I'm sure you will be out enjoying the sun and your gerber daisys and verbena. It sounds very bright and cheery. I am sooo looking forward to picking out flowers for my garden. I usually plant veggies, but I want to take care of flowers this year.

I need to take 8,000 IUs daily to stay in the 60 range.  As soon as I cut back the dose then my blood level drops below 40.  I must not absorb Vitamin D well at lower dose. My initial level at dx was 29 and I've been tryng to increase over time. Plus I protect my skin with sunscreen as I am high risk for melanoma - - numerous moles removed in the past.

SunflowersMA, this is no argument. We all just have different opinions based on our experiences and research.That's what makes this thread interesting and thought provoking.   

Patoo, I believe women of color need to stay in the sun something like 5X longer than caucasians to get enough vitamin D.

SunflowersMA, the potential for argument was pages back and I thought it was resolved when many took the poster to task for suggesting that melanoma was not serious.   I don't think anyone has been arguing since then, at least I haven't read any of the posts that way.  Hope you don't think I was being argumentative as I really was just asking questions.  I actually asked the same question probably a year ago, maybe on another thread and again have not gotten an answer.  Maybe there isn't one but why can't I just sit under an umbrella with only my foot sticking out in the sun and absorb the Vitamin D that way.  Hey, don't laugh people, I'm serious.  Do you only have to absorb the Vit D through your face?  Perhaps so, but why? 

zuvart, you're probably right.  Interestingly, my extended family has rented a house at a beach for a week almost  every summer for the last 20 years.  My brother and sisters (2) always baked in the sun but I don't like to burn so was always under the umbrella.  Yep, none of them got cancer, so perhaps all the Vitamin D they absorbed protected them.

SunflowersMA, just went back and read your post and  not sure you will see this since you said you were not coming back but I somehow missed, or don't understand, what you mean by BINARY CHOICE?   I also choose not to get into arguments but occasionally will comment on something someone said but, again, that was pages ago.  In any case, hope I didn't offend somehow.

patoo... binary choice means either one way or the other.  True/false, yes/no, correct/incorrect, right/wrong.  I'm not sure what Sunflowersma was suggesting with this comment, but I - like you - felt that the "argument" - if there even was one exactly - had been resolved nicely and everyone was moving on and tossing around more ideas.

I am all for the natural Vitamin D and am fortunate enough to live in FL where the sun shines most of the time. I am very fair but have always been careful about sunscreen until my BC dx. Now I just stay in the sun for 15-20 minutes to get my daily dose. I was un-insured when first dx in November and had read much about the Budwig protocal which recommends natural sunshine (in much greater amounts) to help restore proper cell metabolism. I did also start the Budwig Diet and lost over 30 lb in the 2 mo. before I got medical insurance. Last mo I started on Arimidex but am continuing the Budwig diet even though it recommends no chemicals, medications or supplements. The story of Dr. Budwig in a nutshell is that she was a 5 time Nobel prize nominee who had breast cancer in the 1950s. Her expertise was the bio-chemistry cell metabolism. She developed a protocol that cured her own cancer (she died in her 90's in 2003). Her protocol raised much controversy from the "cancer industry" because it was too simple and inexpensive that it could put them out of business. That said, it would be almost impossible today to void your life completely from all chemicals since they are in everything but I believe in her concept and encourage anyone to read-up on her.

I've had a number of questionable moles removed from my back because my dermatologist thought that maybe-perhaps-possibly-given time, they might potentially "turn".  I've never been a sun worshipper and I wear an SPF 45+ whenever I'm going to spend several hours outdoors.  But, before I spray it on, I get my 10-20 minutes in first.

Oh baby. I say front-load that D3 until you have a serum level of at least 50. 32 is considered normal, but for anyone with a history of cancer, it is too low.



It is only my opinion but any oncologist that doesn't recommend a vitamin D test and supplementation if levels are too low is not up to date on the data.



I maintain a level of at least 65ng/ml. At least.....

suntan through the screen door - funny DianeEssa.  Did you end up with a tan looking like a screen pattern?  LOL

I read about the Budwig Diet and had decided to try it until I came back NED. However, I could use a heaping dose of calmer!!!!

BUMP for Himalaya

A new study.

Vitamin D deficiency `may be behind disparities in cancer survival rates`

"Research into the basic science of vitamin D has demonstrated profound effects on cell proliferation, cell differentiation, angiogenic tumour factors and cell cohesion. Each of these factors plays a major role in the evolution and progression of cancers."

I haven't read through this thread but am one of those who try to get my D from the sun. I also have a lot of pigment so it's a bit of a challenge. (Thanks for the link, Joy!) I don't get my blood tested anymore but have learned that pale for me means deficient and dark is good. The trick is to alternate the parts of the body exposed because the darker the skin gets the less UVB is absorbed. I shift my Vitamin D production venue this way. This is not backed by any research, just my own take on the matter. One other thing to think about is that you need cholesterol to make D3, so if you are low in cholesterol or taking statins, supplementing with D2 will not help you as much as taking D3. I am wondering if I should use organic lard as a moisturizer. Maybe this will help my skin make more D. The other thing I'm going to try is to expose the milk I usually drink to UV first to fortify it with more D3.

As to how long you need to be exposed, this varies by skin type, latitude, longitude (?), altitude, cloud cover, surrounding surface, and time of year. Google "vitamin D calculator" to find out about how much time you need. I try to keep it short because I don't want wrinkles from getting too much UVA.