Alternative Treatment

Joylieswithin: you've been advocating for a database, here is one Dr. Love is setting up.  I've come across a few during my wanderings on the net:

"In addition, we will be launching the Health of Women (HOW) Study this October. This new Program of the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation will change the way we collect patient reported health information as well as create a new model for data sharing within the research community"

Here's a page on phytoestrogens that explains a lot I did not understand. 

I was told my old time healer to eat a lot of black beans cooked in seaweed.   To soak up theexcess estrogen in my body, which she said was extremely high.  So I did, Eden's Organic black beans cooked in seaweed.  1/2 c 2x/day

phytoestrogens 

That said, here is another link for the Cures for Cancer a video, I like this one a lot!   I agree whole-heartedly.

Oh yeah, and just an aside about our lovely conventional medical treatment. I had my 3 month follow up with the surgeon. She dismissed me. She simply said since I did not want mammograms, there was no sense in scheduling a follow up. I was too astonished to point out that there is still ultrasound and themography. But since I have chosen treatment through nutrition, supplementation, and avoidance of radiation and other toxins, she would not even let me make an appt for a year out. Nope. No appts at all. No wonder there are so few statistics out there comparing women who choose conventional treatments with those who choose alternative treatment.

My surgeon saw me once (two weeks about my lumpectomy) and then said he didn't need to see me again unless I had a new suspicious lump.  My onc wants to see my every 6 months. He still wants to see me even though I have quit Aromasin to do some follow up blood work I guess. I really don't see the need as my internist does my blood work anyway.  I scheduled my own mammogram a year after the surgery. The onc had said a few months before that I didn't need one yet so I just used my own judgement.

I get very discouraged with all of them. The only one I really like is my cardiologist and his NP. She asks me about my osteoporosis, he is always asking about my BP and am I taking it. The NP has also scheduled blood work for me. I feel that the cardiologist and his NP are really the only docs I need. 

I read that grapefruit juice (especially freshly juice) helps with cancer treatents. http://phys.org/news169152201.html

I am sure grapefruit is good for many things and definitely delicious, but it interacts with many drugs.  In particular, a number of drugs regularly taken by cancer patients.  The list includes:  Valium and Xanax for anxiety, and Versed (given before most surgeries), Zoloft for depression, several meds for reflex and indigestion, numerous cardiac meds - for high blood pressure and statins and anti-arrhythmia drugs, Ambien for sleep, Immodium for the Big D, and pain meds oxycodone and hydrocodone.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grapefruit_drug_interactions

Special K...how does it interact with those drugs?

From Wikipedia;

Grapefruit can have a number of interactions with drugs,[20] often increasing the effective potency of compounds. Grapefruit contains a number of polyphenolic compounds, including the flavanone naringin, alongside the two furanocoumarins bergamottin and dihydroxybergamottin. These inhibit the drug-metabolizing enzyme isoform CYP3A4 predominately in the small intestine, but at higher doses also inhibit hepatic CYP3A4.[21] It is via inhibition of this enzyme that grapefruit increases the effects of a variety of drugs by increasing their bioavailability.[22][23][24][25][26][27] In particular grapefruit and bitter oranges are known to interact with statins. Because of this unique property, grapefruit has a very bitter taste when mixed with milk or similar dairy products. 

Those who can't trust Wikipedia can check all their links or google current research.

This really piqued my interest since I now rarely drink grapefruit juice despite my love for it. Here is an interesting piece specifically about grapefruit juice and breast cancer. It also contains study references and articles .



http://www.livestrong.com/article/525761-does-grapefruit-juice-increase-estrogen-levels/



Like so many of us, I continue to look for clarity in ways to deal with bc but just find a muddle of opinions and contradictions. Sigh, at least it keeps my mind sharp. Caryn

Susie,

You're breaking my heart! Oh well, there are lots of other juices.

Caryn

I've been having stomach issues especially on the right upper side. I feel nausea a lot. I know I shouldn't worry about liver cancer, but when I had this new pain for the last month of so, I became concerned. It could be the gall bladder. So, I read and considered foods that were good for the liver and foods that would protect it from cancer. I learned grapefruit juice is a good food for the liver. Yesterday, I began drinking several glasses of grapefruit juice a day. I'm hoping this flushes out my liver and there are other health benefits as well. I also read that there aren't enough studies to know for sure if it is harmful for those taking Herceptin. And there is only a very small percentage of those who have drug interference with grapefruit juice. You would think my oncologist would have told me to stay away from grapefruit. I know that there are a lot of drugs out there where you shouldn't eat grapefruit or drink the juice...from what I read Herceptin isn't on the list.

 Grapefruit Boosts Liver Enzymes that Clear Out Carcinogens
Grapefruit juice
significantly increases the production and activity of liver detoxification
enzymes responsible for preparing toxic compounds for elimination from the
body.

The liver clears out toxins, including carcinogens, using a two
step process called Phase I and Phase II detoxification. In the first part of
this process, Phase I, enzymes belonging to the cytochrome P450 family, work on
the toxin to make it more attractive to enzymes involved in the second part of
the process, Phase II. Unfortunately, the action of Phase I enzymes often
renders the toxin not only more attractive to Phase II enzymes, but even more
dangerous, and some foods contain compounds that only increase the activity of
Phase I without also turning up Phase II.
Grapefruit works in both Phase I
and Phase II to enhance the liver's ability to remove cancer-causing
toxins.

Grapefruit's Naringenin Repairs DNA. Naringenin, a flavonoid
concentrated in grapefruit, helps repair damaged DNA in human prostate cancer
cells reports a lab study published in the Journal of Nutritional
Biochemistry.

Perhaps one of the more interesting facts that emerge from studies is that
grapefruit has a greater potential to fight some forms of cancer than cancer
drugs. Taking the two together over taxes the liver and has the risk of negating
the use of both .http://curezone.com/forums/fm.asp?i=898068

Found this on a website listing SE's of Tamoxifen:

Sorry about the large font 

Warning

Tamoxifen should not be taken with grapefruit as grapefruit interferes with metabolism (breakdown) of the drug and increases toxic effects.

Yes, that is one reason I rarely drink it. Still trying to understand Eve's earlier references to it's benefit with relation to bc.

excellent information, all.  rice is seeds, alas, when I ate a bunch of undercooked dried red beans a year or so ago I had the most pain I've had so far, frieghtened me enough to avoid all such foods.  I also vegetarian, wondering if it isn't good now, but no way am I going to start again to eat animals.

Hi Eve, I know exactly where you're coming from wanting to detox the liver. I especially trust milk thistle seeds, not leaves, to do the job and t also protect the liver or any of these except licorice and red clover which are estrogenic

• Garlic--blood cleanser, lowers blood fats, natural antibiotic
• Red Clover --blood cleanser, good during convalescence and healing
• Echinacea--lymph cleanser, improves lymphocyte and phagocyte actions
• Dandelion --liver and blood cleanser, diuretic, filters toxins, a tonic
• Chaparral Tea --strong blood cleanser, with possibilities for use in cancer therapy
• Cayenne Pepper--blood purifier, increases fluid elimination and sweat
• Ginger root --stimulates circulation and sweating
• Licorice Root--"great detoxifier," biochemical balancer, mild laxative
• Yellow dock root--skin, blood, and liver cleanser, contains vitamin C and iron
• Burdock Root--skin and blood cleanser, diuretic and diaphoretic, improves liver function, antibacterial and antifungal properties
• Sarsaparilla root--blood and lymph cleanser, contains saponins, which reduce microbes and toxins
• Prickly ash bark--good for nerves and joints, anti-infectious
• Oregon grape root--skin and colon cleanser, blood purifier, liver stimulant
• Parsley leaf --diuretic, flushes kidneys
• Goldenseal --blood, liver, kidney, and skin cleanser, stimulates detoxification

As for grapefruit, the red ruby grapefruit is beneficial for preventing breast cancer.  Now that I've quit Tamox, I'll certainly be adding it to my breakfast feast 

"Recently another study appeared in the British Journal of Cancer (2008;98:240-41) with completely different conclusions.

The authors of this study made use of information gathered during the Nurses' Health Study, a large-scale, long-term study which has been following the lives of thousands of women in the United States since 1976. (This is a much larger study than the one I reported on last year.) Starting in the mid 1980's, the participating women reported on their diet every four years. Questions included information about their consumption of grapefruit.

The researchers analyzed the diets of those women in the study who were diagnosed with breast cancer and found no link between grapefruit intake and incidence of breast cancer. This was true regardless of their Body Mass Index, whether they smoked, or other variables.

What's especially interesting is that when they split those women with breast cancer between those women who were on hormone replacement therapy and those who were not, they found that eating more grapefruit (at least 1/4 grapefruit or more per day, on average) was related to a reduced risk of breast cancer in those women who had never been on hormone replacement therapy.

The scientists further note in their report that for those women whose cancers were estrogen and progesterone negative, an increased consumption of grapefruit (the fruit, not the juice) was also related to a reduced risk of breast cancer."

The point here is that grapefruit contains a substance called naringen which affects how your liver and detoxification system detoxifies certain drugs. It's worthy to note that it's the fruit, NOT THE JUICE, which is beneficial.

"Breast cancer-related effects of eating grapefruit - Naringenin has been shown to inhibit the proliferation of hormone receptor positive MCF-7 breast cancer cells by impairing glucose uptake"

http://foodforbreastcancer.com/foods/grapefruit 

I love this site, loads of studies cited, namely: 

"Inhibition of human breast cancer cell proliferation and delay of mammary tumorigenesis by flavonoids and citrus juices"

That's why many sisters take Pectasol which is on my list.