VERY discouraged

Purple32. Sounds like you have an awful lot of bad going on. Sorry. Don't have much wisdom to give you. I have started buying organic milk for myself as I changed from Tamoxifen to Aromasin 3 weeks ago. Very exspensive so I still buy the regular milk for my kids. Can't afford for us all to be drinking it. I know its not much but at least I feel like I'm doing something for my bones! Best of luck and hope someone can be of more help.

Have you looked at turmeric or curcurim?  I get it through the Indian food I eat, which also has ginger, garlic and sometimes cinamon, but curcurim is also available as a supplement. 

Purple,

Your diagnosis is so good that many people would envy you.   

Most people with your diagnosis do well with surgery alone.

I'm more concerned about your bones than your breast. The good news is that it's easy to monitor your bone health. Have you looked into strontium or K2 for your bones?

Chin up, kiddo. You will make progress and look back on this time and realize you got thru it.

Blessings.

Forgot to thank you for the info on Lise Altschuler. I had no idea. My alt med doc said something dismissive about her and I thought it was professional rivalry. Altschuler has some kind of internet radio show and I've heard her name around but didn't know the full story.

Purple32 - I understand your discouragement. It can all be so overwheming. I have osteoporosis but learned today that I am not a candidate for any treatments other than Vitamin D and calcium due my gastrointestinal and pancreatic issues so I will have to change from an AI to Tamox. Like most of us here I have multiple doctors and a stack of medical bills to show for it. But NattyGroves is right, we have a best case scenario as far as CA goes, even though I know it doesn't feel like it now.

I've found that in researching my options I have found a lot of condradictory info. It can make you crazy if you let it. Fatigue and just plain being sick can also contribute to your discouragement. I encourage you to allow yourself to acknowledge the discouragement, let's face it, cancer sucks, but then find something positive to concentrate on. I've started a gratitude journal. Some days it's something as simple as not waking up in the middle of the night, or finding a good movie to watch when I want it. I also try to do things for other people as I am able. I find that if I'm thinking of others I spend less time thinking of what is going on inside my body. Exercise as you are able, even if it is simple movements. I'm looking at starting meditation as well.

I still have bad days, but the good ones far out number the bad ones and I am finding my "new normal." I find a lot of encouragement seeing the length of time some of these ladies have been here on this site with far worse diagnosis'. Years. And they are still here encouraging others. We have hope. Just cling to it. I actually worry about my bones and my qualaity of life more than the cancer.

My Rhuemetologist is contacting the Osteoporosis Center to see if there is anything else I can do for my bones. If I learn anything new or helpful, I will pass it along. Hang in there Purple. You are not alone. 

I've read that raw beets help break up cancer cells and celery slows tumour growth. I'd look into the K2 for your bones.

It's the betacyanin and the betaxanthin in the beets that does the trick. And it's the apigenin in the celery. It's also found in parsely. it works best for progestin driven cancers.  Here's a link from the Huffington Post.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/17/apigenin-celery-parsley-breast-cancer_n_1525717.html 

You have to be careful not to take too much vitamin K. It can cause your blood to clot too easily if you take too much. But it helps build up the collagen in your osteoplasts which in turn pull calcium from your blood stream to help build your bones.  

Good luck  I hope this helps some. 

Purple, I second the idea that you contact The Block Center, which happens to be ranked as the #2 integrative cancer center in the world:  http://blockmd.com/    And if IL is too far to travel, maybe they can recommend someone closer to you.

As far as your other questions... Yes, Omega 6s are not good for us.  I've been told that by more than one integrative doc.  

As far as calcium supplements go... IMO, that recent study linking them to heart disease is totally ridiculous.  I would be very surprised if a top notch integrative doc didn't want you on a natural calcium-magnesium-D3 product.  Until then, there are plenty of calcium rich foods, so if you haven't already, maybe get a list of them and eat several each day.

IMO, the two most important things you or any of us can do going forward are (1) get some serious exercise every day; and (2) stop eating meat.  There are many studies supporting both as greatly reducing the risk of developing cancer or having a recurrence, as well as improving a host of other health issues.

Thankfully, you had a very early stage Grade 1 lesion, and I've honestly heard many doctors say that the majority of early stage breast cancers are probably cured with surgery.  So please try to stop worrying because you weren't a candidate for the one-size fits all approach.  I'm sure there are beneficial things you can do, but I think the key is finding a really good integrative doctor to help you find the best options for you.   (((Hugs)))   Deanna 

Purple32  Everyone has to make their own choices, and it sounds like you have already made some inspite of feeling like you don't know which way to turn.

For your consideration you might want to watch the documentary "Forks Over Knives".  It's interesting in terms of how what you eat, or in this case don't eat can make a difference to overall health of people with  many different diseases. 

That said, I have become a vegan and increased my vitamin D intake.  I am not a judge for anyone but myself as we are all on this journey alone in so many ways.

I wish you the best in making your choices. 

Purple, you may find a good integrative doc is already part of a major cancer center close to you (or relatively so). I was treated at UCLA and was pleased to learn that UCLA had an integrative oncology department. It certainly wasn't highly publicized though and I only learned about it from a BCO post! I have met with the int onc a couple of times now and she has been very helpful to me in designing and evaluating my supplement regime, dietary recommendstions, making sure nothing interacts with Tamoxifen, etc. She truly integrates conventional and complementary to maximize the benefits of both.



Do you have a major cancer center within striking distance?

purple32

The way I understand the issue about omega 6 is not to totally eliminate it, but to balance it better by emphasizing omega 3, such as with olive oil, over sources like meats, which provide high levels of omega 6.

So in considering whether something is worth taking, if it provides a low level of omega 6 it could still be worth taking as long as you are getting enough omega 3.

Figuring out how to achieve the best balance is not simple, and I can't say that I am doing it accurately because it is hard to measure when there are so many combinations of foods that are possible. But I eat 3 walnut halves a day, and use olive oil for salads and for light saute-ing, and I eat very limited other fats, sticking to a generally vegetarian organic diet, plus daily exercise. I use only organic eggs, vegetables, fruits, and especially, dairy products. It is spendy, even more so here in the part of Alaska where most things are shipped in and gardening is more difficult.

My older sister, who also has had stage 1 breast cancer and 12 years later, IBC (but no mets), raises a garden in sunny California for her fruits and veggies, chooses not to buy organic for dairy and meat. I tell her I prefer to put my money where my mouth is. We differ in our approach to our disease but share our lives.

A.A.

Purple, I think the advice given further up: limit alcohol, cabbage 5X a week and exercise is sound. You want to stick to a low-carb/high fiber carb diet with limited animal fat, some fatty fish and lots and lots of veggies.



You can drive yourself nuts with the supplements, as you have discovered, and although various things may have some positive effect or another, I have yet to come across some "must have" supplement.

purple, I pulled this up about Omega 6's:

Chronic excessive production of n−6 eicosanoids is associated with arthritis, inflammation, and cancer." 

Maybe you could email any specific manufacturer and ask how much/if any Omega6 their GSE contains.  It seems strange that there's a trial going on for GSE as an aromatese inhibitor if it also increases inflammation.  But I guess it's just one more example of how complex and confusing hormone interactions can be!     Deanna

Purple - I worry about my lungs as well. I am small and thin and debated whether to just stick with the surgery or go with the rads. I pray that I made the right decision. People do not realize how hard it is to breathe until you can't. I wouldn't wish lung surgery on anyone.

My husband had cancer as well, but it's been nearly 25 years. I wonder sometime if we weren't better off not knowing what we know now. Sometimes ignorance really is bliss. All we can do is educate ourselves and try to make the best decisions we can, although I told my husband that the eenie, meanie, minie, moe system would probably work just as well. :-)

There are also omega-9's in foods as well. As the earlier poster wrote, it's balancing the three. With fast and packaged foods we get an over abundance of 6. What's scary to me is that I just read that many farmers are now spraying fruit and vegetable seeds with pesticides so they are changing the DNA in food. Another reason to garden in you have the ability to. Or to at least participate in a co-op. One good series to learn about food that I saw was Forks Over Knives. They do advocate a vegetarian diet, but they also provide a lot of info on food in general. Just something to think about.