VERY discouraged

I have to watch the way I eat for my stomach and pancereas. Was doing it long before the BC diagnosis. The fact that it helps with BC is just a bonus. :-) Right now I could stab a Krispy Kreme Donuts driver and hijack his delivery w/o a twinge of guilt, but I couldn't enjoy my bounty. :-) So it's fresh fruits and vegies and a little lean non-red meat for me. That's my new job - Making the world safe for Krispy Kreme drivers everywhere.

Lisa, can I ask how old you are?

Hi all,

I am often told that I am very irreverent attitude toward my bc. Sometimes others are shocked but I am careful to only express this if it is "readable" via body language, facial expression etc. That's sometimes the problem with the Internet. I am also careful about this style of humor with other cancer patients because I don't want to hurt or insult them (unless I know they share this irreverence with me). On this thread, you get folks at all different stages and places in their bc journey. I'm stage IV and doing well but bc will never be on my back burner. You can bet I have my worrywart moments and most people are very compassionate when these moments surface. Caryn

Lisa,

Good for you! Many women who are stage IV and older get all kinds of tx and still have good QOL. I am 56, work full time (love my job), enjoy my children, new granddaughter, and life in general. My tx is what it is and I think it's quite possible to balance tx and QOL.

Caryn

I do think that writing comments on line makes it hard to know when someone is joking or kidding - because you can't hear tone of voice or see facial expressions.  Sometimes, even in person, well-intentioned jokes fall flat.  When that happens, wisest course, accept that there was no intend to hurt and move on.

JMW- Hi I'm new here, but I saw your comment about the milk and your bones and wanted to comment. I hope you don't mind a word from a newbie. :-)

Since I was diagnosed with osteoporisis and am not a candidate for any osteo treatment, I have been looking up alternative treatments because I want to stay on the Aromasin (few side effects, better for my CA). In my studies I have learned that milk is very acidic and actually leeches calcium from your bones. I had thought that I was doing myself a favor by drinking and eating a lot of dairy. Turns out that that isn't the case. I still do greek yogurt and some soft cheeses. I use almond or coconut milk as an aternative for smoothies and such, but primarily I get the rest from food and supplements. Just thought I'd share that with you.

Have a good weekend.

Purple32,

I completely understand why you are worrying about things. You were diagnosed in March and had surgery just a few months ago. You need time to sort things out.  It may take a year or more before things settle down for you but as time goes by, things will get better. 

Arimidex and Aromasin are not the same as aspirin.  They are serious drugs with serious side effects. You will need discussions with your doctor on whether it makes sense for you to take them comparing the risk of side effects to the actual risk of recurrence for your specific type of cancer.  Ask you doctor to go through things one at a time and thoroughly.  In the long run it is a decision only you can make.  Do remember, you can start the appropriate drug now and always quit at the first sign of problems.  Some people have no problems with these drugs.

Best wishes. 

Purple that is very true.  I was better as time passed. 

I'm just not buying the whole vegetarian thing for cancer. My motto is WWGD? What Would Grok Do? I really think the "paleo diet nuts" are on the right track and Mr. and Mrs. Grok ate every bit of fresh (grass fed!) protein they could get their hands on, and filled in with lots of veggies and fruit when they couldn't. Not so much on the grains until much later in evolution. 

As far as acidity, grass fed meat is lower in acidity and Omega 6. And it tastes awesome. Veganism is really bad for kids, and after looking at recent pictures of the Clintons, not so great for older folks either. Not trying to insult anyone, just my opinion. 

Purple since you can't do a lot of supplements, improving your diet is an excellent option. I'm just saying, don't be afraid to include a little meat as long as it's the good stuff. Feed lot cattle is not the good stuff, and that's what all the studies are referring to.

Can you drink green tea? I drink Brassica iced tea with the SGS in it. I wonder if you could have some of that.

And I completely agree about worrying. Really wish I could give it up. I've always felt that my former drug addict brother was a contributing factor to my Mom dying of leukemia at age 57. Now I have a daughter that I cannot help worrying about. Not drugs, but mental issues and depression. Hard to let that one go.

Purple - I have not read this whole thread, so what I'm going to say may have already been covered.  First, keep your chin up.  Having cancer plus additional health problems is not an easy path.  I wish every good thing for you.

You may want to consider letrozole as opposed to arimadex, though bone loss is a definite side-effect for all AI's so far as I know, and with your propensity for blood clots, you certainly cannot take tamoxifen (I don't have a propensity for them and still got blood clots when on it...).  I am most assuredly NOT any kind of health care expert as are some of the ladies on BCO, but I'm always happy to throw out ideas - please feel just as happy to reject them!!!

As for supplements - I do not have the same health issues you have, so please be very careful and check things out, but for the cancer (in addition to letrozole) I take curcumin phytosole (this is processed with soy, so some people won't take it in this form, but my cancer specialty ND recommended this form, so I'm going with it), indole-3-carbinol and quercetin.  None of these specifically address the estrogen/progesteron issues, but again according to my ND, there are none that will.

The other supplements I take have nothing to do with cancer, just getting older.... D-3 drops, cod liver oil, glucosamin sulfate, chondroitin sulfate, biotin, boswellia and a multi-vitamin. 

D3 drops are pretty easy to find, your local health place, Amazon etc. The drops under the tongue are supposed to be absorbed better than the pills. Worked for me, my last test my D3 level was an 84. I have cut down, my blood calcium was up a bit too and that can be from over supplementation of D3. I was taking 3-4-5 drops a day of 2000iu.

Purple...with grade 1 stage 1, you should be fine.  Honestly.  Supplements, no supplements, like someone else said, moderation is the key.

I don't blame you for worrying, but as long as you're not smoking 2 packs a day, hanging out 12 hours a day in the sun without sunscreen, and copnsuming all of your calories from candy, ice cream, sugared soda and potato chips, you should be as fine as if you took every supplement in the world. 

It's a crapshoot.  You read about vegans that get cancer, while obese women don't.  There's no rhyme or reason to it.

Eat mostly healthy, exercise moderately, and enjoy your life.  There are no guarantees, there are no magic formulas.  All you can do is what you can do - your best.  No one can be perfect at this, because "perfect" is a moving target.  One week water causes cancer, the next week it doesn't.  What's popular this month is out-dated next month.

Deal with your health problems as best as you and your doctors can, and the rest of it will take care of itself.  There's no guarantee in any of this stuff, so make the best choices for yourself, control anything that's acute, and it'll all work out for you.