"Starvation' diet for cancer?

I think the book The Anti Cancer may give you a wealth of information.  I try to follow this diet.  The book was written by a doctor that also had cancer.

Sandyflats - I just came off a four month liquid fast.

NO FOOD, just liquid meal replacements, and one nutritional bar a day, for a total of 960 calories a day. However, it was "complete" nutrition, with vitamins and minerals included in the meal replacements.

It was heavily and closely monitored, as fasting for any length of time is terribly stressful on the body. There can be serious side effects.

I had bloodwork drawn every three weeks. My liver enzymes skyrocketed, my gallbladder got sludgey (precursor to gallstones), and my clotting factor seemed to disappear, making me bleed more heavily and for longer periods of time.

AND - here is the truth: a body that is stressed will not heal.

I did this extreme diet because my MO recommended it. My BC is ER+ - 100%. I argued that I did not want to take Arimidex because I was post-menopausal and had already had a hysterectomy. She politely pointed out that estrogen is manufactured in excess body fat, of which I had plenty. I needed to lose weight quickly, and understood that the medical fast was the best way to go.

It was a tremendous commitment in terms of discipline (NO FOOD), time (weekly meetings, support groups, lab work, and medical monitoring by physicians and nurses) and money - over $4,000 for all the products and the year-and-a-half program.

Last month, we started adding healthy food back in. I've lost more than 50 pounds, and 63 total inches. My lab work is now completely normal.

But had I not had the medical monitoring, I could have done some serious damage to my body.

Trying to starve your cancer cells by not eating only starves your body, which can be deadly.

Please be very, very careful.

camillegal - I'm not taking the Arimidex yet. I really, REALLY didn't want to take it (big weenie about side effects) and my argument to the MO was that I had no estrogen in my body so why take the drug?

She straightened me out pretty quickly. For cancer patients who are obese, diet and exercise alone can reduce their risk of recurrence by 23%.

I actually found the program because I was overweight when I had my BMX w/TEs. I got Amazon-sized expanders. I asked my PS what would happen if he swapped out the TEs for the same size implants, and later on I lost weight. He said the implants wouldn't change. "So I'd have stripper boobs?" I asked him. He sort of blushed and nodded.

So I made the decision to enter the program and lose weight before exchange.

I had to get clearance from the MO, and she was THRILLED that I was going to do it. In fact, she sends many of her cancer patients into the program, just for overall health.

Having cancer and being obese is like having a time bomb inside you. If it's not a cancer recurrence, there are SO many other health issues that could disable you. She just wants us all to be at our healthiest. I had to exercise my butt off, too. You can't just do it by fasting.

I think the OP was talking about going on a starvation diet as a treatment for her cancer....as a way of "starving "the cancer cells.

I know that losing this weight has made me healthier overall, but it was not done in lieu of traditional treatment. I start Anastrozole next month. And I have my exchange next week!

Dear Sandyflats,

Please keep in mind these principles:

Thhere is no single "anti-cancer" diet.  Diet to cure YOUR cancer depends on many factors including:
Type of cancer (ER+ or not?  Invasive?  In Situ)  etc. etc.
Stage of cancer
Metastis or local
Your BODY TYPE (overweight?  underweight?  medium?)
Treatment protocols (are you post surgical? on drugs? 100% natural?  on chemo? on radiation?)

USA is very "fad diet" culture.  It is dangerous to bring this attitude to cancer treatment.

That being said ... there is general concensus to eliminate the following foods:
Sugar, white flour, whole wheat flour, booze, most vegetable oils, shortening, margerine, caffeine, sweeteners, factory-farmed animal products (i.e. eggs, meat, chicken, dairy) any processed or packaged food.
Add LOTS of things that don't have ingredients lists because they don't NEED an ingredients list.
Fresh fruits and veggies, honey (raw, not cooked), real maple syrup, olive oil, sesame oil.
Eliminate grains & flours altogether or use organic buckwheat flour if you really need a waffle or bread or whatnot.
Things like rice and beans or lentils will depend on YOUR body type.  Also percentage of RAW to cooked food should depend on your body type.
Many people use things like almond milk to substitute for dairy, ezekial bread to substitute for regular bread, and some people use soy while others eliminate it entirely.  I personally only use soy sauce and miso in small qualitites for flavor.

Basically, if it comes in a bottle, jar, can, or package - skip it
If you picked it yourself, or made it from scratch - its probablly ok

Shop at farmers' markets if you can to get best quality fresh seasonal local produce.

After these general principles, please research the best diet for YOU and YOUR cancer based-on your health.  There are many good books and loads of info on the Internet, but ther is no one-size-fits-all. 
There are too many variables with a disease like cancer.
Also, if you are treating cancer 100% naturally you may be on your special diet for the long haul.  This means having a diet which tastes good and satisfies both your nutritional and emotional needs.  So also consider the difference between a long-term cancer fighting diet vs. a short-term FAST.  Fasting is different than regular diet but also can be beneficial to health.

Good luck!

p.s i think your friend mentioned holland due to a study on the people there who were near starvation for a few years, and a coinciding low rate of cancer. I actually may have uploaded that study onto the stage IV alt thread, not sure. I remember reading it though. Someone else may be able to find it for you.

Sandy, as a dietician, I can tell you this is a very bad idea. You've gotten some good advice here. Having gone through chemo, and with rads on the horizon, your body will need protein and lots of it to recover. Not that it shouldn't ever be considered, but I don't think now's the time. Eat healthy....but eat. Best of luck to you with your upcoming rads.