What foods are you eating to reduce recurrence?

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  • abigail48
    abigail48 Member Posts: 1,699
    edited October 2013


    I've not eaten any cheese for years, miss it most I think because of the salt......still ear cream & half & half, for the calories (I say),.............want to try & grind nuts in my spice grinder. can't eat them because of teeth no good/not there, but should work for digestion too

  • butterfleyez
    butterfleyez Member Posts: 116
    edited October 2013


    I'm glad I came across thi thread bc I hadn't heard anything about a bmi correlation with cancer. Of course I realize a healthy weight and diet are important in any case but its good to know what factor to control.


    I am three days away from surgery but I've started really making changes. Kale, broccoli flax and chia are all in heavy rotation. I will be def looking into some of the things I read here after recovery

  • peggy_j
    peggy_j Member Posts: 1,700
    edited October 2013


    I don't think treating fruit like candy is quite right. Aside from the obvious difference (candy is empty calories, while fruit contains important nutrients) eating whole fruit can also be a good source of fiber. I'd taken a course on "Nutrition for Disease Prevention" and the instructor who lectured on diabetes said that fruits tend to have the right amount of fiber to offset the sweetness. i.e. oranges, while sweet, have a lot of fiber and cause the body to absorb it slowly.This same professor was against juices for that same reason--you get a huge glycemic hit. He's not a fan of veggie juices either, so I doubt he'd advocate the carrot juice regime. He also said that putting foods in a blender can "sheer" some of the fiber too, including the fiber that create a mesh-like lining in our intestines that slow the rate at which we absorb sugar. So whole fruits in moderation are good. Juices not so much. And of course, if the goal is to avoid sugar, there are many non-fruits that are surprisingly high in sugars carbs, like yogurt and alcohol.

  • Momine
    Momine Member Posts: 7,859
    edited October 2013


    Peggy, saying that fruit is like candy may be overstating it. However, the sugar can add up quickly if you eat a lot of fruit.

  • MelissaDallas
    MelissaDallas Member Posts: 7,268
    edited October 2013


    the whole idea of eating for prevention is a crap-shoot one way or another. There are plenty of healthy-eating runner vegetarians here who got breast cancer anyway.

  • SelenaWolf
    SelenaWolf Member Posts: 1,724
    edited October 2013
    Although a good diet helps promote overall general good health, it's impossible to say what foods, if any, can perform miracles. Just eat healthy, stay active, don't smoke, and reduce your alcohol intake if you are a heavy drinker.
  • GrammyR
    GrammyR Member Posts: 702
    edited October 2013


    peggyy-j , true fruit has a high sugar content but it is not " refined sugar " so I think total calorie content and fats would more of a concern. I was 5' 6 " and 100 lbs soaking wet, biked at least 3 times a week and STILL got BC. I was at 145 lbs three months ago. I am now at 130 lbs , still not at my goal but coming down at a healthy pace. I am not so good at eating fiber so fruit and veg help w /digestion.


    Selenawolf- I pretty much did as you mentioned over this past 7 years but got return BC anyway. For me it may be water under the bridge now. I agree that a healthy balance is best. The price of fresh organic produce makes it tough but you only get your health once.

  • sophie786
    sophie786 Member Posts: 83
    edited October 2013


    recently a family friend (a nurse who works in oncology practice) recommended nestle boost breeze for protein for healing. I'm feeling weakness from the radiation. Honestly I feel that radiation to the chest wall after mastectomy was almost as bad as chemo. actually recovering from radiation is taking longer. I had a very nasty cough which seems to have subside a little (i finished 5 weeks of radiation at the end of august) after taking Nexium.


    Anyways, I was so irritated after seeing that the drink has corn syrup. I mean it tastes great but do recovering cancer patients need corn syrup in their drinks. their is a ensure type of drink for cancer patient but I'm sure it loaded with corn syrup as well. What are these companies thinking when they formulate this drinks. anyways does anyone recommend a good source of protein that is not loaded with sugar or sugar substitutes?


    I do use chia seeds but they only contain 3 g of protein per serving.

  • sophie786
    sophie786 Member Posts: 83
    edited October 2013


    as far as eating properly being crapshoot...I would beg to differ. Its true that there are plenty of runners who get breast cancer. as far for me I exercised 5 hours a week. I ran hard on the treadmill and lifted weights. I definitely got the body I wanted but one very negative thing happened since I started exercising. I started to eat much more desserts and some junk. My philosophy was I'll burn it off which I did. but there were some days where I just eat brownies or ice cream for dinner. I was like I'll burn it off when I go to the gym. I only ate what I liked and didn't pay much attention to eating food for nutrition. I mean overall I ate ok. I am now try to food for medicinal and nutrition purposes. Food can be medicine. I don't really like the idea of taking a pill for everything. If only a pill could solve all problems. We all know that medicines have side effects. If you can eat properly and feel energetic and well that means a lot.

  • corky60
    corky60 Member Posts: 726
    edited October 2013


    What a great thread idea! After reading "Anticancer: A New Way of Life" by David Servan-Schreiber I decided to eat more of what he had in the anticancer action chart for breast cancer. Right now I'm eating lots of brussels sprouts since they are in season, also raw garlic with olive oil, broccoli sprouts and other foods in the brassica family.

  • SophiaMarie
    SophiaMarie Member Posts: 352
    edited October 2013


    every morning I have a kale smoothie with carrots, hemp and chia seeds, greens powder, Garden of Life protein powder, almond butter and a small amt of blueberries. I think I figured there was over 30 grams of protein in it.


    I'm so glad this thread was started!

  • MmeJ
    MmeJ Member Posts: 167
    edited October 2013


    sophie786, is your cough a dry one? Did you develop it during or shortly after rads? Did you have an X-ray or CT scan after you finished rads to see if there was anything going on with your lungs?


    It's possible you may have developed radiation pnuemonitis.

  • GrammyR
    GrammyR Member Posts: 702
    edited October 2013


    Corky- I will be checking out that book. There seems to be so little out there I have seen so far related to diet and BC. I am a retired RN so always thought I ate a pretty balanced diet but I have become mre radical now as my ER+ BC is back. Cruciferous veggies for sure, no dairy. Almond Milk. Fresh fruit smoothies. I have never really liked to eat anything very seedy like flax and such.


    SophieMarie- I doubt I could go this radical but good for you.


    Sophie786- Sorry you have had such a rough time w/RADS. I finished mine about 3 weeks ago and now healing pretty well. I lost weight partially because of my new diet plan but also they put me on Tamoxifen which I reacted too. Unless you are VERY underweight I don't think Boost or Ensure is called for. Most adults do not need that much protein unless you just had surgery or totally unable to get anything else down. Children need protein to promote growth. I used Almond Milk or Coconut milk in the smoothies I made. I also had a box of Carnation Instant Breakfast drink that I never opened. Luckily I never lost my swallowing ability.


    Cancer ( my nurse buddies tell me ) generally feeds on sugar ( glucose ) so eliminating as much as you can out of diet is best. Yes, even these various syrups are still sugar. Its been tough cutting out all sweets but I have used Truvia and Monkfruit sweeteners w/pretty good results. Trying to reduce all this as well as Estrogen in foods is a battle. Organic everything from now on.


    Would love some good recipes ( solid food wise ) in anyone got them to share.

  • abigail48
    abigail48 Member Posts: 1,699
    edited October 2013


    gary report from a few days ago. he commented on the DIM study mentioned here, says eating broccoli won't do it for protecting from radiation. bulk up on dim before & after any x-rays including cat scans for the protection.......he also mentioned that for inflamation as I recall, a qt of berries a day, don't juice them use them in smoothies.

  • TheaGoLIghtly
    TheaGoLIghtly Member Posts: 2
    edited October 2013


    My personal food shopping list often includes the following - It took me ages of reading to come up with the following: Use what is useful, dismiss what is not, for your own body constitution. Many of these things can be found at Trader Joes, Whole Foods Market, Some at Fairway (New York), Healthfood stores, Costco has a few items., Also on line. Hope this is helpful.


    TheaGoLIghtly, (New York City)


    A half hour early morning walk


    Sunshine, twenty minutes a day for vitamin D


    glass not plastic storage containers


    Ground Flax seeds in my morning smoothie, with organic banana and organic berries, plus more nutritionally dense items, e.g.: veggie protein powder, green powders, etc., kale, watercress


    Krill supplement


    Co Enzyme Q10


    white button mushrooms, in salads, or cooked in cast iron pan for organic chicken meal.


    Maitake (D) drops in water, (I take 15 drops), due to my low vitamin D, (very expensive)


    Alaskan Wild Salmon


    Sardines


    Humus


    Tahini


    Extra Virgin Olive Oil


    Balsamic Vinegar


    sweet potatoes


    Chia seeds on just about everything, re: organic salads, smoothies etc.


    a variety of nuts, cashews, walnuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sitting in bowls on


    kitchen counter and accessable. Organic raisons, dates


    coconut water


    coconut oil


    watercress (organic)


    Sauerkraut


    Olives


    blueberries


    strawberries


    black berries


    kelp, (in smoothies and on salads)


    kale in salads and in smoothies (organic)


    hemp powder, on salads and in smoothies


    green powders for smoothies (in health food stores)


    sesame seeds, on salads, on organic free range chicken


    tempeh with flax seeds, cut up in salads


    fresh garlic in everything


    onions in all cooking or just cut up in salads, Mostly red onions


    green tea, sipped all day or clean water


    circumin


    tumeric powder on everything cooked, or dusted on salads


    eggwhites scrambled with garlic, cooked tomatoes, and onions


    gluten free bread from Trader Joes (made from Rice), health food stores


    Ezekial Bread - Health food stores, Trader Joes (put in freezer, take a slice toasted in Morning), with Tahini, or Almond butter and sliced banana.


    natto


    Miso soup with cut up vegetables (organic)


    organic avocados with lemon juice, several times a week for lunch


    fresh papaya (for cleansing)


    pomegranate seeds, as juice or seeds thrown into salad


    goji berries, (first soaked), then put in a smoothie, (health food store), is expensive.


    No sugar


    No cow milk products, (avoid antibiotics, etc.)


    No wheat


    No alcohol (perhaps a tiny bit of red wine)


    No soy, (I'm not sure about Tamari)


    No Margarine


    Organic butter is good.


    Animal proteins should all be organic


    low or no salt, (otherwise use Himalayan red salt for example ), very intense use only a tiny bit.


    Avoid taking or touching credit card receipts because of surface chemicals which can enter


    the bloodstream and could possibly cause hormonal disruption, read about it on line.


    Don't use airfresheners.


    Don't use scented candles


    Use only pure soaps, unscented


    Use unscented, pure make up products


    careful about your lipsticks and nailpolish, also nailpolish remover, (enter bloodstream, could effect hormones).

  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited October 2013


    Did I mention citrus pectin recommended by my naturopathic oncologist? 10 grams a day. It's awful stuff and you need to buy and take the powdered form, not just eat citrus fruit (apparently there's a difference in the two and the MCP is what was tested) but here's some info from the ACS


    http://www.cancer.org/treatment/treatmentsandsideeffects/complementaryandalternativemedicine/dietandnutrition/modified-citrus-pectin


    and Sloan-Ketterling:


    http://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/herb/pectin


    I mix it the night before in a few inches of water and a cup, and just shoot it down. Follow with a big swallow of water.

  • abigail48
    abigail48 Member Posts: 1,699
    edited October 2013


    what's natto? unfamiliar. gary says he eats a raw red onion every day, cuts it up & washes some of the heat out of it

  • corky60
    corky60 Member Posts: 726
    edited November 2013


    GrammyR, in the book "Anticancer" Dr. Servan-Schreiber also recommends ginger, turmeric or curcumin with black pepper, three cups of green tea per day, and the synergy between foods. For instance, raw garlic is good as is olive oil but together they're even better. Same with turmeric and black pepper.

  • Momine
    Momine Member Posts: 7,859
    edited November 2013


    Corky, cool! I eat olive oil with garlic almost every day.

  • simplelife4real
    simplelife4real Member Posts: 563
    edited November 2013


    This is a great thread on a topic very near and dear to my heart. I read Anticancer: A New Way of Life within a couple days after being diagnosed and immediately cut out all sugar, ALL processed foods, and salt. I miss the salt the most. Occassionally, I will now have a tiny bit of salt when I feel I'm craving it because my sodium levels in my bloodwork consistantly come in slightly below the normal range on my weekly pre-chemo blood work these days. I use unsweetened almond milk. I've cut out all dairy except for an occassional small pat of unsalted organic butter. I eat only free range chickens, eggs, and beef only and not very much of that since they are so expensive. I eat unsalted sardines (these are hard to find) and some wild caught salmon.


    I had my colon taken out years ago due to severe ulcerative colitis, so I have a lot of problems if I eat too much fiber. For that reason, I do a lot of vegetable juicing every day. I usually drink four 12 oz glasses of freshly made vegetable juice every day with organic chard, garlic, tomato, carrot, lime juice, parsley, cilantro, mango (small amount), bell peppers, beet, and spinach in pretty much every juice. I'm getting chemo right now and my pre-chemo WBC and RBC's come back in the normal range every time. I attribute that to the juicing.


    I don't heat or store warm foods in plastic containers. I have also tossed out any teflon coated pans that are scratched.


    I buy organic fruits and veggies as much as possible. I do use a agave because I've read it's glycemic index is only 15. I use it very sparingly. I drink at least four cups of green tea a day. I take krill oil instead of fish oil because it's supposed to be lower in contaminents. I'm not vegan, but I eat a heavily plant based diet, at least two out of three meals a day are vegan.


    I've changed my deodorant (and never use it unless I am going to get my nodes under my arms examined), use only pure soap unscented, use coconut oil for skin dryness, even have bought an organic lube for sex. I don't use chemicals when I clean and refuse to be around any kind of fumes.


    I've also become a big believer in keeping up with some exercise during treatment. I've found it really helps with my chemo fatigue. I walk, work out on the elliptical, take ballroom dancing classes with my husband (very fun!) and go to a stretch class a couple times a week.


    Long story short, I've made tons of changes (these are just a few of them) and plan to keep them all for at least the next five years. I figure the day I eat ice cream again is the day I've given up and decided to let cancer beat me.

  • Momine
    Momine Member Posts: 7,859
    edited November 2013


    Simplelife, why no salt? Like you, I found exercise very helpful during chemo (and beyond).

  • abigail48
    abigail48 Member Posts: 1,699
    edited November 2013


    as you know charlotte gerson has said that salt is the cause of cancer. gary null says use only enough salt to make food palatable. I've begun eating organic beans (conned) again, they contain salt, organic frozen vegetable burritos, contain salt, & since I have I've begun getting more dizzy again. I've begun grinding up organ ic flax as I'm very thinking fish now isn't sensible to eat. the lesion is pretty much sore all the time & I dress it every day or every 2 days. but we've been having windy weather which has made it painful all these going on 3 years. my juicing is mostly fruit, I do add a piece of whole ginger.

  • abigail48
    abigail48 Member Posts: 1,699
    edited November 2013


    I havn't eaten meat or chicken for 40 years

  • Momine
    Momine Member Posts: 7,859
    edited November 2013


    Abigail, yes I know what Gerson and Null think of salt. I was, however, curious if the anti-cancer book also addresses this, or if Simplelife got the idea elsewhere. If the anti-cancer book does talk about it, I would be curious to know what it gives as the reason for not eating salt. Unlike Ms. Gerson, I do not believe that salt causes cancer.

  • abigail48
    abigail48 Member Posts: 1,699
    edited November 2013


    skimmed the amazon preview of the book by david severn schreiber: a very quick scan showed nothing about salt, the only very interesting mention was a study of 1000? adopted children who showed no increase of cancer if their genetic relatives got it, but a 5 fold increase if they adopted the habits of their adoptive parents

  • AlaskaAngel
    AlaskaAngel Member Posts: 1,836
    edited November 2013


    Simplelifeforreal, your veggie juice sounds like a more liquid version of gazpacho soup, which I really got into making this past summer. I kept a batch constantly going while I was in California for a while because the weather was so hot there.

    When I got back to AK I had to pay the piper for the diet indulgences of being where there is so much good food all summer. So... it is back to walking the dog every morning, fasting most of the day, and eating a strict anti-cancer diet, with a very low dose of metformin once a day. I've been at it since mid-September and have lost 13 pounds (which is enough of a dent in the blubber to keep me going at it). Especially with Thanksgiving and Christmas dead ahead.

     

  • abigail48
    abigail48 Member Posts: 1,699
    edited November 2013


    gary null says if you add fresh-squeezed lemon juice & lime juice to food it tastes the same as salt but with no bad effects. for flavor I also add my own fresh grind of spice mix: currently: coriander seeds, hot red pepper, dried, black pepper corns, dried bay leaf, mustard seed, a bit of ground cardamon

  • GrammyR
    GrammyR Member Posts: 702
    edited November 2013

    Mormine - I have to agree re salt not causing cancer but it does affect blood pressure. I have been off it for many years.


    Abigail48- I see you mention being dizzy. This is sometimes the result of low . Mine ran low during my chemo months which differed from my usual high BP.  Been on meds for it about 30 years. Its the salt in procesed food that I have to watch for. Thats why fresh is best. Just wish it was cheaper.

    I was way to fatigued during chemo to excercise.Tai Chi was about it for me.

    Washington State has an amendment  on the ballot that likely will pass to make genetically engineered food be labeled as such.

    Simplelife4- I have done many of the same things you have Is agave used to replace sweetner?  

  • Momine
    Momine Member Posts: 7,859
    edited November 2013


    Grammy, yes, of course on the BP. Simplelife had "no salt" on her list of anti-cancer dietary interventions and I was just curious why.


    As for fresh food, I really don't think it has to be so expensive, although I do also use some frozen veggies, for example. The other day we had brown rice and a mix of veggies - broccoli, mushrooms, onion, a red pepper - sauteed with some garlic and ginger. In winter we eat a lot of cabbage and root veggies. Today we will probably have a spinach pie and a beet salad made with roasted beets, onion, parsley and nuts. I dress all salads with olive oil and either fresh lemon or a little vinegar, garlic and or mustard when appropriate.

  • Obxflygirl1
    Obxflygirl1 Member Posts: 377
    edited November 2013


    Does anyone drink fresh lemon juice with water? I think I read a while back about it, but can't remember anything anymore......blaming it on the Aromasin .

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