Treating triple negative breast cancer

may be you can try giving Gerson institute a call. 

I didn't go to Gerson institute though but heard about it and read about it. It's been included in a few documentaries.

MrsHerrera - I just wanted you to know that MANY TNBC patients have been successfully treated with conventional treatments - ie surgery, chemo and rads.It is only less effective in a small number of TNBC cases. So I don't think piper should be telling you you'd be "better served by alternatives", she has no way of knowing that. You should make your decision weighing the pros and cons of choosing to do or not to do conventional treatment, not what someone "thinks" on these boards.

Though you say you have done oyur research, want to go alternative, you also say you are torn, so it sounds like you have not really decided yet. I understand your need to find someone else who has successfully gone the alternative route with TNBC. I don't know if you will find anyone here.

Full disclosure - I had surgery DD AC/T and rads.

MrsHerrera80,

In July 2013, I was diagnosed with Stage 2 Triple Negative Breast Cancer and after only 8 months without the use of any 'traditional' therapies, I have successfully treated my dis-ease using only alternative & holistic therapies. No surgery...no radiation....and no chemo!! It can be done! Exactly 8 months after my diagnosis, my results came back 'Normal' and 'below range' for 3 different tests (CA-125, CA15-3 & the AMAS)

I am a strong proponent of alternative medicine and truly believe our bodies can overcome most illnesses...naturally. I am living proof as to how diet/supplements, along with different alternative modallities and positive thoughts/actions can help make that happen. I did sodium bicarb IV's, all different massages, went raw, no gluten, no sugar, no dairy & added plenty of juice & veggies. I have an awesome naturopath & OMD (oriental md) to help guide me. There is SO much information out there, but I too struggled to find someone wiliing to 'risk everything Operation Blueberry Melt - https://www.facebook.com/OBMelt.

Thanks & blessings to all for a healthy, happy, cancer-free life!!

OBM - did you have another biopsy to confirm your remission? Would love to hear more from you here....

MrsHerrera80--I was also diagnosed with Stage 1 triple negative bc in January and have completed 4 DD rounds of AC & 2 of my 12 weekly Taxol treatments.  That will be followed by 6 1/2 weeks  of rads.  I have heard several bc women say that when they were diagnosed their docs said "the first treatment is your best treatment" - meaning that you only get one chance to have a first line treatment that would be the most effective for you long term.  I know it's difficult for anyone to willingly put the toxins of chemo in their body - killing lots of the good along with the bad.  Ugh!  Not appealing to anyone for sure.  Plus, from what we know of chemo it has such a negative connotation, particularly chemo for bc.  However, all that said, I'm here to tell you that it's really not that bad.  Truly.  It's manageable.  Even on the AC I still managed to exercise daily and I'm 67.  I never once got nauseated.  Sure, my butt was dragging a bit, but nothing I couldn't manage.  Taxol so far has been easy for me - my taste buds have improved tremendously and I have lots more energy than with the AC.  And from what I've heard, the rads will be a relative walk in the park.  At the initial meeting with my oncologist, I was told that my odds of the cancer not recurring in  2-5 years with the chemo, v. lumpectomy, rads and no chemo, improve by a whopping 25%.  I'll gladly take those odds any day to continue enjoying life with my wonderful husband, three amazing children and 7 beautiful grandchildren.  Best of luck and health to you whatever you decide.

lol...may be we should go to a chemo thread and talk about alternative

there's a forum for triple negative, this one is for alternative therapies only.  the following should probably be in the pain forum but I'm choosing to post it here & now:  weather related symptoms:  snow & rain irritation, ice & especially wind event coming in registers pain

My medical oncologist does not do tumor markers at all as she said they are not reliable. 

I came here to this forum to learn more about natural and healthy ways of living, and I want to read about positive means to add natural ways to help me in the fight. I am sorry but I find I am more tenderhearted since diagnosis and strife makes me feel physically ill. I wish you all the best.

Here's a link to a discussion we had  not long ago about alternatives for TNBC. I'm not sure if everyone here saw it. There are quite a few studies posted here....

https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/79/topic/...

I have to second what gillyone said:  "MrsHerrera - I just wanted you to know that MANY TNBC patients have been successfully treated with conventional treatments - ie surgery, chemo and rads.It is only less effective in a small number of TNBC cases. So I don't think piper should be telling you you'd be "better served by alternatives", she has no way of knowing that. You should make your decision weighing the pros and cons of choosing to do or not to do conventional treatment, not what someone "thinks" on these boards."

It's also worth pointing out that it's simply not true to say conventional therapy is less effective for TNBC.  In fact, TNBC tumors tend to be more aggressive and fast-growing, and therefore are often more susceptible to chemotherapy which specifically targets fast-growing cells.

OBMelt - did you have an excisional biopsy or lumpectomy? You said you had no surgery, but if your tumor was completely removed by the biopsy itself, it could be that were lucky in that regard and that was enough in your case, and your other modalities are icing on the cake.

MrsHerrera80 - did you end up going to Hoxsey clinic in Tijuana?  If so, I'd be interested to hear about your visit if you feel like sharing.  Best to you whatever you choose!  

elindy wrote: I don't think 8 months is enough time to know if you were successfully treated as the majority of recurrences happen 1 - 3 years after diagnosis for triple negatives. I did surgery, chemo and rads to improve my chances of staying cancer free, along with a very healthy diet and regular exercise.  

I guess we'll see.  Actually, City of Hope informed me that if after one year with surviving TNBC you haven't had a reoccurance, you most likely will not.  And I DIDN'T do surgery, radiation or chemo to improve my chances, as these treatments to me are toxic, can ruin your immune system & may cause future cancers.  A healthy diet and exercise is very important in treating cancer and in staying cancer free.  I'm glad you are doing good too~

ziggypop wrote:

"I certainly hope and pray that obmelt's cancer has in fact been treated successfully by the means that she has used, but using tumor markers (the tests she refers to) can not in fact be used to be sure that one does not have cancer." 

First, thank you for your well wishes on the sucessful treatment of my TNBC.  However, my naturopath and OMD (as do I) disagree with the ACS.  They also might have a vested interest in what they show regarding alternative and mainstream treatments/tests/studies to 'Joe Q Public'.  As I have learned, often these 'facts' or studies are done by Big Pharma and can be skewed or distorted to increase profits and hide potential damaging results.  As for these marker tests, the surgeon they sent me to before I declined all traditional treatment also was going to use these...why would they if they were of no use?  And everyone has cancer cells in their body and might have already had 3-4 bouts with cancer except their healthy immune system attacks and destroys it.    

Your body is smart    Also, marker tests are 'guidelines' ~ The NCI says this about these tests: 

CA15-3/CA27.29

• Cancer type: Breast cancer
• Tissue analyzed: Blood
• How used: To assess whether treatment is working or disease has recurred

CA-125

• Cancer type: Ovarian cancer
• Tissue analyzed: Blood
• How used: To help in diagnosis, assessment of response to treatment, and evaluation of recurrence 

Marker tests may not show everything, but there are false positives and false negatives for all tests. My mammogram said I was cancer free....biopsy showed otherwise.  They are also non-toxic, as opposed to radiation from mammograms and potential further spreading of cancer with biopsies. With the help of my great support team, I will continue to be vilgilant against this and wish you and everyone here the best of health no matter what course of treatment.  However, the OP wanted info on alternative options, so that's why I posted what I did. Everyone has to choose for themselves and not all treatments will work for everyone.....traditional or not.  Not trying to persuade her into anything, just sharing my personal alternative story.

bluepearl wrote:

One can certainly choose whatever they want to address their disease, but hopefully their choice will be an informed one. I know of NO large scale studdies showing ANY alternative treatment as being as effect as, or more so than conventional treatments. There are anecdotal stories only. The survivors tell them, the dead don't. TNBC is aggressive and the only treatment available at this moment, PROVEN to give you a chance of survival is conventional chemotherapy. You are young and that right away makes your prognosis a little more grim unless you put up the biggest fight for your life that science can give. Take your alternatives, with approval, along with your treatment. I do not want to see you here as stage 4. CancerMath may also give you a score. Be well."

Hi Bluepearl ~ You are right, there are seemingly no large scale studies showing alternative treatments as being 'successful'......don't you ever wonder why that is?  I did, and found out that most of these 'studies', 'trials', treatments all had one thing in common...Big Pharma backing and money.  Who would fund a treatment study for safe, non-toxic alternative treatments that would put them out of business?  You can't patent nature    However, you hit the nail on the head with: only the survivors tell these anecdotal stories...yes, because they are still around to tell them!  And there's more out there than you think ~ Check out the Radical Remission Project where over 1000 people that have submited their healing journey that are being studied by Dr.Turner.  The late Dr. William D. Kelley, a dentist turned cancer researcher, treated over 33,000 cancer patients. Among those who went to him first, his 5-year cure rate was 90%! My own naturopath advised me of two things: First, he required that I be told by my oncologist exactly what the odds are for my type of cancer. Next, insist that the oncologist gives me reprints of two or more studies which show that the treatment they are recommending has ever been shown to be better than no treatment at all. (My Dr.could not produce this information & even admitted that rads/chemo can potentially give you more cancer).  

The following is an excerpt from naturopath/clinical nutritionist, David Getoff regarding Specific Drug Iatrogensis - Cancer Chemotherapy : 

"In 1989, German biostatistician Ulrich Abel, PhD, wrote a monograph entitled “Chemotherapy of Advanced Epithelial Cancer.” It was later published in shorter form in a peer-reviewed medical journal. Abel presented a comprehensive analysis of clinical trials and publications representing over 3,000 articles examining the value of cytotoxic chemotherapy on advanced epithelial cancer. Epithelial cancer is the type of cancer with which we are most familiar, arising from epithelium found in the lining of body organs such as the breast, prostate, lung, stomach, and bowel. From these sites, cancer usually infiltrates adjacent tissue and spreads to the bone, liver, lung, or brain. With his exhaustive review, Abel concluded there is no direct evidence that chemotherapy prolongs survival in patients with advanced carcinoma; in small-cell lung cancer and perhaps ovarian cancer, the therapeutic benefit is only slight. According to Abel, “Many oncologists take it for granted that response to therapy prolongs survival, an opinion which is based on a fallacy and which is not supported by clinical studies.”

Over a decade after Abel's exhaustive review of chemotherapy, there seems no decrease in its use for advanced carcinoma. For example, when conventional chemotherapy and radiation have not worked to prevent metastases in breast cancer, high-dose chemotherapy (HDC) along with stem-cell transplant (SCT) is the treatment of choice. In March 2000, however, results from the largest multi-center randomized controlled trial conducted thus far showed that, compared to a prolonged course of monthly conventional-dose chemotherapy, HDC and SCT were of no benefit, (Abel U. Chemotherapy of advanced epithelial cancer—a critical review. Biomed Pharmacother. 1992;46(10):439-52) with even a slightly lower survival rate for the HDC/SCT group. Serious adverse effects occurred more often in the HDC group than the standard-dose group. One treatment-related death (within 100 days of therapy) was recorded in the HDC group, but none was recorded in the conventional chemotherapy group. The women in this trial were highly selected as having the best chance to respond.

Unfortunately, no all-encompassing follow-up study such as Dr. Abel's exists to indicate whether there has been any improvement in cancer-survival statistics since 1989. In fact, research should be conducted to determine whether chemotherapy itself is responsible for secondary cancers instead of progression of the original disease. We continue to question why well-researched alternative cancer treatments are not used."    

There is a great deal of legitimate research and many published studies on holistic or non-traditional cancer treatments. A physician's lack of knowledge in this area will never negate the research or the excellent results shown for some of these treatments. If you look hard enough, you may find that in many cases, non-traditional therapies may yield better results. Knowledge is power ~  Blessings and good health to you!

OBMelt, It is great to hear from you! Thanks for checking in and sharing your valuable experience and info. I agree with everything you said. Though it may not seem so, there are many of us here to offer support and really understand where you are coming from. Feel free to PM me anytime.