An Alternative approach to Stage IV Health and choices

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  • pearlady
    pearlady Member Posts: 882
    edited November 2014

    Thank you Heidihill. That is great information. I am going to do more research. Regarding the biomat, there is a half body available for $660 which is 32 inches long. This can be used in the same way and you can also get a car adapter for it. I've tried that one and it felt very good and did get very hot. But of course i didnt do enough to know if it works. It is good for those of us that are not too tall. My onc had suggested that with the option to get a pillow also. I

    Anyway if it helps the bad neuropathy I have in one foot it will be more than worth it. My right foot is very bad partially due to a previous injury before the Halaven.

    Since I live in NJ it wouldn't be too difficult to go to Philadelphia for treatment. Definitrly going to look into it. Thanks again for the info.





  • leggo
    leggo Member Posts: 3,293
    edited November 2014

    Deanna, thank you. Grammy, thank you. I'll check with my doctor to see if all three were included in the panel and find out if it's on the low end. Heidihill, thanks for that info. Perhaps that man knew something doctors didn't back then. Looks like his story may have some truth to it. That would be awesome.

  • Heidihill
    Heidihill Member Posts: 5,476
    edited November 2014

    I had febrile neutropenia with chemo. Maybe my fevers kicked cancer butt. Also having hot flashes for 7 years now. Could that be activating my immune system? Exercise and steam baths also get the temperature up.

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3312698/

  • plumblossom
    plumblossom Member Posts: 68
    edited November 2014

    Thanks for all the information.

    Pearlady, I am interested in the half body biomat. Do you know the brand?

    I heard that the difference between heating pad and biomat is how deep the heat can reach the body. The local hyperthermia I did in germany that they claim it is as deep as 20cm. I heard that a normal biomat could heat to 10cm, which is good, and much cheaper than having treatment in the hospital.

  • pearlady
    pearlady Member Posts: 882
    edited November 2014

    Blumblossom I received the half body biomat last Friday and have been using it every day. The brand is Richway. You cannot order directly from the company, but only from distributors. But when you place your order from the distributor it will be confirmed from Richway. My onc recommended this brand to me and said that it was the best one. He said that the main thing was to heat up the body and that I really didn't need the full biomat. I also found that I could move it up and down to get the heat in the areas I want. Honestly, after two hours I was so hot and feverish that I really found it difficult to do much more, but I will try to do twice a day when I can. And also the full body biomat is 30 lbs, which i don't think I can lift very easily. If you cannot find distributor in the UK , PM me and I will give you the contact information for the woman that I bought from who is in Canada.

  • GrammyR
    GrammyR Member Posts: 702
    edited November 2014

    Heidihill - My original chemo was 2006. I had fever and very low WBC every dose and was hospitalized w/no infection found but put on antibiotics each time. So do not think those kind of chemo fevers help the immune system, more likely hurt it. I had hot flashes for about 3 months then too. 7 years later the cancer returned under my collarbone. Chemo caused me long term SE, so am not inclined to jump into that again. I went w/RADS which seems to have helped. At 67 I have no idea why hormones are still linked to my BC. Next time around I am coming back as a man...HA.. enough of this BC stuff.




  • plumblossom
    plumblossom Member Posts: 68
    edited November 2014

    Thank you very much Pearlady! I'll have a look

  • 3littlegirls
    3littlegirls Member Posts: 853
    edited December 2014

    Hi ladies, I have done hyperthermia. we have it here in Canada as well. I've done the full body, local and I also did one in Tijuana that was heating up the blood only. The full body gets your body to about 40C 41C if your lucky. The ocal heats only a small area but the nice part is you don't even feel it on the surface. I ended up with a cavity in one of my tumours but that was about it. It's really beneficial to those with bone mets. Not sure exactly why bu they respond the best. The bio mats ( I have one as well) is good for sweating out toxins but will not get hot enough to kill the tumours. But still good to lay on for the sweating purposes. Good knows we have a lot of crap to sweat out.

  • pearlady
    pearlady Member Posts: 882
    edited December 2014

    Thank you 3littlegirls.  I have been using the bio mat and find that it is very helpful after chemo to sweat out the toxins and get feeling  back to normal.  I feel much better after using it, but find that you have to use for at least 90 minutes and have to have it very hot.  Didn't realize that when they do the local, that you don't feel it. 

  • GrammyR
    GrammyR Member Posts: 702
    edited December 2014

    Michelle- did you get this treatment in Calgary and is it very expensive?


  • Lucy2014
    Lucy2014 Member Posts: 13
    edited January 2015

    Hello Pearl

    How is the Biomat doing on you with temperature above body temp and ALND (risk of lym..ema?

    Thank you

  • pearlady
    pearlady Member Posts: 882
    edited January 2015

    Hi Lucy

    I have been using the biomat about twice a week and do it for about 90 minutes each time.  It has various settings to control the temperature.  I keep it pretty hot.  I have not checked my body temperature, but I do sweat quite a bit when I use it and keep a blanket over me not matter how much I sweat.  I find that doing it the day after chemo really seems to help me feel back to normal.  My onc has been recommending it to other of his patients.  He is the one who had mentioned it to me initially.  Not sure about the risk of lymphedema.  I will ask my onc later this week what his experience has been with this as fortunately I've never the problem. 

  • dlb823
    dlb823 Member Posts: 9,430
    edited January 2015

    This article my son recently sent me isn't exactly a therapy, per se, but I thought it might interest some of you, as it does me. I have been a fan of Dan Buettner's since reading The Blue Zones a few years ago, and I think his work observing the lifetyles of centenarians around the globe has a lot to offer us. Since reading this article I am making even more of an effort to surround myself with beauty (eg photos of places I love), eat only fresh, wholesome food, and reclaim the feelings of peace and contentment I had when I lived in Greece for a short time many years ago, as well as in the Colorado mountains pre-boom times.

    http://mobile.nytimes.com/2012/10/28/magazine/the-island-where-people-forget-to-die.html?smid=fb-share&_r=0

    One of the Christmas gifts I'd asked for and absolutely love that has added calm to my life is a sleep sound machine. It has settings for ocean waves, streams, a rainforest and several other natural, calming sounds, and I've been sleeping incredibly well since I got it -- better than I had in months. Deanna


  • Heidihill
    Heidihill Member Posts: 5,476
    edited January 2015

    Am also a fan of blue zones, and not just the ones written about in the book. I think there's something to be said for a blue-zone lifestyle. Glad to hear the sound machine works.

  • Momine
    Momine Member Posts: 7,859
    edited January 2015

    dlb, my first decision after DX was to stay in Greece for treatment instead of hauling off to NY or Minnesota. I figured the beauty and lifestyle here would make treatment a lot easier

  • diana52
    diana52 Member Posts: 5
    edited January 2015

    I have triple negative stage four breast cancer and have spent the last several years on both chemo and hormonal therapy but the cancer keeps progressing.  Right now I have a bottle of xeloda waiting for me on my kitchen counter that I was supposed to start taking several weeks ago.  but I have been drinking shakes...a form of the budwig diet (2 tablespoons refrigerated flax seed oil, 4 tablespoons fat free cottage cheese, and half a bottle of kefir blended well in a ninja) and my tumor markers have started dropping for the first time in years-more so than even on chemo-two months ago I had it once per day and my tumor markers went down two points...last month I had it three to four times a day and my tumor markers dropped seven points...I am now back in the 'normal' range.  I have talked to my oncologist and I have decided to continue with the shakes and watch my tumor markers until my next cat scan...she has agreed to help me monitor how things are going...My next apt is Friday of next week and I am keeping my fingers crossed that things continue to look good.  And of course hoping that my next cat scan shows that the shakes are working.  Other than the shakes I have made no drastic lifestyle changes...

    I am wondering if anyone else has tried or are using the budwig diet and if it is working for them? 

    Thanks for any information...

    diana52

  • MusicLover
    MusicLover Member Posts: 4,225
    edited January 2015

    Diana52, That's amazing.  I know of someone who does Budwig along with conventional tx, it's flaxseed and cottage cheese, correct?  I think she eats it on toast or something like that.  I hope that you continue to have wonderful success with it and thank you for posting.

  • diana52
    diana52 Member Posts: 5
    edited January 2015

    It is flax seed oil and cottage cheese.  I tried it once before and though my tumor markers dropped that time too...it was too rich and I couldn't stick with it.  I started adding the kefir and making the shakes and the results are still good...and the shakes are delicious.

  • starbrightlyshines
    starbrightlyshines Member Posts: 344
    edited January 2015

    I have read about the Budwig diet and think it would be a good easy thing to try. BUT I am dairy free so the cottage cheese is a no go. I wonder if there is a substitute one could make for the cottge cheese?


     

  • SyrMom
    SyrMom Member Posts: 862
    edited January 2015

    Diana, very interesting.  Have you changed anything else in your diet?  Eliminated any foods?

  • diana52
    diana52 Member Posts: 5
    edited January 2015

    No changes other than adding the shakes.  I gave the 'green diet' a try a long time ago but didn't stick with it.  I still eat a variety of foods, including meat and some occasional sugar too, though I do try to limit my sugar.  I get labs done Friday and by Monday I should know if my tumor markers are still coming down.  My next cat scan will be in a month.  I will keep you posted...

  • dlb823
    dlb823 Member Posts: 9,430
    edited January 2015

    Ladies, what is the "science" behind the Budwig diet? Since eating dairy is contrary to the advice of so many health proponents, I've never quite understood how cottage cheese+flax is suppose to be good for us or any better for us than say flax by itself. Is there suppose to be something synergystic about it?

  • MusicLover
    MusicLover Member Posts: 4,225
    edited January 2015

    Deanna, It seems that the Budwig therapy works for some people.  It is quite amazing.  I looked up the reasoning behind it after seeing Diana's post and basically I found that the theory is that Johanna Budwig felt that people lacking polyunsaturated fat (omega-6 & omega-3) developed cancer, who knows? But it is working for Diana and that is incredible. I thought of another lady who used this also for breast cancer and she wrote a book about it, Tamara St. John. 

  • dlb823
    dlb823 Member Posts: 9,430
    edited January 2015

    Interesting, ML. Thanks for the explanation.

  • SyrMom
    SyrMom Member Posts: 862
    edited January 2015

    My concern would be the flax seed fueling estrogen, much like soy, for us ER+ gals.

  • GrammyR
    GrammyR Member Posts: 702
    edited January 2015
    1. Starbritme- How about an organic yogurt. I am trying to cut estrogen hormones.. I also take Tumeric , rPumpkin seed oil. Cutting fats - and sugars the hardest. I see a new MO this week and expect he will be scanning again hand will have markers re- done.
  • new_direction
    new_direction Member Posts: 449
    edited January 2015

    I don't do the budwig anymore but I try to add good oils to my meals including breakfast.
    The theory is the omega 3/6 balance has to be "right" and that it is best absorbed together with protein (cottage cheese).

    I am convinced it works for some people. I saw a program of a stage 4 prostate cancer man who was told years ago he had a few months left. He had followed the budwig religiously, cutting out sugar and starches, no red meat, lots of vegetables and daily garlic. I am positive this story is true. It was part of the "beat cancer" week in Danish television which kind of surprised me.

    The clip is here, but of course in Danish... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zR1lgEPU3I

  • Momine
    Momine Member Posts: 7,859
    edited February 2015

    New direction, that was very cool. Thanks for posting. It being so effective against prostate cancer would sort of suggest that it is, in fact, estrogenic. But like the rest of you, I am really not sure what to think about phytoestrogens anymore.

  • Heidihill
    Heidihill Member Posts: 5,476
    edited February 2015

    http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/cancers-in-general/cancer-questions/what-is-the-budwig-diet

    Flaxseed reduces testosterone levels in prostate cancer according to this. For what it's worth, I ate a ton of cottage cheese and dairy products while on chemo because that seemed to work well for my mouth and stomach issues. No flaxseed though: I hadn't heard of the diet back then. But lots of olive oil  with salads. Plus lathering on argan oil, which has more omega 3 than olive oil, every night on my body in lieu of creams or lotions.

  • DivineMrsM
    DivineMrsM Member Posts: 9,620
    edited February 2015

    Heidihill, I just started using argon oil a couple of months ago. I couldn't bear going through another winter with dry, cracked, bleeding cuticles. I've spent boo-coo bucks on quality hand cremes/lotions to no avail. I'd been hearing about argon oil from a number of different sources. It made sense that an oil might keep cuticles less dried out. I just love the argon oil. My skin feels so much better using it rather than lotion It absorbs so quickly and is non-greasy. I use it as a facial moisturizer as well as on my cuticles. If I could bathe in it, I would!

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