What foods are you eating to reduce recurrence?

Thanks yoga_girl....I've had joint pain even before BC (mostly hips)....early menopause for me. I don't know what it would feel like not to be stiff and achey most days....hope it works as well for me. Definitely worth a try. Guess I know what I'll get myself for Christmas!!

Happy Holidays!!!

Thanks Hopeful...I did have them checked several years back and was low. Got mega doses from the Doc but once I finished the prescription I never went back to have them rechecked (I'm notorious for avoiding docs). I do take over the counter liquid Vit D drops...about 2000-4000 IU when I remember. I'm well over due for another overall check up (it's been years) I'll ask to get the Vit D levels checked. Is your Vit D over the counter or prescrpiton?

just wanted to let you all know you can make your own mag spray. Mix up Epsom salts and water in a 1:1 ratio and heat till the salts dissolve. Put in a spray bottle. It feels like a very light oil.

Nash54

If you have a good massage therapist who understands acupressure points, check specific points on the charts that release hip pain.  I have an acupressure specialist I see every two weeks.  Traveled all over the US and tried many different methods of pressure release for hips, shoulders and back, this has been the best technique for me.

30 minutes of acupressure = 60 minutes of regular massage; deep tissue

http://www.acupressure.com/acupressure_charts.htm

Hope this gives you some options to consider.  Locate an alternative medical center near you.  I've listed a few across the US (not endorsing, just giving some options), every state should have a directory.

http://www.cancercenter.com/doctors-and-hospitals/?source=BNGBR01&channel=paid%20search&c=paid%20search:MSN:Top%20Terms:Exact:cancer+centers+of+america+locations:Exact&OVMTC=e&OVKEY=cancer%20centers%20of%20america%20locations&url_id=190111855&device=c&creative=2989475&adcid=9324715

http://www.chopra.com/

http://www.alternativemedicinedirectory.org/california-wellness-centers-and-clinics.html

Happy Holidays!!

I love sauerkraut, and I eat a homemade, highly probiotic one to help me ward off some of the "nasties" one can pick up here in Mexico.

I was bummed to run across this the other day:

The second type of cancer-promoting salt intake occurs when people consume highly salted specialty foods, condiments and snacks. These foods act directly on the digestive track and have been shown in numerous studies to cause stomach (gastric) cancer. Implicated foods include dried and salted fish and seafood, fermented/pickled vegetables, fish sauce, kimchi, salted preserved vegetables, salted and fermented soybean paste, salted fish preserves, salted fish roe, salted meat,salted shrimp paste, salty snacks, and salty soups. Many of the foods listed above are Asian; since the rate of stomach cancer is relatively high in Asia, there has been great interest in investigating the causes. Note however, that European and South American studies also have found associations between heavily salted foods and stomach cancer.

There is some evidence that breast cancer survivors are at increased risk of developing stomach cancer and lobular breast cancer survivors in particular are vulnerable to gastric metastases.

I had always thought the high incidence of stomach cancer in Asia was due to infection with h. pylori (which I have had several times, boo). Any insights to the above?

I'm following an almost completely plant based diet. Dr john McDougalls website is full of information about a plant based diet. I consume no animal products. I feel awesome and will never go back to the standard American diet of meat , dairy and eggs. I also watched the video, Forks over Knives on Netflix which has some very convincing reasons to avoid animal products and processed foods. Good luck to everyone I

My new breakfast is either oatmeal with pomegranate seeds and walnuts with a bit of maple syrup or agave

or

Plan organic yogurt from grass fed cows with pomegranate seeds and granola.

I have cut back on dairy but there are two things for which I cannot find substitute--yogurt and coffee cream (almond and soy versions have too much sugar which I feel is far worse than a bit of dairy fat) I just try to cut back to one cup of coffee a day and yogurt a few times a week.

If you think about how a PET-CT works, which is, to inject a radio tracer labelled glucose molecule and then image the cancer cells based on their exponential glucose metabolism, I feel pretty certain that sugar is the first thing which needs to be minimized in diet along with processed carbohydrates, over fat. I never really ate red meat so obviously that wasn't doing enough since I now have had two cancers. But I've cut the little bit of animal protein I did eat down further.

I started making my own almond milk - very easy, no sugar. Just soak 1 cup of almonds overnight. Drain. I first put in food processor to chop finely - then I put it in the vitamix. when I did it in the vitamix alone, they almonds didn't chop enough. I then strain in a nut bag (fine mesh.) Very easy, and very tasty. I put it in my morning "nutola." (homemade granola with 90% nuts.) I drink my coffee black, so I don't know how it would be in coffee. It is pretty easy to switch to black coffee if you make good coffee.

My DD, who has studied everything she puts in her mouth, puts coconut oil in her coffee. She loves it. I'm trying it in the a.m. We both used to use flavored coffee creamer, so this must taste good.

Dr. Oz is a dubious reference for me. Sugar from cane is by definition fructose. So what is he talking about?

I do not think Agave is necessarily better than sugar. But I don't think its worse either. I like it because it mixes well and you don't need too much because it is sweet.

I don't think its reasonable to remove every last bit of grain of sugar from our diets. But if you can cut out 75-80%, that's quite a bit. (For me its non-negotiable with oatmeal for sure.)

Four cups of coffee is too much for me. After my morning cup I switch over to green or herbal tea.

Cutting sugar and exercise is the only real way to decrease risk of diabetes.

hi everyone! Good discussion... Didn't see anyone mention stevia as a good alternative to sugars. Unlike scary artificial junk it has a very long track record within many cultures. As an herbalist I've used it for many years with good results. It can't replace 100% in baking (the texture just isn't right without some sugar) but you can use it to replace approximately 50% of sugar in a recipe. I use Stevia inthe Raw because I can easily find it in my rural area but really like Trader Joes brand. As for a non dairy coffee"creamer" I use unsweetened vanilla almond milk by almond breeze. It doesn't actually taste like vanilla but for some reason it tastes better than plain(original) unsweetened. Go figure...because it takes more to lighten the coffee I usually heat it up so it doesn't make my coffee cold. BTW I prefer that brand over Silk...silk uses a thickener that creeps me out! Also like the Kroger naturals brand but sometimes hard to get it unsweetened...

we can do this...in fact we ARE doing this every day!

zha-an

Yes, this is a good discussion ...

Fourminor - I agree with you that it is unreasonable to remove every last grain of sugar from out diets (I put a diced finger banana and cinnamon in my oatmeal while I am cooking it instead of sugar - it helps sweeten it up a bit) ... I don't take sugar in my coffee, but just a little skim milk. As you said "Cutting sugar and exercise is the only real way to decrease risk of diabetes". After stopping taking my AI in late September, I experienced many headaches and migraines and was only recently diagnosed with pre diabetes!!! If you could see my diet, you would have been equally shocked by this diagnosis ... Anyway, doc. told me to cut out all refined carbs. and exercise!!! I am hoping that the exercise is going to save me from diabetes since I have been eating unprocessed and low glycemic foods for the past few years and not exercising very much because of severe pain from my AI ...

SweetHope - did you end up having coconut oil in your coffee? Was it good? I want to try it though to be honest, it does sound really greasy ... I always have extra virgin coconut oil "on hand" and use it as moisturizer, and make my own natural deoderant with it. It will be pretty funny to be drinking, it, too!

Does anyone have a suggestion for me on what I could use instead of powdered skim milk in my coffee? I live in a place where all milk is long life, comes in a box and is treated with various preservatives. If milk comes from a farm, it is full fat and sometimes of dubious quality. Almond milk does not exist here and the only soy milk I can find is extremely sweet. I would like to cut down on dairy products, but haven't found anything to replace milk in my one gigantic cup of morning coffee ... I would make my own almond milk, but there are no almonds here either ...

I agree that our palates need to be retuned, for sure! I also keep a packet of nuts in my bag in case I am hungry and stuck with only bad alternatives close by. I just bought an exercise bike last month and no longer have any excuse not to exercise. It doesn't matter what the weather is like when the bike is inside. And you can use it any time you want! I do two sessions of half an hour each - every day. It helps to be in front of the computer and watching Netflix. Seriously, the time goes by really fast that way and is not hard on joints affected by AIs!

UH OH!!! The coconut oil in coffee went through me like grease through a goose! If any of you are having a problem with constipation, this might be just right for you. But, if you are heading off to an appointment or work, DON'T drink this!

Is anyone here familiar with the website - http://foodforbreastcancer.com/. It seems like the information here is well researched, but lots of things I read here are concerning, such as the interactions of common medications and AIs with estrogen positive cancer, and then I never know what to believe.

The canned milk comment reminded me of a time when a Russian friend was visiting. He only wanted to drink canned condensed milk. He just loved the stuff and wondered why we didn't drink it. I've still never tried it.