What foods are you eating to reduce recurrence?

katcar0001 · January 2015

I am wondering if this thread about Metformin should be going on somewhere else? Sorry about that. In the meantime, for those interested in it, there was a suggestion on an older thread to get it at Wal-Mart cheap. BTW, I do not recommend taking this without a physician's guidance! I will be informing my doctors what I am up to and will bring along copies of studies.

SoLinda · January 2015

Manu14 - great suggestion about adding vanilla to the coconut milk! I am sure it will help a lot and will make my coffee and oatmeal taste so much better! My diet is so low fat that I probably need more anyway ... And the coconut milk is just so beautiful and creamy. Thanks again!

Fourminor · January 2015

Had a bagel today with Tofutti. Looked at the ingredients and notice it has partially hydrogenated soybean oil. Which goes back to my feelings about any dairy substitute. Most of the time its worse than the dairy. Better to cut back on bagels and have them with real cream cheese.

It was impressively close to cream cheese though. I am not sure I would have known if someone had given it to me without telling me.

Hopeful82014 · January 2015

Fourminor, you can make a pretty darn good cream cheese substitute by thoroughly draining plain, low-fat or non-fat yogurt. Kitchen shops sell said strainers or you can use cheesecloth. Not that buying cream cheese isn't just fine, but it's a good, low-fat/non-fat approach that allows you to control the ingredients. I use organic yogurt when I make it.

starbrightlyshines · January 2015

Wow, I hadn't heard that cucurmin might have slightly phytoestrogentic properties. I did know that it might interfere with tamoxifen, but I am now on Femara. It is all so confusing....and I even have a degree in Biology/Medical Technology! And then there is some study about peanuts causing breast cancer to metastasize. Look over on the Stage IV forum for peanuts if you are interested. It's all crazy. How are we ever supposed to know what is safe or therapeutic?

Hopeful82014 · January 2015

"How are we ever supposed to know what is safe or therapeutic?"

That seems to be the $64K question, Starbright!

I'd not heard that about peanuts but it makes me feel better about avoiding them.

katcar0001 · January 2015

I never knew there was a more effective way to brew your tea (esp. green). I found this so interesting: http://www.acneeinstein.com/hack-your-tea/

GrammyR · January 2015

Starbright- I have a peanut allery despite loving peanuts so rarely ate. Now I cannot even stand the smell of my DGS PB&J. I got a new nodule in 2013 , ER Pos. So I don't think peanuts to have been an issue in that.

Katcar- I think Metformin may be one of the best new Rx. I read that combined w/Vit C. Cancers feed on glucose so it makes sense. I am trying to get hormones out if my diet , so dairy is a big no no. No cows milk, cheese but do eat yogurt to keep digestion on track. I stopped hormone blockers d/t SE so I do take Tumeric daily- not sure if will help but at this point will do no harm either.

formydaughter · January 2015

Bc101 - yes, I've been on that site a lot, it has so much information, but some of the recommendations differ from other studies I've seen. For example, it says flax seeds and soy are recommended foods. But both are considered bad by other reports if you are ER+. Other things are bad if you are HER2+, but otherwise recommended as anti breast cancer foods. and then sometimes it depends on which meds you are on (all the great anti oxidents that you should not have while on tamoxifen) I've been having a hard time wading through all the data to try to figure out what is best for my particular type of breast cancer. We need a book that breaks diet down by breast cancer type and treatment!!

GrammyR · January 2015

formydaughter_ Oh no! , I just bought a big bottle of flax seed oil caps to add to my Tumeric ( Curcumin) and Pumpkin Seed Oil caps. I have ER pos to trying to avoid more hormones. I will have to research. Had excellent labs last week - normal cholesterol. Higher HDL on the Pumpkin Seed so happy that my liver looks good so far.

lala1 · January 2015

GrammyR----My oncologist was ok with me taking 2 spoonfuls of ground flaxseed a day. What he doesn't want me taking is flaxseed oil. He says the oil interacts negatively with the Tamoxifen where he feels the seed itself is ok, And he feels the seed doesn't have as much of the estrogen as the oil. Talk to your doctor but maybe you could swap to the ground seed. Every 10 days or so I ground some and put it in a tupperware container in the freezer. This keeps it from going bad before you use it all.

TwoHobbies · February 2015

Grammy R, did the Aromasin make your cholesterol wacko? I see you have improved cholesterol and HDL amounts. I'm curious if you did something different as my cholesterol has gone up on anastrazole and my HDL/LDL is always not too favorable.

I was going to comment on the coconut milk. I used to drink coconut milk in my coffee. It did have vanilla flavor which helps and it also helped to use almost a half and half ratio. I gave it up and drink coffee black now because the one I was using also had sugar, so I just gave it all up! And yes, the people who put the oil in their coffee froth it up so its creamy.

Flax seed and soy have been controversial for years as to whether the phytoestrogens increase your risk by adding estrogen or if they decrease it. So I think they are both generally considered safe, but who knows. As others have mentioned, you'll drive yourself crazy looking at these studies and trying to supplement. I guess I'm afraid of using anything as a supplement and prefer to just eat the food. .

SoLinda · February 2015

TwoHobbies - I took Anastrozole and Letrozole for just over a period of three years. During that time, despite a great diet - my cholesterol went out of control and there was nothing I could do to control it. I already had severe pain from taking an AI, but taking statins (I tried 3!!!) almost finished me off. There were days when I couldn't even roll over in bed or get out of it without help and a lot of pain ... The day my eyes turned bright yellow with the lower half being completely blood red was a huge wake-up call for me. I will not take a statin again!

I stopped taking Letrozole (yes, my onc. agreed with this) in September, 2014, and by December, 2014 my cholesterol was almost back to a normal range. I will have more tests at the beginning of March, and I imagine my cholesterol levels will have improved even more. One strange thing though was that a few short weeks after stopping the AI, I started getting daily headaches and migraines with aura a couple of times a week. I was diagnosed with Pre Diabetes! Although not overweight, I am at the higher end of the normal BMI weight range and wasn't exercising very much while on AIs ... Anyway, since the pre diabetes diagnosis, I changed my diet (even more kale and arugula and beans, and no more white bread, white pasta or white rice) and exercise for an hour + per day and the headaches have completely gone away! And I am managing to lose around 1.5 lbs. a week. For me, my new regime must include more plant-based, and lower glycemic level foods, along with daily exercise. I also make a salad dressing every day which consists of fresh turmuric, olive oil, black pepper, crushed garlic and oregano, I drink water with fresh lemon and ginger, too. All my docs. have always stressed the importance of drinking a lot of water ...

DianaNM · February 2015

Agness, thanks for the post. Had not seen that before, but it kind of sums up what I've been doing.

I have been following a (mostly) Paleo diet, as well. I'd say 75%, and I really try to avoid foods that are inflammatory. Can't eat gluten at all, but corn is right up there, along with conventional dairy. I have RA, and declined to take any AI's in spite of a very high ER+ tumor. It was also very aggressive, but I think that had more to do with where I had been carrying my iPhone for a couple of years. My current Estradiol level is below 10% without any meds, I get it checked every year.

I also get my D and magnesium levels checked. D dropped last year, and I believe it was because I ran out of drops and started taking pills for a while. It really needs to be the drops that go under the tongue!

So my goals are to reduce inflammation, keep my blood sugar under control, fix my gut issues, get good sleep, get some exercise, and keep my brain healthy. I think if I can do these things, I am going a long way toward reducing my risk of recurrence. I also take a few supplements to that end, though I no longer take DIM. My diet and new habits have improved my QOL and pain levels by a lot.

Will be back later to talk about the supplements and things I do to work on my goals! Don't want this post to go on forever........

pipers_dream · February 2015

Just wanted to mention that I put pure almond extract in my smoothies. It tastes good and I know that almond ext is made from bitter almonds which have B-17, aka laetrile in them.

Also, I have a nasty head cold and my sinuses were really getting stopped up. I made some juice with a beet and a couple of apples, cranberries, and this is crazy, but a 1-1/2 in piece of horseradish. Well it's an hour later and my sinuses are clear! LOL I'm thinking anything that potent can surely chase away a tumor.

Fourminor · February 2015

Just saw this a moment ago:

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/02/03/new-york-...

Evidently Walgreens and other major retailers are being told to remove supplements from major brands because they don't contain what they say they do!

bc101 · February 2015

Wow, that's scary! Thanks for posting, Fourminor. It confirms what the medical establishment has always said about the dangers of supplements not being regulated. I wonder if this also applies to vitamins? Most of us rely on SOME kind of supplements in our daily life - I take Calcium, Vitamin D, and Melatonin, but that's all.

formydaughter · February 2015

So, I have to admit that I really like Bolthouse green drink smoothies. Lately I haven't been feeling well enough to make my own smoothies, so I'm grocery cheating. I like Bolthouse better than Odwalla and the same as Naked. It is $1 less than Naked. I think because it is made from concentrated fruit juice, in part. Usually I do not like the taste of concentrated juice at all. For some reason, it doesn't taste like concentrate to me. But, is there any nutritional reason to think that concentrate is bad in a green drink smoothie? Apart from flavor loss typical of concentrate, is there a loss of nutrients?

flaviarose · February 2015

I would think that a concentrate got to be a concentrate by heating - and heat destroys enzymes..... so my guess would be that a bottled drink isn't as nutritious as a freshly made one.

Nash54 · February 2015

formydaughter...I think the sugar content is pretty high in those drinks. The bottle usually gives the sugar content for 1/2 of the bottle...which is one serving size.

Cee67 · February 2015

Naked has to change their labels thanks to a lawsuit. I don't remember all the details but they got in trouble for mis-labeling. I tried bottled green juices but I was told that green drinks lose most of their nutritional value after half an hour or so, and bottled drinks are older than that.

The juices have preservatives added to keep them fresh, which isn't as good as fresh but, nothing is as good as fresh.

However, if you like green drinks (I don't!) bottled juice is better than nothing if you aren't feeling well. You have enough stress not feeling well. If you enjoy the drinks, your enjoyment goes a long way to helping you feel better. Have your bottled drinks til you feel better, and don't stress about it - just smile and enjoy Take care xx

formydaughter · February 2015

Thank you ladies! The sugar is probably why it tastes so good... For now, until I'm back to the Ninja.

formydaughter · February 2015

Another question - re supplements. I've never been a vitamin taker. The big multis always have made me feel sick (probably the iron). So, I'm used to relying on my food. Now, my MO would like me to take a calcium/Vit. D and a multi B, to help with AI SEs. Sounds reasonable. My question - is there a better time of day to take supplements? Wondering if there are any nutrition (better absorption) reasons for a particular time of day, and when is easier on your stomach.

Hygeia · February 2015

For my daughter: My physician told me that calcium is utilized best during sleep, so I take mine before I go to bed. I remember my grandmother giving me warmed milk before I went to sleep and I suppose it's the same idea. I don't know if this is helpful and you can verify it with your own physician. The vitamin D helps your body better to absorb the calcium. As to the other supplements, I don't really know.

Be well,

Hygeia

downdog · February 2015

I take supplements of vitamins B (high potency complex), C, D, E, calcium, fish oil, carotenoids and Ortho Adapt (adrenal gland supplement for stress). I used to shop organic some of the time, but now buy organic almost exclusively. I have switched to a raw vegan diet for breakfast and lunch for more alkalinity; dinner is regular and not based on any type of diet. I make cancer smoothies with broccoli (and or sprouts), red cabbage, pear, cucumber, 1/2 avocado, wheat grass, lots of berries, coconut water, greens supplement and vegan 5 protein powder (no soy) and whatever else is in the fridge for variety, and drink one daily. I have given up drinking alcohol (I was and still am a red wine lover), but still use it as an ingredient in some dinner recipes), and reduced my sugar intake. I still drink a morning coffee, despite the acidity. I have always been extremely fit with very low body fat, so weight loss was not an issue for me. Even though it takes more time to make everything vs buying ready to eat, I prefer having full knowledge and being in control of what I am eating. I drink more water than I used to pre-Dx.

I do take my calcium supplements at night. Research has shown that consuming calcium supplements before bed helps sleeping. As a chronic insomniac, I can attest that for me, I don't notice a difference, but I still take it at night.

glennie19 · February 2015

I recommend Calcium & Vit D at night, and the B vitamins in the morning after breakfast. Some people find that B vitamins give them a boost of energy so probably better in the morning than at night! If I take on an empty stomach, the B's upset my stomach,, so I take right after breakfast.

yoga_girl · February 2015

Vitamins

http://www.livestrong.com/article/396079-the-best-vitamins-to-reduce-breast-cancer/

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19667166

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15860041

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24667649

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24104882

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25127291

Nash54 · February 2015

I copied this sentence out of the above livestrong link....

While breast cancer is not preventable, there are vitamins that have been shown to possibly reduce the risk of developing the disease.

What exactly does that mean????

formydaughter · February 2015

thank you so very much ladies!! I've been doing all at night and will switch my B to daytime and talk to my MO about adding in E. I love these forums - so glad we can share experiences and data

Traveltext · February 2015

"While breast cancer is not preventable, there are vitamins that have been shown to possibly reduce the risk of developing the disease."

I'd say that this statement is claiming that your chances of getting BC are lowered if you take certain vitamins.

I would ask: "Where is the evidence that this is true?"

What foods are you eating to reduce recurrence?

Comments

Categories