Non-Mainstream Therapies: Are You Curious? Skeptical? Grateful?
I wanted to start a thread here for people to say whatever they need to say about their nonconventional treatments, diets, supplements, whatever. ETA -Most of us "conventional gals" do follow at least some protocols which we did not get from our MO's or primary care physicians.
To quote from a post below (thanks, SelenaWolf), the purpose of this thread could be summed up:
A thread where we CAN debate, critique, contest, and scrutinize any- and all available data and brainstorm the information. This is not a lack of respect of someone else's viewpoint; this is a discussion of the available facts (or lack thereof) and their interpretations. It's a purely intellectual (and, sometimes, philosophical) exercise as we attempt to understand more about things that we hope might have merit. A disagreement over facts does not mean an attack on one's sense of belief; it's a disagreement over the information. Because we support scientific/fact and remain skeptical (but hopeful) about alternative treatment, does not mean that we reject alternative outright; we just want to see MORE. We question conventional as deeply as we question alternative, which helps us remain open to changes in the scientific landscape and better informed.
I'll start:
I see an acupuncturist who is also a shamanic healer. I have experienced a great emotional and physical relief from her work with me. I also do periodic 4 day fasts (one every three months), because I have read that it acts as a reboot for your immune system. I take melatonin supplements and I sleep with blackout curtains to get the room as dark as possible.
I also take Tamoxifen, get Zoladex shots, and a Zometa infusion once a month. My tumor markers are down from 100, last August, to 28 in February. The tumor that was on my lung could no longer be seen on the last PET scan.
My view is that both conventional and alternative treatments are useful. I wish I had more courage and could talk to my medical oncologist about them, especially as I am concerned I might accidentally combine therapies that counteract each other. I did mention medical marijuana to him and he wrote me a scrip for it, no questions asked. The medical MJ helps me sleep.
So, what are you guys using/considering?
Comments
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HI NineTwelve, and thank you for starting this thoughtful thread!
It sounds like actually what you're doing IS in fact complementary medicine -- as you are also taking conventional medicine, the practices you're doing with acupuncture, etc. are being done while being conventionally treated. (See the Complementary and Holistic Medicine section on the main Breastcancer.org site.) Alternative medicine is medicine taken INSTEAD of conventional treatment.
Anyway, you may find it helpful to check out the page in the Comp Med section, Talking to Your Doctor About Complementary Medicine, for tips on how to broach the subject without fear. It's true that you wouldn't want to combine therapies that do not react well together!
We hope this helps!
--The Mods
Edited to fix link
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#1 for me is exercise, which is, btw, fully backed by my onc.
#2 is eating a relatively good diet and making sure I get a lot of veggies and fibre.
#3 I take pro-biotics, which I also did through chemo, with my onc's blessing. There is a small suggesting that pro-biotics may boost the effectiveness of chemo.
I completely agree with the viewpoint often expressed by those who choose alt meds that there HAS to be something better, less toxic and more effective than the current cancer treatment. Unfortunately, I don't think we have found that "something better" yet, but I also think that mainline docs are increasingly interested in researching and using complementary approaches to cancer treatment.
Whatever the treatment is, mainstream or alternative, I want to know why/how it works and I want to have some sense of its effectiveness. In the beginning of my life in cancerland, I would get very excited about various alternatives, but after researching a pile of them, I got increasingly skeptical. There are certain arguments and ways of conveying info that have become red flags to me, thanks to all that reading. However, I keep reading in the hope that we may one day discover something with real promise.
One thing that irks me about a lot of alternative spokespeople is the way they endlessly repeat erroneous and fear-mongering info about conventional treatment rather than give real info about their own preferred approach. Tell me why your stuff works, don't tell me some bull-hooey about chemo or rads or whatever. My conventional doc does not give patients a svada about the futility of vitamins in order to convince people to use conventional meds. In fact, he is quite open to using whatever he can to help people, including supplements.
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Mods, your comment is true about the supposed content of the two forums, but considering that most people (not all), who post in the alt forum have at the very least had surgery, which is the #1 conventional treatment, and many have also had some other form of conventional therapy, whether rads, anti-hormonals or whatever, the distinction does get rather murky at times.
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I'm struggling with this topic as well. I'm certainly open to "combination therapy", as it's clear ALL cancers are complex and require multi-prong, multi-agent, multi-target approaches.
Without large conclusive RCT's (randomized clinical trials), it's a jungle on contradictions and speculation when combining conventional and holistic treatments. I'm frustrated. For example, I'm trying to figure out if curcumin (turmeric) is useful for hormone receptor positive women who take Tamoxifen to block estrogens action on the tumor cell. Most naturalpaths suggest taking Curcumin, since research evidence suggests it may be beneficial for many cancers. It's non-toxic, cheap and most importantly it can modulate multiple cell-signaling pathways known to be crucial for chronic diseases. However, I just dug up a 2012 research report done in Poland discussing "Tamoxifen and Curcumin binding to serum albumin". It concludes that Tamoxifen and curcumin administered together "may lead to the increase of unbound Tamoxifen fraction in blood and potentiate toxic effects of the drug." Essentially the two compete for binding affinity and the result is Tamoxifen may be less effective. So, the mystery continues...
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In addition to my monthly Xgeva shot (for bone building), I take VitD and have just started an exercise program. My Vit D levels have just climbed above 43 for the first time after 3.5 years of taking 4000 iu daily. I'm trying to get it to 50-70 range which seems to be optimal. It seems to be a struggle. BTW, someone told me that at my latitude (San Francisco), I'm probably not absorbing any Vit D from the sun. Anyone know anything about that?
The exercise program has been like a gift from God. Even though I haven't done it for long, my quality of life has improved a lot. I still have a long way to go to regain my strength and balance, but wow! what a good feeling so far. I don't know if it's doing anything for my cancer, but it's sure doing a lot for my mood.
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I went the conventional treatment route (surgery, chemo, rads, tamoxifen), but continue to remain interested in "alternative" therapies. I use quotation marks because I have become convinced over the last few years that there is nothing "alternative" about good diet, healthful living, and exercise; it's ALWAYS been part of just plain medicine. Nothing "alternative" about it.
I, also, welcome vigorous debate; it doesn't matter to me whether it's about conventional treatment or alternative treatment. I want to read the research, analyze the data, critique the findings, and brainstorm with others about sources, interpretation, bias, and credentials. I feel very strongly that natural substances should be held to the same scientific study and regulation as conventional treatments. Regulation will help weed out the charlatans and those who prey on other's vulnerability. If you say that a substance can do something, then you'd better have the proof to back it up.
I believe that there is a role for herbs and natural substances in cancer treatment, although whether- or not any herbs can have curative effect on cancer remains to be seen. Personally, I feel that the strength in alternative treatments may not be in a starring role, but in a supportive one. I am following the current research into cannabis, Vitamin D, aspirin and other natural substances that have shown promise in early studies, but - until something definitive is found - I will reserve judgment. Co-relation does not equal causation.
Moving forward from cancer, I remain very active and watch my diet to ensure that I receive good nutrition with a focus on fresh, whole foods. I believe in moderation rather that abstinence, but that's just me. I get monthly aromatherapy massages because they just feel so damned good and help relieve stress, along with reflexology treatments to relieve the mild neuropathy in my feet caused by chemotherapy. I'm enrolled in the Canadian leg of the Metformin trial and have another two years to do. I take Tamoxifen and have had few problems with it. I grow my own herbs and dry them, making them into flavourful teas that I find refreshing and aid in making me feel good about myself. My biggest problem is stress; I am OCD and find it hard to relax so anything that aids in that process is welcome...
I would love if science could come up with something that is less toxic and has far better results that current conventional treatments, which is why - like momine - I keep an eye on various "alternative" treatments. But, so far, I have been disappointed in the lack of substance in much of what's claimed. It doesn't mean that I won't keep researching, analyzing, critiquing and brainstorming, and hoping though.
So with regards to non-mainstream treatments, I remain curious and hopeful. However, anecdote is just not good enough for me; in other words, "... show me the proof ..."
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Mods, your second link didn't work. I think you meant Talking to Your Doctor About Complementary Medicine
Personally, I'm using highly concentrated CBD extract and THC extract, both topically and orally, on a daily basis. The recommendation is to gradually increase usage until you're taking 1 gram of extract per day, total. In attempting a 1:1 ratio, I'm simply not able to tolerate that much THC during the work week!! I'm slowly trying to increase my tolerance. In addition to making me sleep much better, in research medical cannabis has shown to have effects on breast cancer tumors (programmed cell death, prevention of metastasis, impeding tumor growth.)
I'm also using very highly concentrated iodine (75%!!), topically and orally. (My tumor is close enough to the surface that I can feel it, not far under the skin.)
I use DMSO (dimethylsulfoxide) for topical application of both the cannabis and the iodine. "Use of DMSO in medicine dates from around 1963, when an Oregon Health & Science University Medical School team, headed by Stanley Jacob, discovered it could penetrate the skin and other membranes without damaging them and could carry other compounds into a biological system."
I rejected the offer for neoadjuvant therapy. I have a lumpectomy scheduled for Apr 27. I put it off from Apr 8, and will have a U/S prior to surgery to see if my efforts have made a whit of difference. Either way I'll have some hard decisions to make about adjuvant therapy once I have a full pathology report. I'll definitely continue the cannabis either way, I hear it helps with nausea and other things!!
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kayb--thanks for that. I'm also taking Kirkland Vit D. Maybe there's something to that brand difference.
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AndiCBD--not to discourage canabis for nausea, but something I used and had no nausea at all, was Emend administered as a premed for chemo. Due to some trial complications, I was taken off Emend for 2 infusions, and ...NAUSEA. Back on the Emend, none. So I know it works. Something else to compare and contrast with.
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Thanks, Mods and Andi, for the link about discussing complementary therapies with my doc. I got some good info there, and I'm planning to write up a list of things I'm doing or want to do, and hand it to him.
Momine and kayb - your posts inspired me to buy a probiotic drink and a salad for lunch. I have a vegan burrito for later when I get hungry. I also walk 30 minutes a day, but I think I should probably add more.
JohnSmith - Curcumin/turmeric is a perfect example of something that might be good for others, but not for us estrogen receptor positives. I was adding it to my diet, but several sources said not to, with Tamoxifen. So now I don't. But I kept the extra raw garlic, ginger, black pepper and olive oil I've been adding to things like soup.
Vitamin D is another supplement I try to remember to take. The year before my bc diagnosis, my primary care physician commented that my Vit D levels were the lowest she'd ever seen (7 - yes: seven). I try to buy my supplements from companies with credentials, whose products are tested independently.
Andi - I've read about iodine, and I was taking it in pill form, but it got pretty expensive ($45 for a month's supply), so I stopped. Good luck, btw, on your upcoming surgery. I hope all goes very well indeed.
And for fellow research study geeks, here is a link about fasting:
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Thank you, ninetwelve! I always question, so this should be helpful.
Despite being stage IV, I did not do chemo (it was an option, but after weighing pros and cons decided against) but have done AI's instead for the almost 4 years since dx. I had a bmx before the bone met was discovered. I also had 16 Aredia infusions over two years and rads x15 to the met on my femur. Here's what else I've done:
Vitamin D3 daily
Melatonin nightly
Turmeric or curcumin, sporadically
glucosamine/chondroitin , more often than not
Calcium w/magnesium, not often enough
Probiotics
My diet is mostly unchanged. I have always loved fruits and vegetablesI rarely eat red meat but eat organic chicken or fish 2-3 times a week. I eat Greek yogurt daily but little other dairy. I have a sweet tooth and have not been too successful in curbing it, but I don't go too overboard. I drink a glass of wine a couple of times a week and love a good gin and tonic. I am currently enjoying a very old remedy for my mild arthritis ; golden raisins soaked in gin! Can't say if it works or not , but it's yummy
I also drink 2 cups of very strong coffee a day, and after that, only water for the rest of the day.I could use more exercise but at the end of the teaching day, I'm tired. Taking my dogs for a long walk is about all I manage, but I love a good hike.
I have been NED since initial tx. I still work full time, enjoy family and friends and rarely fret about bc, though I think about it many times a day. I don't know what, exactly has kept me do well. I like to think it's a combo of all,of these things, with the AI taking the lead. I should also add that both my breast tumor and bone met were grade 1, so it's a pretty indolent cancer.
I am always curious but very skeptical. Anecdotes (save for those gin soaked raisins) will never be enough for me. When tx's or a cure are trialled and vetted, I won't care if they are alternative or conventional realms. I will simply applaud
Caryn
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Thank you for starting this thread !!! My entire life I lived whats considered alternative , my husband is a chiropractor, I delivered my babies at home, never took medicines, ate mostly vegiterian(all vegitetian for 11 years) , mostly organic,exercised heavily (resting heart rate 43) never used hormones, nursed my kids .....you get the idea I can go on. When I got diagnosed a good friend has passed away 9 weeks prior trying all natural (different cancer and I totally support her decision ) but it made me and my husband make the decision to go full out medical treatment thinking I was healthy and could make it through and trying to fix the damage later !!! I am very interested in a healthy discussion and sharing. Its hard moving on not having changed anything I did before the cancer......I almost wish I had lived a different life so I felt I was doing something different now . I use oils , chiropractic care, massage (for radiation damage shoulder ), and trying to get my vit D up to normal range !!
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I actively post on the alternative thread now but started my "journey" (for lack of a better word) in the very conventional arena with surgery (did not consider not having) and radiation-reluctantly had but after a lumpectomy I was convinced radiation was worth it. Even though RADs were very problematic for me (cellulitis, abscessed seroma due to radiation, another surgery to drain that thing) I think I'd still do them for what I perceive to be the benefits.
But I've yet to be convinced about Tamoxifen or AI therapy, so I'm using DIM and D-calcuim glucarate for their estrogen modulating properties. I also take a number of other supplements that seem popular here: vitamin D (needed to keep my previously low levels at normal/high range) , melatonin -more to sleep than to prevent a recurrence of BC, but I believe it may help with that too. After being diagnosed w BC I started using Xanax to sleep on a nightly basis and became uncomfortable with being dependent on it. I found Melatonin to be a effective natural substitute for Xanax, at least for me. Also using tumeric and low dose aspirin, more green tea including matcha tea (which I still think tastes like grass clippings) to avoid recurrence. I also detoxed my home and make-up, switching to chemical free beauty and cleaning products, ditched most of the plasticware and now filter the water we use for drinking/cooking. Working on exercise and continue to follow a pretty strict Paleo diet (started about 9 months before being diagnosed w BC).
Not sure if this is CAM, since I certainly didn't turn down conventional medicine or if I'm now considered just alternative due to rejecting the hormone blocker, but it's what I'm doing. My OC is not real happy, but doing nothing more (she said I'd already done a lot) was one choice she gave me, the others were tamoxifen (her recommendation) or hormone suppression w an AI.
I think the use of medical marijuana and cannabis oil is very interesting, but not an option for a lot of us-it's still illigal where I live.
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One reason I tend to stay on the conventional side of the ledger is what I experienced today. I started a new med today for a minor condition not at all associated with cancer. I called my oncologist to make sure it had no interactions with my other meds (none, but she recommended I double check with the pharmacist). I asked the pharmacist the same thing, and handed him a total list of all my meds and he ran it through his program and no problems. That gives me some confidence that I can add this drug without unintentionally causing problems. I'm not sure that this is available for over the counter supplements but it certainly would be helpful if it were. Anyone know?
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I began searching for alternative therapies when I was Dx with Rheumatoid Arthritis in the 90's. I have reactive arthritis caused, most likely from a tic or a flea bite sustained during a holiday in Kuala Lumpur. I had a really pro active Doctor who understood, how I was really against the mainstream treatments, but he explained that I had to get a handle on this. I did try most of the treatments that were the norm for that time including 7 long years of injecting myself every Tuesday, with the chemo drug Methotrexate. I was also taking Cats Claw, Frankinscence and every known anti inflammatory herb, acupuncture, magnetic therapy. I tried Bowen, Osteopath, I used a TENS machine for pain.I tried Massage, took yoga, Tai chi and gentle regular exercise classes and did regular water aerobics. I always incorporated alternative therapies.
In about the 7th year, I decided I wanted off all the meds, especially the Methotrexate. I discovered that small doses of cortisone, although not the best thing for me, coupled with huge amounts of Pro Biotics, Vitamin D a few other supplements for their anti inflammatory benefits and regular massage, seemed to do the trick for me. I felt better than I had in years.
I still have this disease pretty well under control, with a small dose of cortisone and the supplements mentioned above. I got into the pro biotics and Vitamin D, way back in the 90's and still swear by them. The meds I took for the RA ruined my gut, by giving me ulcers and I still take a proton pump inhibitor to this day for reflux, but I still can't do without the pro biotics.
Cut to 2012 and I am Dx with DCIS. My Mother had BC in the 90's. I am fortunate to have had a digital mammo that picked it up, they tell me it was likely there when I had my previous mammo 2 years previously. So glad I went to new facility, with newest machine. I opt for a Umx and take the chance that I can still avoid rads and that there is no invasion that will require chemo. I would do chemo and rads if I absolutely had to, but I feel the years I was taking the heavy RA meds and the Methotrexate, have made me even more sensitive to lots of meds, so avoidance is what I try to do. I have rads in the arsenal, if I ever need them.
I guess this long winded, slightly irrelevant rant, is just to outline how the mainstream and the alternative medicine, can work together in synergy. You don't have to refuse one, to have the other. Finding a Doctor who helps you embrace both, is possibly the more difficult part, but they are around and I have found my Surgeon, this time around with BC, is also very open, to all my alternative modalities and has approved the supplements I take too.
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Sorry I can't tell you why, how, or if they work, but science says they do...so I go way out on a limb, and take big insane risks, and I eat....
cranberry
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16377076
aloe
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16357514
mushrooms
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWT09ZDqFlEbrewers yeast
http://www.clinicaladvisor.com/brewers-yeast-medic...
kelp
http://foodforbreastcancer.com/foods/seaweed
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winningsofar: It depends on the database your pharmacist uses to look things up. With the one I use on my job,, many "herbal" type products are there,, but others are not. If it is an RX or FDA "approved" OTC med,, it will be there, but herbal type products are hit and miss.Regarding Vitamin
you may absorb a certain brand better than another. So if your levels do not go up after a bottle or two of one brand, consider changing to another brand. -
Again, can't explain, if why or how it works....not trying to get anyone to try it, certainly not a "spokesperson" for alternative medicine, but science says it inhibits MCF-7 breast cancer, so I take...
goji/lycium barbarum
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19373615
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19373615
nigella sativa
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Light, I don't have time right now to check all your links, but I will later. I did look at the first one about cranberries. 3 years ago that study would have made me very excited. Sadly, after 3 years of reading studies and studies on studies and yadda-yadda, my excitement is somewhat lukewarm.
An enormous range of substances will cause cancer cells to implode in vitro. You put some cancer cells in a petri dish and then you add cranberry extract or baking soda or chlorine or, or, or and "pouf" the cells die. The problem is that this may not be the case once you go to "in vivo" and test it in live mice, for example. But even if it does do something to the cancer tumors you have caused to grow on the poor mice, that still doesn't mean it will do the same thing in people. Often the problem is that you can't reliably get the substance to the tumor or that in order to get an effect on the tumor, you have to use a dose that will cause fatal toxicity.
That said, the correlation between a diet high in fruits and veggies has now been shown by study after study, so chances are that it holds in some fashion or other. But we don't know if it is because of this or that anti-oxidant, and we are not likely to find out from this kind of study. My feeling is that it is the sort of benefit that can't be boiled down to one or another specific substance. I also suspect that gut health is, as our grandmas always said, very important, and a diet high in veggies would typically provide a lot of fiber and other "gut benefits."
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If food kills breast cancer in a dish....or in a mouse... I will eat them in my house.
Whatever we all decide to do for breast cancer...its a personal choice, and everyone deserves to be respected and supported in their choices.
Also, I eat organic due to all the poisons in food these days. They probably cause cancer, and especially breast cancer.
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NineTwelve - chiming in late here but thank you for starting this post. I was disappointed in the Alternative forum how the topic went off course. Sadly much can be learned from difference voices of opinions, background, personal experience without resorting to attacks.
I am a firm believer in using both traditional and complementary treatments because as Momine described we simply are not there yet with adequate treatments to prevent recurrence. I do believe as patients we MUST be our own advocates and that means always questioning and researching our doctors and whatever treatment regimen advised to us. Again, it must be stressed that there are excellent doctors out there and some who should be avoided. Whether they are medical doctors, naturopaths, or whoever - the patient must be informed as you are placing your life in their hands. This goes too for all the research and news articles on the internet. Frankly, it has given me whip lash when a particular treatment or supplement is recommended and then someone reverses the whole paradigm. (I was advised by a Nutritionist for BC patients to take DIM and Curcumin. I have taken it for the past several years along with other other supplements she advised - I'm at the WTF stage with the contradictions.) However, after having gone the traditional route with surgery, chemo, rads, ooph, tried Tamox and switched to AI --- DUH!! Hell of a journey! I better be eating right and exercising given my medical hx to try and maintain my health. It certainly has made me feel better and hopefully is contributing to my health. I also acknowledge it can be a crap shoot given how many people abuse their bodies, obese, eat /drink crap and are much older than me and appear to be FINE. No cancer. So following the healthy life style rules are no guarantee.
I've read the "Emperor of All Maladies" which rather depressed me as to how long the medical and research community has been battling this devil. I am as disgusted as many others with the continued use of toxic "chemicals" to treat patients. I do not have a high opinion of the Big Pharma industry as they are all about keeping their stockholders wealthy. I think personalized medicine will be the way of the future (hopefully) after all the years of failed treatments and lives lost. I agree building and using our immune systems will be the way to go but for now we are left with probiotics, certainly eating organic, avoid toxic chemicals, reasonable use of supplements(?). However, we must be respectful and recognize that we are individuals with a unique genetic cancer profile and hx. What has worked or failed for one patient may not apply for others. This is still a personal journey as we continue to wander and get lost in this cancer jungle.
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Light, I eat some of those too, and I love nigella seeds. But there is a real question, to me anyway, how much it might actually do and also the wisdom of taking some of these foods in supplement form. It is another one of those instances where more is not necessarily better.
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cp418, I saw that thing about the metformin and swallowed hard. Here in Greece, I can get virtually any standard medicine, including metformin, over the counter and at a reasonable price. I had toyed with the idea of trying it, but asked my onc. He was quite iffy about it, exactly because the research just wasn't there. Now that the research is beginning to come in, it appears that metformin is not the no-brainer it once seemed, and it is apparently also not necessarily harmless in the context of cancer.
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so don't take them. Makes no difference to me. No amount of questioning, analytical, and critical thinking in the world is going to make more evidence appear. It comes down to deciding what makes sense to you, and what you as a person in your body, believe deeply is right for you.
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NineTwelve - thank you for starting this discussion topic! I tend to be a person who needs stats and research to feel confident in the efficacy of any sort of treatment (cancer-based or otherwise), but also believe strongly in the power of our natural, internal healing abilities. This will be a great place to discuss and debate and share and support each other!
When I was diagnosed I realized that my cancer was a part of me, a natural process of my abnormal cells - but I still wanted it out of my body and didn't hesitate to consider surgery my first step. At first my MO offered me the choice of chemo, but when my Oncotype test came back high it didn't seem (to me) to be much of a choice. I was afraid not to try chemo. I feel blessed that I had an MO who was very patient and kind and answered every question I had about the regimen I was prescribed; I understand the long-term dangers and potential long-term SEs, and so I felt I made a well-informed, educated decision. Radiation wasn't so clear-cut; I almost didn't do it, and on some levels I now regret it, but I can't change what I've already done.
I tried - but quickly declined - Tamoxifen and AIs. For a variety of reasons I was worried about the SEs of each; the joint pain really interferred with my QOL so I didn't hesitate to stop. Again - educated and informed decision. But I knew I needed to do something to help keep the cancer from returning, and so I embarked upon what I suppose is more complementary than alternative approach.
I take Vitamin D3 and Calcium supplements, as well as a baby aspirin every day. I have changed my diet to exclude as much sugar as possible (and it's just not always possible because, dangit, I love chocolate!). I try to eat as little processed food as possible, more whole foods, and generally eating in a "conscious" manner. I'm working on keeping my weight down to avoid extra estrogen-storing fat, and have lost almost 30 lbs. since diagnosis (only 20 more to go - yea!) I stopped drinking when diagnosed (and was roundly laughed at for it on the boards...but whatever...) but do enjoy a shot of bourbon or a glass of wine every couple of months now. I'm still running - although very slowly. But the best "treatment" in my arsenal has been, I'm convinced, my yoga practice. My body moves and flows, my mind is calmed and centered, my heart and soul are transformed! I love and embrace my body, with all its imperfections and challenges. I know it helps increase my resilience through building my immune system; the philosophy of yoga also reminds me to be mindful of what I'm putting into my body, and what I'm doing to and with my body. I have no doubt my immune system helps fight back the return of this cancer, so I will continue to do everything I can to boost that as much as possible.
I'm eager to start reading some of these links and adding more options to my arsenal - thank you all so much for sharing!
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Nancy, I feel the same as you about the yoga.
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Here is the Drunken Raisin recipe and rational for anyone who might be interested:
'Drunken Raisins'-a natural arthritis remedy (which may help with the creaky/achy SEs some people get while on Als)
To prepare gin-soaked raisin, first empty one box of dried white raisin in a shallow container. Only white or golden raisin should be used for this recipe. Then pour enough gin into the container to cover the raisins.
Cover the container ( but not with plastic, a kitchen towel is good) and keep it covered for 7 – 10 days on the to allow the raisin to steep in the gin (sitting out, not in fridge).
Allow all the gin to evaporate to leave gin-soaked raisins in the container. These raisins keep well when refrigerated. The popular advice is to take nine of these "drunken raisins" every day. Most users report improvements in arthritis symptoms between 1 – 8 weeks of using this remedy.
Why it works:
1. Golden raisins- the ONLY type of raisins worthy of the recipe- require sulfur or sulfides in their processing to make them golden. Sulfur is an active ingredient in 2 effective natural arthritis supplements: glucosamine sulfate and chondroitin sulfate. Golden raisins come from sultana grapes and are cultivated under the name Thompson seedless grapes in the United States.
2. Sultana grapes contain proanthocyanidins which are thought to help fight infections and reduce inflammation. Grapes also contain resveratrol, a powerful anti-oxidant that is being studied for many of it's disease fighting properties.
3. Gin is flavored with juniper berries and juniper berries contain Terpinen. Terpinen has anti inflammatory properties. The essential oil that is in juniper berries contains more than 100 compounds including myrcene (an anti oxidant), catechins (anti-oxidant), and flavanoids (anti oxidant). Test tube studies have shown that juniper berries can inhibit prostaglandin synthesis. Prostaglandins help mediate an inflammatory response and increase the sensitivity of nerve endings to pain. By inhibiting their production, a reduction in pain can occur.
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momine,
I applaud your critical thinking on some of the issues discussed. Of course, people will do what they want, take or not take what they want etc. In vitro is a good start , but for me, just the beginning. I remain ever hopeful that efficacy moves beyond the Petri dish .
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I did all the conventional therapies and was very grateful they were available (lumpectomy, chemo, rads, 5 years of Arimidex). I did not have any short or long term bad SEs from any of them (which I, of course, realize is not the case for everyone). Some of the complimentary things that I did, and still do, which I believe helped me then to get through treatment and are helping me now to stay healthy are:
* EXERCISE! I exercise religiously; 4 hours of aerobic type exercise (combination of walking, zumba, whatever gets me moving) and 4 hours of toning (weights, yoga, pilates, abs etc. etc) a week. I really plan other things around my exercise schedule because I believe it is the number one 'non-medical' thing we can do to keep ourselves healthy.
* maintain an appropriate weight
* I haven't gone crazy on any special diet; for me, I believe that moderation is the key. It just makes sense to cut down on the processed foods, red meat, eat a variety of fruits and vegetables, etc. etc.
* I do take extra calcium plus vitamin D, and eat a serving of dried plums (prunes) a day as they actually build bones (and cut your risk of developing colon cancer according to my doctor).
*I take a daily low dose aspirin, some evidence it may reduce cancer recurrence risk, but I take in more be because of my family has a history of heart problems.
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