Fast during chemo for HER2

agness
agness Member Posts: 576
edited December 2018 in HER2+ (Positive) Breast Cancer

I was perusing my links and saw this article about how maladaptive HER2 is. Standard treatment for HER2 is every three weeks and you can easily fit fasting in around your treatment.I will add that for ER+/HER2+ gals I think this is even more essential as you need more tools at your disposal but a few HER2 gals are still showing stray cells instead of a PCR as many have. The treatments are awesome but they aren't conclusive.

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/study-sugg...

I didnt do the best job at fasting but basically fasted before two rounds. This thread compiles personal experiences with fasting during chemo, something essential for HER2 gals with mets. More than one of us consulted with Dr Longo in California about this.

https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/69/topic/...

My worst side effect was incredible disrrhea but longer fasting would have stopped that I think. My side effects from the chemo thst round were also less. It isnt standard of care but it is something you can do to shift the balance.

· Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Comments

  • MaryJC
    MaryJC Member Posts: 350
    edited September 2015

    Bumping this!

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • MaryJC
    MaryJC Member Posts: 350
    edited September 2015

    I'm done with chemo but due to restart Herceptin bec it affected my heart. I'm wondering if fast before each infusion would help. I'm not sure how fast and when my EF dropped from 64% to 51. I fasted for my 4 chemos. Had only one herceptin only infusion in which I did not before I was taken off. Not sure if one infusion can cause EF drop. Trying to protect my heart in advance. Thank

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • agness
    agness Member Posts: 576
    edited September 2015

    Monoclonal antibodies have a long acting phase. My naturopathic onc told me no hot baths during treatment except for the week before my next dose because it would increase the efficacy of Herceptin.

    Are you taking CoQ10? My naturopathic onc has been adamant about be supplementing with it after I stopped chemo and was just doing targeted therapy. I think acetyl-l-carnetine and l-carnetine are also both good for the heart. Magnesium too, which isn't often tested for depletion in cancer patients.

    Do you have an integrated medicine doc to help steer you nutritionally

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • exercise_guru
    exercise_guru Member Posts: 716
    edited October 2015

    I haven't looked into the effects on the heart as much as I should but I was on 6 cycles of TCH and have fasted during 5 and will finish with the 6th one. Its tough but doable. It seems to mitigate my side effects. I am thinking of continuing fasting during my herceptin infusions every three weeks after I am done with Chemo even though there is no research on that.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • agness
    agness Member Posts: 576
    edited November 2015

    Since Herceptin is a biological therapy I don't think that fasting will be useful. It isn't cell phase specific like the cytotoxics are. Prove me wrong ;)

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • exercise_guru
    exercise_guru Member Posts: 716
    edited November 2015

    agness

    I am researching the answer to that very question . Her2+ are maladaptive to stress induced fasting .

    via your posted link: THANK YOU I have tried to find something specific for Her2 for awhile

    http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/study-sugg...


    I have fasted only during my TCH cycles but have considered whether I would fast when I continue with my year long doses of Herceptin. I guess the answer would be whether fasting by itself weakens a Her2+ cancer cell and if it encourages the body to attack the cancer once the Herceptin latches on to it. Fasting is quite manageable for me ( it sucks but I am experienced in it) so I am not sure there has been a downside to continuing. I have a lot of recurrence risk factors..... I do wish there were better answers out there. since I had a Bilateral Mastectomy and will have a hysterectomy basically all the screening I will get is "listen to your body" and check back with the oncologist. No MRI, No PET It scares me alot.

    Oh and sorry I didn't post about the supplements. My hospital has a full time oncology dietitian that has been working for 25 years in the field. She is bar none brilliant so I take my questions to her. She is going to get me some literature on CoEQ10 but told me after chemo it would be a good idea because I already have high cholesterol and have to go on Arimidex along with Herceptin.

    She reviews supplements with me and we talk about ways I can get more things in my diet without supplementing for example Broccoli sprouts etc, Wheat germ oil etc.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • exercise_guru
    exercise_guru Member Posts: 716
    edited November 2015

    Please post if you have any other articles about Her2+ and stress induced fasting. I would like to know if the pathway itself is susceptible . Most Cancers are but I haven't seen anything specific to Her2.


    I found this and plan to follow up on it

    http://www.newswise.com/articles/the-guardian-of-g...


    Also did you see this article on Metformin?

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC328209...



    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • agness
    agness Member Posts: 576
    edited November 2015

    I think they haven't studied it yet.

    Taking my own extreme situation into the discussion, I breastfed for 7 years and believe it caused a significant amount of nutritional depletion plus chronic dehydration that resulted in further disruption to my body's equilibrium. I think HER2 can figure out how to survive in suboptimal situations in our bodies. While I have always been normal BMI, I got even a bit too thin during the year after each of my sons was born.

    They do know that insulin dysregulation contributes to a pro-HER2 environment in the body. I think one should consider whether they have identified and addressed reasons for insulin imbalance in the body. For instance the liver requires magnesium and ferritin to function properly, contributing to insulin regulation in the body. Zinc plays a huge role in pancreatic function but low levels (common in breast cancer patients and in HER2) impair pancreatic function leading to malabsorption and insulin issues.

    I read up a lot on zinc and magnesium since mine were horrendously low at time of diagnosis -- as identified by blood labs ordered by my naturopathic oncologist.

    Hopefully this makes sense.

    Circulating human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) is associated with hyperglycaemia and insulin resistance.

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/24981162/?i=7...

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • agness
    agness Member Posts: 576
    edited December 2015

    Since cells that invade the brain find that it is really amenable to cancer cells growth due to the glucose-rich environment there, I'm going to add in a ketogenic diet to help combat my brain mets as I'm getting intrathecal Herceptin. So, I will be in fact employing both modalities.


    Here's another article about using cancer and viruses proclivity for glucose against them. This is especially true in the brain.

    Cell metabolism discovery could lead to treatments for cancer, common cold
    http://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/cell-metabolism-...


    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • LiDu
    LiDu Member Posts: 17
    edited December 2015

    Wow, I had no idea that hyperglycemia and insulin resistance were related to HER2. I was diagnosed with insulin resistance ten years ago or so. Thanks so much for the head's up.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • agness
    agness Member Posts: 576
    edited January 2016

    I've been in ketosis since the start of December, about a month. I think the key thing is to fast a few days to help your body switch gears. I like to cook and I didn't want thi to be boring so I'm eating really well, hollandaise sauce, keto crepes, madras beef curry, and more. I eat more and richer food and I lost more than ten pounds. My body is so happy.

    Keto is also low inflammatory as far as diets go.

    Have you seen the headlines about sugar fueling inflammation and cancer growth? Thankfully we know other ways to eat for our kealth

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • hhfp
    hhfp Member Posts: 51
    edited December 2018

    BUMP

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Categories