Balance traditional & alternative

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azrescue
azrescue Member Posts: 116
edited March 2016 in Complementary and Holistic Medicine and Treatment

Hello. I'm new here & very overwhelmed with all the decisions & choices. I'm definitely not a "just take what dr says" and go kinda gal. My family & I already were believers in diet & fitness. Of course that has jumped to a whole new level with my diagnosis. My husband has Crohns and has been in remission for a couple years now just with diet & is off the meds. Currently I'm doing two green juices, two "doses" of the Budwig mix, curcumin, ginger, coq10, evening primrose oil, Vit d3, Vit c, & holy basil. As well as drinking a detox tea. Anything else I should do? My biggest concern at the moment is chemo. How did you decide to do it or not ? And how can I keep my body strong through it?

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  • StaceySue2U
    StaceySue2U Member Posts: 281
    edited February 2016

    I'm doing a lot of complimentary things too, and I would definitely get chemo if the doctor recommended it. Chemo only works on the rapidly-dividing cells, and so far it looks like my cancer is growing very slowly and chemo would not work on it. There are a lot of people alive today who would not be alive if they had not had chemotherapy.

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  • Italychick
    Italychick Member Posts: 2,343
    edited February 2016

    azrescue I stayed strong through chemo, well relatively strong. Like riding my bike in these Southern California hills 3,000 miles last year, hiking, walking, taking care of grandkids, etc. I did a lot of complementary things, mainly supplements, but was careful to cut out all things that would potentially interfere with chemo for about a week surrounding each chemo session. I wanted to give the chemo the best chance to work, and I didn't want any conflicts. My most common question to my oncologist was "okay to take, or avoid during treatment" because she was not a doctor to rule in on complementary treatments or supplements, except monitoring my vitamin d level to make sure it stayed high.

    Things I do or used during chemo include magnesium, D3, K2, Berberine, fish oil, curcumin, coq10, gastromycin for stomach or intestinal upsets, coconut oil for mouth, head, vaginal and anal area, and basically anywhere I got any kind of rash or sensitivity. Tons of systemic enzymes like nattokinase and bromelain to help with scar tissue healing following surgery. Frankincense oil topically.

    I am still doing Herceptin (one more to go!) and after that treatment ends I will be exploring more in the alternative area. I wasn't comfortable doing things like IV vitamin c during chemo treatments, but I will definitely be looking into alternative or complementary treatments once Herceptin ends.

    Very interested in what you are looking into.

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  • KBeee
    KBeee Member Posts: 5,109
    edited February 2016

    az rescue, The recommendation for chemo will be based partly on the pathology of your tumor. If it is ER negative, recommendation for chemo will be a given, because you do not have anti-hormonals. If you are HER2+, chemo will also be recommended since Herceptin needs to be given with chemo at first. If you are ER+ and HER2-, then likely the oncotype will be done to determine what benefit chemo would be for you, and then you make a decision. The doctors make recommendations, but yu'll ultimately have to decide. Best wishes; I know it is not an easy decision.

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  • azrescue
    azrescue Member Posts: 116
    edited February 2016

    thank you all for the advise & suggestions. @italychick I'm currently juicing twice a day, & taking curcumin, d3, coq10, evening primrose oil, holy basil leaf, & Vit e. I eat no sugar. I eat at least one but try to get two "doses" of the cottage cheese/flaxseed Budwig treatment. I'm meeting with the integrative department at Univ of Kansas hospital. I'm looking forward to hear their suggestions.

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  • CC-TigerDragon
    CC-TigerDragon Member Posts: 4
    edited March 2016

    Mar. 17th, 2016

    Thank you.....for your inspiring attitudes. I am enthusiastic about beginning some herbal compliments to my current hormonal therapy.


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