new ILC and looking for lifestyle advice

Hi I am eating ketogenically the ketogenic diet is low carb no sugar high fat it takes away most of my aches and pains from surgery and past present treatment. It helps with cancer as sugar is cut out of diet. It keeps weight under control and gives you energy as well. You can find all sorts of info on it on the internet. I also take vitamin d and c everyday. I also believe keeping active is important - It doesn't have to mean working out just keeping busy with day to day life.

I am almost at 5 years now and started with a lot of cancer I will be getting treatment forever but believe the other things are important as well.

Hugs to you - stay positive

Yes. I take a daily aspirin (full strength) and get 4000-5000 IUs of Vit D every day, in drops. My MO checks my Vit D levels yearly and wants them at least above 60. I keep my BMI down around 19-20 so that any estrogen can't hang out for long in fat tissues, causing problems. And I take my Aromasin daily, without fail, and get at least 5-7 hours of cardio (sometimes moderate, sometimes more) a week. There is a nurses study that says exercise (3-5 hours a week) helps dramatically at preventing recurrence.

Finally, I eat clean--no pesticides, organic 99% of the time, and avoid eating meat except occasional fish. No, meat doesn't seem to cause cancer, but the less I feel I've caused harm to other living things the better my outlook on life is. I try to do a random act of kindness every single day. I practice gratefulness and meditation to relieve anxiety about recurrence and the world in general.

I would probably say the first paragraph for me is more important than the second, but eating clean, plant based food just makes me feel better overall. So that helps positively with my head and spirit, which is part of my lifestyle too.

All cancer is nasty. ILC is not super-bad in the scheme of things, so don't lose heart. The number one thing you can do for yourself is getting regular exercise and keeping your weight within normal range. There are many studies to back this up.

In addition, eat your veggies. Aim for nutrient- and fibre-dense foods over empty calories. There is some indication that it can help ward off further cancer, but it will also generally improve your overall health and well-being (which is also true for the exercise).

Do what you can to get enough sleep and peaceful sleep.

Actively aim to get your head in a good place. Whether that means changing careers, dumping a useless husband, meditating or making braids in your hair, big or small things, do them if it will make your life more enjoyable. This probably won't do anything to the cancer, but you will have a much better time.

may I ask did you drink before diagnosis

I'll add a note about sleep: Keep your bedroom completely dark at night for natural melatonin production, which is anti-cancer. In fact, this may help hormone therapy or chemotherapy to work better.

I live in one of the most beautiful places in the world--Anacortes, Washington--and I am able to get out and walk along a scenic coastline several days a week if the weather is halfway decent, which it usually is. They say people come into your life for a reason, and I believe that very much. Last May I was taking pictures of an impossibly spectacular sunset, and met a woman there doing the same thing. We got to talking and she said she was looking for a walking partner. So we have been walking buddies ever since. Not only is the exercise good for our bodies, but the yakking we do on our four mile brisk walk is good for our mental outlook. We have so much fun on those walks, and we always go down on the beach to peek in the tide pools or take pics of ducks, herons, and occasional otters and porpoises. Once we were even blessed with an unusual show of twelve Orcas swimming by!

I am meeting with a breast surgeon on Tuesday and I am very apprehensive. I had a staging MRI on Thursday and don't know the results of that yet. That test was stressful because the contrast media went into my tissues instead of into the vein. Very painful and then I started to panic and had to stop the test not long after he got it restarted in my other arm. I hope they got enough images to make a proper diagnosis.

I had somewhat of a meltdown a while ago when I was taking down the Christmas tree and had to ask my son to take over. My husband died right before Christmas 7 years ago, and now to get this DX right before Christmas is weighing heavily on me. But I am really glad I found this group. And Happy New Year to all!