Am I too fat to survive BC?!

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  • Wildplaces
    Wildplaces Member Posts: 864
    edited February 2017

    hey SSinUK,

    My understanding is that being overweight is a problem particularly is you are hormone receptor positive as fat produces oestrogen via aromatase. Having said being on a hormone inhibitor should block aromatase by the order of 80% so some of it is covered.

    I recently bought into the Stage V Fitbit forum mentality (I know it's for Stage IV but I follow some of their thread for motivation and there are some stunning women showing us all)and although full of personal doubts I have to admit I am liking my new toy. I am enjoying being told how many steps I still need to do etc...never been a gym person, I swim and I walk mostly. For me the more I move the better I feel ( I get quite stiff for Arimidex).

    On a completely different note - who manages works, runs a family and manages five fruits a day and how ? Vegetables I get but five different fruits - I am being good when I get to three or four...( maybe fruit salad😉😱)


    One day at time - take care!

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  • Wildplaces
    Wildplaces Member Posts: 864
    edited February 2017

    ahhh one last thing I have just spotted it on one your answers - I suppose you have had your thyroid tested - it's simple and particularly if you had radiotherapy to supracalvicular nodes...I say in the context that you mentioned being prone toweight fluctutions even with small changes in meals


    also talk your GP about considering a fasting sugar and a long term HBA1c ( glycosilated haemoglobin gives you an idea of how you handle sugar over a period of time)- if you happen to be borderline in terms of managing blood sugars there may be a place for metformin, in the absence of other contraindications


    Look up metformin and breast cancer.😊




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  • Bright55
    Bright55 Member Posts: 176
    edited February 2017

    hi all thanks for your great comments

    Lots to consider

    Some research data especially for early stage BC hormone positive and dcis is that they can reoccur and metastise so to give thebest outcome and lower the reoccurane AI are now recommended for 10 yrs.

    For me though i have had a rare occurance to mets diagnosis with no lymph node involvement

    All the best B

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  • fd1
    fd1 Member Posts: 239
    edited February 2017

    https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/02/1702...

    Published today.


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  • SpecialK
    SpecialK Member Posts: 16,486
    edited February 2017

    Here is the link to material published in the CMJA, cited at the end of the news story, in the post above. It has more specific detail than the summary article does, and when I tried to click on it from the article it didn't work for me, so I linked it independently.

    http://www.cmaj.ca/content/189/7/E268

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  • SSInUK
    SSInUK Member Posts: 245
    edited February 2017

    Thanks very much for that. You know - I can't believe this but until I read your post Wildplaces I hadn't put my weight gain in the last six months together with thyroid. My last two PET scans in this time frame showed thyroiditis but my GP has been useless about addressing it and stupidly I haven't been on the case to get properly tested. To be honest, my physical activity has been down but I don't eat a stupid diet by any means, I've more or less given up alcohol completely and was shocked by the weight gain. I will get on the phone tomorrow and get properly tested. The blood sugar / metformin suggestion also useful. Thanks

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  • SpecialK
    SpecialK Member Posts: 16,486
    edited February 2017

    SS - there is also some info that metformin works even better for those of us who are Her2+, here is some info for you. My MO put me on it after I requested it, I have pegged blood glucose after being on a statin, and receiving steroids with chemo. I can't get it under 100 even with ingesting no refined sugar, and controlling intake of high glycemic foods. I essentially eat like an un-medicated diabetic and still can't lower it naturally, so he was amenable.

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4497590/

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  • SSInUK
    SSInUK Member Posts: 245
    edited February 2017

    So I saw my Onc today and we discussed my weight gain and AI dosage . Turns out he was part of the team that developed & tested AI's! They ran the first human trials in my hospital and they worked up the dosing protocols. He told me that AIs are providing an 'off' switch to the process of conversion of androgen to estrogen and the dosage required to do that effectively was found to be 2.5ml. It's not related to amount of fat / weight as say chemo has to be - its related to the amount needed to 'turn the switch off''. He was very sure and it felt like the horses mouth. He does agree weight has an impact on bc but not thru the influence of weight on AI s. Thought id share that perspect

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  • kathleen1966
    kathleen1966 Member Posts: 793
    edited February 2017

    I am most certainly fat. I am currently in my seventh year of being cancer free, with very poor prognostic factors. Although I don't always eat well, I would not say I eat horribly. My entire family is thin. I was thin my whole life until after I had kids after 35. I have struggled with weight ever since. Interestingly, I had lost 25 pounds right before being diagnosed. I have since gained all of that back + 20 more. Urghhhhhhh. I would love to have the discipline to lose weight as I do worry about this as well. Also because weight can contribute to other health problems and it's just hard to carry extra weight over-all. But I have also seen very many women who are not overweight who have been diagnosed with breast cancer.

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  • SSInUK
    SSInUK Member Posts: 245
    edited February 2017

    If it's any comfort weight is not generally associated with prognosis in hormone receptor negative Her2- positive cancers - apparently...

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  • SSInUK
    SSInUK Member Posts: 245
    edited April 2017

    So - after a long and winding road, I finally heard today my thyroid is officially up the spout.  Blood glucose all ok, insulin-like-growth-factor all ok - so none of the trappings of obesity/pre-diabetes.  But giant number of thyroid anti-bodies, raised TSH and all the evidence of auto-immune thyroid disease.  I have to admit I was a little scared and discouraged by some of the answers when I created this thread.  I felt as though I was not doing enough, I was letting myself down, failing and putting my life and my child's happiness at further risk.  If I ate pizza and pies all day long, it would be easy to change.  But I don't, and it isn't.  Its very difficult when other women appear to stay lean and healthy without huge lifestyle differences.  So, if you are piling on weight as I did I strongly recommend a full hormone work up. I am told auto-immune thyroid disease is common in middle aged women - plus there's a lot of speculative literature linking it to breast cancer incidence and/or treatment.  Whatever the truth of this, starting thyroxin is at least giving me some hope my body will start working better, and motivation to do whatever I can to help that process.   As per my previous post, my onc disagrees with those who say letrozole doesn't work as well if you're heavy - however he agrees weight is a risk factor.  Good luck to anyone struggling with this too.     

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