The "Is it Going to Kill Me?" game.

I just found this thread and love it. BC has made me face the reality that life doesn't go on forever and we don't have control over that. Not a reality that we like, but working through it. Your fun comments have made me laugh and a provided a good reminder to lighten up when I start thinking I should watch every little thing I put in my mouth!

I have been super careful through my treatment, so I can completely relate to the chocolate mousse question! Funny!

I am also struggling with the rebalancing your diet question... TNBC is very recurrent so I want to be careful w diet. I think it's better for me to stay low carb over the next 3 years -- but I think I am going to allow myself to bend here and there just to enjoy life. Some else had said one meal a week was her splurge. She could designate any meal per week, and eat whatever... so if there was an event she could pick that day, etc. That seems pretty good as an abstemious but flexible step one... so as not to not go back to straight Dewars and cookies!

I went on vacation, made many exceptions to my usual healthy diet, and came home to receive my lowest tumor marker result ever. Just sayin'. I have to think that exercise, sunshine, and happiness had something to do with this. I bet they are more important than food.

Lol, I didn't go as far as cocktails, but that was never my thing anyway. Now if you want to talk chocolate and cheesecake...

The diet conundrum:

I had been mostly keto/low carb for 10+ years before my dx, active, fit and in good shape. I was Stage IV de novo and when I started chemo my MO told my family to "fatten me up" because he thought I was too thin to withstand losing any weight from chemo SEs. IBC took me down fast, I was in bad shape and he said that losing 10% of my bodyweight would be a very bad sign for my already poor prognosis. He told them to feed me all of the cake, cookies, ice cream, rice and pasta and fattening foods I would eat to make sure I kept my weight up, and they supplied me with a steady diet of it (so much that one day I started begging for fresh veggies). I was worried about eating all of that sugar because I kept reading that sugar feeds cancer, but I had an amazing response and chemo wiped out most of it. When I got back on my feet I decided that life was too short to live without homemade bread, and I started baking every week. Treatment made me tired and lazy - pasta and prepared foods don't take much energy and I relied heavily on them.

Eventually I decided I was putting on too much weight from all of the carbs/sugar, so I decided to get my diet back on track, get back in the gym, really focus on getting back into optimum shape again. And within a few months I had a full-blown recurrence of IBC again.

In my head I know it's just a coincidence and I still try to eat healthy most of the time, but I refuse to ever feel guilty about indulging in whatever I feel like eating now or about making pasta for dinner because that's all I have the energy for. Part of it is my "life is too short" attitude, but in all honestly I'm just not convinced that diet plays as big a role as the "experts" say it does in cancer, although I do wholeheartedly believe it plays a major role in overall health, and the healthier you are in general, the better your body is able to fight the side effects of the disease & handle treatments. But if eating homemade bread and ice cream is going to kill me, at least I'll die happy.

Lori - me too! Keto diet for 5 years, was in good shape and feeling better than ever when this thing hit me. Before Keto I was a kickboxing, salad eating, 10k run before hitting the gym for weight training type fitness junkie....

All those magical cruciferous veges and blueberries didn't stop a 4.5cm tumour from growing in my breast....

So now I just close my eyes and eat what I feel like. Sure beats 'watching what I eat'...

I love this thread and it's exactly what I needed to make me smile. I took my Ibrance tonight and had a martini an hour later..... Yep, I'm doing what I want to do No fear or constraints anymore I've never felt so free.

That’s a great response from your MO, Mickey! I found out from his nurse that my MO wrote in my file I can have 10 drinks a week during chemo. I thought, if I can manage that I’ll be doing pretty well 😃

beeline, I want your MO! I have 2-4 glasses of wine a week and I feel absolutely no shame for it.

WC, ooooh, what kind of cookies?!

I agree with balance, when I was diagnosed stage IV de novo with a single bone met, I thought I could live 20 more years. Then, when brain mets were discovered, I thought the end was near and I’d better live it up. Now stable, I am determined to live a fairly active and healthy lifestyle while making sure I enjoy myself too. I’ve also added 1/2 birthdays, so you know, more 🎂 cake!

By the way, I got so drunk in New Orleans a couple weeks ago, that I woke up with a piece of fried chicken in my hair, lol. Pretty sure I had a great time!

WC3 - I am not sure what you are talking about but I would like 2 of each. Sound yummy, whatever they are!

Ah ladies you made me laugh out loud this morning! illimae you keep at it with the half birthdays! Love your spirit! One of my girlfriends sent me a recipe (she's Italian) for black and white cookies. I am going to get to baking and lick the bowl

Illiemae,

Woke up with fried chicken in your hair?? I am electing you our official party planner!! Thanks for the laugh, and glad you had such a great time!

Vickki

Great thread Thank you I suffer with massive recurrence fears and this has given me some perspective x

Sugar!

Ooh, I was wondering if this thread would lead up to Easter goodies! I have no will-power when it comes to most Easter candy. But remember, jelly beans have no fat!