Question please?

Good question.

I thought about this long and hard and still don't "get" it.

I started with a perfect immune system, never got colds, hardly an elevated temperature.

Yet, cancer was able to grow in two places in my breast simultaniously.

The onc explained once to me that chemo destroys fast growing cells (cancer, hair follicles, lining of mucosa (mouth, intestinal tract etc.) therefore we do not want those to get "strong".

And chemo naturally will do a number on the immune systeme anyways by hammering all the good cells in the bone marrow which makes us weak. I don't know.....weak body....vulnerable cancer cells?????

But supplementation could possibly be beneficary depending on the supplement.

Selenium had been mentioned to be chemo enhancing and I believe Turmeric also.

There is a Selenium thread. Do you remember Edge fron breastcancerwatch? He had a few articles too.

My sister's onc (coloncancer and in Germany) also "makes" her take Selenium during chemo and rads even. So I think there might something to it....but....as always, double check with your onc.

I said last time "but it is organic" about my Maitake mushroom extract, the onc said "so is Tobaco"....He makes me feel bad about taking stuff now being two years out.

Two people, three opinions....know that saying?

I'm afraid I don't have a good answer.

God Bless

If I were on chemo, I wouldn't want to take the chance that I'd be feeding the very cells that I'm hoping to destroy, by taking the wrong vitamins or minerals.  Knowing which ones will only help you and not the cancer cells might be a problem.   I'm not too sure the Dr's  even know so they tell you to take nothing during chemo time.

Cancer cells uptake some vitamins and minerals for their strength too.  So far I've run across 2 vitamins, B1 and B12, and just found out cancer cells might like magnesium also.  Why there isn't a list of vitamins and minerals out there to stay away from during chemo therapy is beyond me.  I'm sure there's been work done on it by now.

Calico,

I really wouldn't worry about the food you ate.  It was just as important to keep your strength up too.  Dr.'s don't seem to worry about the food people eat during therapy.  I just saw something yesterday about them still studying A,C,E and they think it's helpful during chemo ( those are the anti-oxidant vitamins). So you see, nothing to worry about.  I'm amazed they're still looking at them.  Can't they get to a answer by now? 

Calico, 

I'm taking a bunch of stuff, maitake, enzymes, tumeric, milk thistle, hawthorn (on herceptin-need the hawthorn and coQ to protect my heart- milk thistle to protect my liver-liver mets) and some other things mentioned in Dr. Quillin's book "Beating Cancer with Nutrition".  Dr. Quillin worked with thousands of cancer patients when he was the director of nutrition for the Cancer Centers of America. He is now in private practice. That is all the proof I need.  There are many doctors out there using the same supplements with their cancer patients and getting good results!

I feel I cannot not take them.  I'm stage IV and I need all the help I can get.  I am doing well and feeling great. I was on taxol.  I continue with herceptin every 3 weeks.  I was diagnosed late June 2007.  I took the supplements from the very beginning. I'm always around someone who is sick with a cold or flu and not once did I catch anything. I am acitve and can keep up with my husband, adult kids and grandkids.

I really feel my outcome would have been different if I did not take my supplements.  

Take care 

My onc told me I could eat and supplement whatever I wanted during chemo, but to avoid high amounts of antioxidants in supplement form from 2 days before through 2 days after each chemo tx because that's when it was doing it's job.  So, I took a multiple vit/min, Maitake supplement, and various other none antioxidants on those days, and added in Co-Q10 and such the other days.  Of course, when I was on the AC regimen, I didn't take anything chemo week because of the nausea. 

My rad onc just said to not overdo the antioxidants during tx, so I didn't take any.  Now that I'm done with tx, my new onc (my first retired) says I can start taking supplements again immediately if I want because radiation only works while you're getting it.  So, I plan to start the Co-Q10 again, as well as my regular supplements, and add in some astragalus to try and support my cells while they heal. 

I also didn't get so much as a sniffle during chemo and rads.  My daughter had a stomach bug (3x in 6 wks) and my son two colds this summer which is more times than usually in an entire year.  My best friend (who watched my children for me during rads) was frequently sick, as were her children.  It was the oddest thing.  I still don't know why I didn't get sick, especially since they coughed and sneezed all over me on a regular basis.  Plus, even with the Neupogen, my white count was rarely "normal".   It's as if all my family and friends got sick in my place.

I'm sorry, I'm rambling now, aren't I.  Ok, just one more thing I want to mention.  A book I read during chemo, that was written by an onc, stated that cancer cells are not foreign invaders like bacteria and viruses, but our own cells so having a weak immune system isn't usually why we have cancer.  Most people who get cancer have healthy immunity.  It isn't as if our immune system can't fight the cancer cells off, it's that it doesn't even recognize the cancer cells as a problem in the first place.  So, I suppose that's why onc's don't feel chemo's affect on our immunity is a problem as far as the cancer is concerned, just a risk of infection if our white count drops too low.

Cynthia