healthy eating

After my sister was dx with bowel cancer at 46, I have been on a healthy high fibre diet, my first colonoscopy 2 polyps were removed - they are what eventually turn into cancer.  Since then I have taken (eaten/ force fed) 2 tbs of natural psyllium husks per day.  Latest colonoscopy was all clear.  The psyllium husk works like a magnet in the bowels, worth googling. Perhaps I have created a better environment??  They tell me even though I have been dx with bc that I am at greater risk of bowel cancer due to family history. 

It is not surprising that the same food or food groups keep popping up when researching best anti cancer diets.

Diet is one thing that we can take control of on this horrid bc rollercoaster, so yes I will eat more cabbage and parsley etc,  and lets not forget Brazil nuts which was a main topic at a BCNA forum in Sydney this year.

Viv

Cathy,

That is the best advice I think I have ever been given! THANKS!!!

Jo

x

Hey gals,

I forgot to mention that I consider my Oncologist one person in my healing team, other members include a naturopath, counsellor/hypnotherapist, compound chemist, chiropractor/masseuse, qi gong instructor and ME!  My approach is to gratefully accept what the traditional medical system has to offer that is beneficial to me, then get myself busy finding other health professionals to help me meet the rest of my holistic health needs. I have learnt (after 4 years mind you), how to politely ignore people (no matter how many letters follow their names) who are unable to support me in my quest for vibrant health.  Betcha if they got cancer they'd be doing everything in their power to get rid of it too!!!!!

Cathy XX

Thank for for your post Janet, it was fabulous! 

I have done a huge amount of research on this issue, and I have also had the pleasure to meet personally people who have recovered from 'incurable' cancer by paying rigorous attention to their physical, emotional and physical health, and I am absolutely convinced that there is much we can do (in fact have the responsibility to do!) to assist with our own healing.

There is no way I am going to passively sit back and give my power away to my Oncologist, even though I am sure she has the very best of intentions! 

It is also important to consider that many medical professionals do believe wholeheartedly in a healing lifestyle, but they are NOT ALLOWED to talk about it!  How ridiculous!

My motto is 'have the guts to try'.  You never know where it will lead you and what's the worst thing that can happen - you get a bit dissapointed if your efforts are not rewarded in the way you wished?  At the every least you will be living in glowing health both inside and out each and every day you are alive.  How wonderful!

Listen to all advice given, take on what feels right for you and discard the rest!  You are the experts about your own body, tune in to it and give it what it needs.

And remember, 'difficult' patients (those of us who question and challenge the status quo) live longer!

But if you don't want to do any of the above, that also is exercising your power of choice. 

All power and love to you all,

Cathy XX

 

Eat Well Feel Well workshops. I would sign up for that! I agree that we need more than just the balanced diet info. I like to think I ate a balanced diet before BC, so feel the need for more fine tuning than is currently offered by the health system. It would be great to have quality info available so we did not have to do all our own research. It would be good to encourage each other through a workshop situation too. Great idea, Robyn. :) Deanne xx

Well said ladies!I think it's because they feel that we will somehow believe that we will be 'cured',and then if it comes back,we will question them.I read so much about healthy eating.I would never reject conventional treatment,but I do believe that eating well,and taking care of your body,gives you the best possible chance at staying on top of things.i.e. Side effects etc.We all know that eating a balanced diet with veggies,fruit,whole grains etc.is healthy eating,but for us,and others,that have had a life threatening illness,I think that we need a bit more!Especially when you read the mountains of information that point toward this as being beneficial I , for one,eat on a daily basis,green veggies,fruit,green tea,whole grains,red berries,almonds.I walk a good distance every day,and I feel pretty good.However,I am doing this only from what I have read,and I often wonder if I could fine tune it even more.We have LGFG workshops,how about Eat Well Feel Well workshops! cheers Robyn xoxo

It would be great to have support from medical circles for those of us who are wanting to do what we can to help ourselves. I am sure that there are many women and men who have had cancer who would feel and think the same. I believe there are some medical facilities in other countries that demonstrate clear benefits in dietary changes for cancer and other chronic diseases. Why is it that the medical establishment in Australia appear to resist exploring these issues? Deanne

I wonder why the medical establishment is so reluctant to recommend we include certain foods in our diet when it seems to me - from what I've read - that there is defiinite scientific evidence that some foods can be helpful in reducing the risk of recurrence or of getting cancer in the first place? I have read books on this issue where long lists of academic studies are cited showing that particular foods show promise in reducing the likihood of cancer. You can find research on the internet into these issues using Google Scholar. Are all these studies rubbish?

I'm not one to put my faith in fanciful or way out alternative ideas but it just seems logical to me that the food we eat plays a huge role in creating the very complex bio-chemical environments that make up our bodies. It also seems logical that there may be certain foods, because of their chemical make-up, that influence that bio-chemical environment in a way that mininises or reduces the risk of cancer.

And yet the medical establishment seems reluctant to ever say anything more specific than eat a balanced diet with lots of vegetables. I don't understand this.

Are medical authorities worried that we will misinterpret more specific information about food?

Do they think we will believe that eating pomegranates or mushrooms or some other individual food will somehow cure our cancer?

Is there a concern that we will reject conventional therapy - chemo, radiation, drugs etc - in place of eating the "right" foods.

Are they worried that we will try to hold them to account if we eat lots of broccoli, drink lots of green tea and still our cancer returns?

While the "eat a balanced diet with lots of vegies" line is safe I find it just a little patronising. It's as though we, the general population of women with breast cancer (and I suppose people with any form of cancer), are too silly to handle any more specific and nuanced information.  I think we are all well informed enough these days to know that cancer is an insidious disease and that whatever you do there are no guarantees. You can have all the conventional treatments and eat mountains of  broccoli, drink litres of green tea and still the bastard can come back. 

I just feel that in dumbing down the message about diet the medical authories may be denying cancer patients potentially helpful information. I'm not having a go at you Annie btw, it's just something that has been playing on my mind for a while now and I wanted to have my say on it. Janet.

 

 

Hi all,

This is Annie from BCNA. We know many women diagnosed with breast cancer are really interested in maintaining a healthy diet, so it's great to see such a lively chat about this topic.

I thought I would jump in and mention that while you may hear about various diets for people diagnosed with cancer, there is no scientific evidence that women diagnosed with breast cancer need to follow a ‘special’ diet or eat particular foods to prevent the cancer returning. It is recommended that women with breast cancer follow the same dietary guidelines that are recommended to all Australian adults.

If you have a question about nutrition after a cancer diagnosis, the Cancer Council can help to clarify things. Their iHeard website (www.iheard.com.au) is dedicated to busting cancer-related myths. People can submit questions, and the Cancer Council will post responses based on the latest good quality evidence. You may find questions about nutrition and breast cancer on the website already, or if not.... why not post the question yourself? I'm sure there are other people out there who are wondering about the same thing.

 

Good luck,

 

~ Annie

I have just started on Arimidex, and have joined their Verve club, they send out a magazine. In the issue that I have just received there is an article Cancer- contesting cuisine, wish I could copy article for everyone, but here is a basic run down copied from the mag.

Eat lots of fresh fruit and vegies.

Carrots contain falcarinol which is a natural pesticide with anti-cancer action.  Eat raw or if cooking boil befor cutting.

Lentils - for their fibre 

Brussel sprouts/cabbage cauliflower and broccoli are cruciferous vegies, shown to protect against bc thanks to compounds called isothiocyanates anti cancer.

Parsley contains apigenin, an antioxidant that has a chemopreventive property, could help in the fight against bc.

Lychee's the juicy translucent pulp is a rich source of flavonoids that research suggest may kill breast cancer cells.

I thought mushrooms were good as well, especially shitake - the American Cancer Society have an article on this to google.

Not sure if you can go to the Arimidex site and look at this magazine which is for breast cancer Welcome issue,  also in the mag are the latest results of ATAC research (Arimidex,Tamoxifen, Alone or Combination), which I did look up (thank you Mr Google) and is worth reading for those who are unsure about taking this drug. 

Viv