Life after treatment

I have made changes to my diet and lifestyle but I've relied on my own reading and online research rather than a naturopath (not a big believer in them to be honest).  In particular I've used the following books to modify my diet: The Whole Food Guide for Breast Cancer Survivors by Edward Bauman and Helayne Waldman, The Pink Ribbon Diet to lower Breast Cancer Risk by Mary Flynn and Nancy Barr and Fight Now: Eat & Live Proactively Against Breast Cancer by Aaron Tabor and Lillie Shockney.As a result of reading these books and also quite a lot of online research I too have dramatically cut back on alcohol from 3-4 times a week to special occasions only (once a month max). I eat a lot more vegetables (proabably the most important thing you can do), use olive oil only for cooking, avoid margarine & seed oils, white bread and all types of processed food as much as possible. I try to include lots of wholemeal foods, walnuts, pomegranite juice, green tea, oats and of course broccoli. I think you're best off getting as many nutrients as possible from fresh, unprocessed food but I do take some supplements. I stopped taking a multi-vitamin as I read that the copper and iron that they contain are not good for cancer patients. I also take vitamin D (about 3000ui a day in total), I take gingko biloba for my memory which I think has been impaired by chemo. I take calcium with the extra minerals, a fish oil pill for general health and a hair, skin and nails pill.I also take a product called Breast Balance which I obtain online form the US. It's main ingredient is diindolylmethane - a derivative of cruciferous vegetabls which is thought to break down excess estrogen in the body. There is currently a study underway at the University of Arizona to determine whether taking diindolylmenthane with tamoxifen works better to prevent recurrance than taking tamoxifen alone. This product also contains some of my vitamin D as well as selenium and iodine, all of which have been found to be deficient in women with breast cancer.I also try to exercise vigorously 4-5 times a week - also important to prevent recurrance - and I too avoid using plastics to some extent (don't drink out of plastic bottles or microwave foods in plastic). I do my best to stick to these guidelines but I'm not perfect either. I do have a weakness for bacon so I let myself have some every so often. And I'm not that vigilent about sugar - I have dark chocolate most weeks - but I think when you aim to eat whole fresh foods and avoid processed, the sugar is automatically reduced from your diet. My oncologist doesn't have a problem with anything I am doing. Good luck with your treatment. Janet.