To chemo or not to chemo
Hi there, any thoughts on this would be appreciated. My early breast cancer is: no node involvement, no blood / vascular involvement detected, HER2 negative. I've had a complete single mastectomy...
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@au0rei Thanks for the feedback, it is helpful to get a picture with other people's stories. There are so many aspects to it. I appreciate that my oncologist is very straight talking and certainly doesn't skip any harsh details. She really put me in the picture about chemo and recurrence issues.
When I asked her about the possibility that I could kinda contribute 2% odds myself by things like exercise, stress management and boosting immune system via nutrients - she agreed that it is possible. She said that the only reason they can't quantify the effects and it's difficult to study, is because people just don't stick to it, and it's hard to measure consistently across individuals.
I've started reading some scientific journal articles in biosciences and oncology - and there really is a case for 1) stress management - its a real factor in cancer progression, 2) plant compounds like those in garlic, turmeric, ginger, herbs etc etc. (just reading one paper about cancer rates being much lower in India, due to diet).
It's certainly not just hippie stuff. But the challenge is getting enough - and really being consistent. Of course even that doesn't stop some cells, that are madly intent on mutating. I just finished a degree in evolutionary biology, so I'm well aware of how random DNA behaviour can be.
But I'm not aiming for miracles, just a slight improvement in odds that at least matches chemo results. Nothing is certain. Well, one thing is... a smoothy made with apple juice, ginger, fresh turmeric root and pineapple is delicious!
When I asked her about the possibility that I could kinda contribute 2% odds myself by things like exercise, stress management and boosting immune system via nutrients - she agreed that it is possible. She said that the only reason they can't quantify the effects and it's difficult to study, is because people just don't stick to it, and it's hard to measure consistently across individuals.
I've started reading some scientific journal articles in biosciences and oncology - and there really is a case for 1) stress management - its a real factor in cancer progression, 2) plant compounds like those in garlic, turmeric, ginger, herbs etc etc. (just reading one paper about cancer rates being much lower in India, due to diet).
It's certainly not just hippie stuff. But the challenge is getting enough - and really being consistent. Of course even that doesn't stop some cells, that are madly intent on mutating. I just finished a degree in evolutionary biology, so I'm well aware of how random DNA behaviour can be.
But I'm not aiming for miracles, just a slight improvement in odds that at least matches chemo results. Nothing is certain. Well, one thing is... a smoothy made with apple juice, ginger, fresh turmeric root and pineapple is delicious!