Diet Changes

Vickilg
Vickilg Member Posts: 281 Member
Hi there... I am a Stage IV Rectal Cancer Survior - not long term yet but that's my goal. I wanted to know your thoughts on changing the diet to beat cancer - such as no white bread or pasta, no sugar, etc. I have heard mixed things about this. Even a doctor told me there is no reason to give us sugar because everything we eat breaks down into glucose which is what feeds cancer. Also, does anyone have a good suggestion for daily vitamins?

So happy all of you are survivors! You are inspirations. May God bless you!

Comments

  • soccerfreaks
    soccerfreaks Member Posts: 2,788 Member
    Moderation
    With respect to sugar, I asked OncoMan the same question, myself, and received the same answer: sugar, lad, is not going to kill you.

    I am a five year survivor of head/neck cancer and going on three years of all-clear with a follow-on lung cancer deal. The only reason I changed my diet was because for four years I was on a PEG tube for much of my nutrition.

    There is a guy in the head/neck cancer board who calls himself Ratface for some reason (he seems rather like an average sort in the picture he has posted) who made some interesting comments about what he and others before him refer to as "cancer fields" and the things we can do to assuage them, the things we can do to excite them. It is pretty interesting stuff, although I am not a scientist nor a doctor and cannot confirm their validity.

    The basic notion seems to be that if you have a cancer field, if you have created one or inherited one, there are things you can do to alleviate or to agitate the field.

    In my case, as a head/neck cancer survivor and former smoker and drinker of longstanding, it would seem rather obvious that both smoking and drinking might agitate my so-called cancer field. Without even having heard of this at the time, it was rather intuitive to me, and a source of great insistence by my doctors, that I eliminate these practices from my routine.

    Otherwise, since my original diagnosis in August of 2005, there has been no suggestion from my doctors or nutritionists that I switch to an all-guacamole diet or some such.

    If you smoke or chew asbestos, I would suggest that you quit. If you drink, I would suggest you do so moderately, if at all.

    In your particular case, you might want to consider, if it still matters, how much tabasco sauce you need on those tacos.

    A cancer diagnosis should not be a diagnosis for quitting life or enjoying all that it has to offer. But as some wise old dude said once upon a time, moderation in everything.

    Congratulations on your survivorship, and best wishes for a long and fruitful life, in whatever areas in which you endeavor to produce.

    Take care,

    Joe
  • Barb56
    Barb56 Member Posts: 20
    Don't know about you, but
    Don't know about you, but for me I've moderated a lot in my diet...mostly because my "system" demands it. very little red meat...it's hard to digest. But ground meat works just fine, so no steak for me. Also red sauces, fruits and veggies are hard on my system which is a bummer, but I deal. grapes are ok, oranges are not...at least for me. When Your system gets irritated, try bland. You'll soon learn what you can and can't eat. I haven't given up anything completely, but should probably cut out those candy bars!
  • bspangler47
    bspangler47 Member Posts: 145
    Barb56 said:

    Don't know about you, but
    Don't know about you, but for me I've moderated a lot in my diet...mostly because my "system" demands it. very little red meat...it's hard to digest. But ground meat works just fine, so no steak for me. Also red sauces, fruits and veggies are hard on my system which is a bummer, but I deal. grapes are ok, oranges are not...at least for me. When Your system gets irritated, try bland. You'll soon learn what you can and can't eat. I haven't given up anything completely, but should probably cut out those candy bars!

    diet
    Hi, I havent been on in awhile. Been in and out of the hospital. I am a survior of colorectal cancer stage 3. Had ilestomy bag and feeding tube for awhile. I am trying to learn what to eat and what not to eat. I can eat something one day and have problems then the next day it doesnt agree with me. They say broil or back chicken and fish. Its very hard. if u have any recepieces with would be nice to now
  • jazzy1
    jazzy1 Member Posts: 1,379

    diet
    Hi, I havent been on in awhile. Been in and out of the hospital. I am a survior of colorectal cancer stage 3. Had ilestomy bag and feeding tube for awhile. I am trying to learn what to eat and what not to eat. I can eat something one day and have problems then the next day it doesnt agree with me. They say broil or back chicken and fish. Its very hard. if u have any recepieces with would be nice to now

    Moderation
    I agree everything in moderation. Will tell you I've been NED for almost 2 years from uterine cancer stage 3C, and I've read a few good books one being "ANTI CANCER, A NEW WAY OF LIFE", by David Servan-Schreiber and another, "FOODS TO FIGHT CANCER", by Richard Beliveau. Both are excellent and give you a good base of how to eat and what to eat. Very informative as David Servan-Schreiber is a brain cancer survivor of over 15 years.

    I do believe so much of what we eat affects our immune systems and how it can fight any disease. Pesticides are in so many of our foods so follow the DIRTY DOZEN LIST of top foods which are loaded with pesticides.

    Good luck and keep on learning....
    Jan
  • Marcia527
    Marcia527 Member Posts: 2,729
    I am one of those people who
    I am one of those people who have trouble believing anything. So when someone says eating this or that will help with what-ever, I have to doubt. I just haven't seen proof. Until now. I have had eczema and skin problems for 5 years. I had seen a PCP and dermatologist and both treated it with prescription creams. That kept it under control but as soon as I stopped using the cream it'd be back. I knew it was something internal. A couple months ago (I think Feb.) I started drinking 2-4 cups of green tea a day. I still have the rash slightly but I don't need the prescription creams. I just use hand cream now and the rash isn't as intense. Before if I didn't use the prescription cream it would itch and spread and drive me nuts. It has to be because of the green tea.