Vitamin C and other vitamins during chemo ???

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toninasky
toninasky Member Posts: 102
edited March 2014 in Breast Cancer #1
Hi All,
WEll here I am with another question for discussion. I told my onc on the questionnaire exactly what vitamins I take and the dosage. He did not say stop, and after hearing some comments I called, and the answer is still, that I can take them. Need to know if anyone out there took vitamins during chemo/ adriamycin and cytoxin. I will have a detailed discussion with onc when I return for the second treatment. Scary, that there are so many opinions, and I will in the long run listen to the oncologist. Just can't imagine why so many have different opinion. All responses welcome.
Toni

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  • Susan956
    Susan956 Member Posts: 510
    #2
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    During Chemo, I stayed on my multivitamin. The only thing I was told was that during radiation they didn't want you to take anything like an anitioxidant, like lots of Vitamin C or green tea. There may be other rules... but if there were I didn't know it... I am now over a 1 year survivor and I intend to have a long and happy life with NED. (no evidence of disease).

    Take Care.. God Bless.

    Susan
  • youngibc
    youngibc Member Posts: 9
    #3
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    My oncologist encouraged me to continue taking my multivitamin daily. That was all I was allowed to take. During radiation, the only precautions with self treatment was anything that was applied directly to the skin. Where do you get treatment at?
  • KathiM
    KathiM Member Posts: 8,028 Member
    #4
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    During treatment for my rectal cancer, I was not told anything about stopping vitamins or green tea. During breast cancer treatment the SAME DARN ONCOLOGIST said 'Green tea and any other antioxidents are not allowed'....sigh....but the treatment center I go to has green tea....
    According to my NEW oncologist, she says that the antioxidents have no effect either way on the cancer cells, because they are abnormal already....BUT it is helpful for the noncancer cells....keeps them from dying as easily....

    Sorry to confuse more.....
    Hugs, Kathi
  • Tigger35
    Tigger35 Member Posts: 21
    #5
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    Glad you are doing so well. I took my multi vitamin, calcium, and vitamin E, but then my last chemo was in 2000, things may have changed since then. I still take these vitamins every day. I would like to think that the vitamins helped keep me healthier during treatments. During the 2nd time with cancer I managed not to have to take anything for my red blood cell count, which I guess is unusual. So, if your doc says take the vitamins I would do that.
  • inkblot
    inkblot Member Posts: 698 Member
    #6
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    Hi Toni,

    Unfortunately, confusion is the sad state of affairs on this front. Seems any official jury is still out on the supplement/no supplement/which supplement verdicts. Different docs have different ideas and preferences on supplements during treatment.

    Certain supplements are thought to interfere with chemo and anything with that potential isn't worth the risk really. I mean, once we choose to have chemo, we want the absolute best benefit from it. We can always rebuild our systemts once we're done with treatments. I took only a multi vitamin/mineral supplement daily, with my oncs approval. After treatment, however, my body needed lots of help to repair itself. I resumed my pre-chemo regimen and added CoQ10, Flaxseed Oil, Calcium w/Magnesium and lots of other good-for-me things on a daily basis and continued to eat very healthy...well, 99.9% of the time anyway.

    I think the issue is one of the FDA not endorsing supplements at all. The FDA is equivalent to God speaking within the medical community...therefore, if the FDA does not conduct their own studies, then the medical community won't endorse use of the product. Notwithstanding how many other studies have been done on any given product.

    It's wise to follow the advice of your oncologist till you're finished treatment and then it's all YOUR call. I'd opt only for a good daily vitamin/mineral supplement if your onc has no objections. Even if he says other things are ok too, considering all the differing medical opinions on the subject, I'd prefer to keep it conservative.

    If you check out the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute websites, you'll find a small section regarding CoQ10 and some studies which they did. They actually allow as to how it has been shown to be beneficial to cancer patients, yet their endorsement is for post-treatment use. www.nci.nih.gov

    All the best.

    Love, light and laughter,
    Ink
  • alesh71
    alesh71 Member Posts: 7
    #7
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    My oncologist asked me to stop. She recomended to take calcium (which is a mineral and it comes with vitamin D). The reason to stop is do not want to help cells to duplicate during treatment. I do cancer research and knowing the biology behind taking vitamins I stopped. But it is not very clear.
  • sp7981
    sp7981 Member Posts: 2
    #8
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    Toninasky,
    I just saw your questioin on Vitamin C and other vitamins during chemo. I have gone through 2 (4 treatment) sessions of chemo, had my breasts removed and am now going through radiation. I avoided vitamins and antioxidants during the week of the treatments, but pumped them in the next few weeks, and I can't tell you how many people have told me how wonderful I look after going through all that including my oncologist. I say pump the antioxidants as much as you can to defend your body's good cells.
    Good luck.
    Sheila

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