Dietary Approaches to Fighting Cancer

JILL, THIS IS FABULOUS!


Thanks so much for gathering all this useful information that has been posted over the past year or two.

It helps so MUCH to have it all in one message thread rather than having to backtrack through hundreds of subject headings to find it.

As for the viability of studies done five or even ten years ago:

While I agree that the more recent, the more persuasive, I'd also remind us that stellar findings, brilliant intimations, and accurate theories--that never gained adequate follow-up study, often stymied by professional rivalries, jealousies, or lack of financial profit--should not be dismissed as possible CLUES to a CURE.

Yes, ladies, let's not be victims of "presentism"--bias against older research and theory.

For example: I find the speculation that some forms of cancer may be merely a form of fungus worth our further investigation. I believe it was the well-informed Carolenk who said that the subject deserved its own thread.

Appreciatively,
Rosey

Rewriter said:

Diet
I am moving this thread up because a few new people on this board have asked questions about an anti-cancer diet.


Jill

Hello Jill,
I have been
Hello Jill,
I have been following the Cancer Survivors Network for over a year now, but I confess only silently. I feel I am ready to 'join in' as even though no one here knows me I feel this close relationship to all these wonderful people that have so much to share.
I have a question on the diet and am not sure to ask it here or to start it new.... I was advised by my oncologist and doctors that uterine papillary serous carcinoma likes estrogen and to avoid foods high in plant estrogen and phyto estrogen. (ie flax, sweet potatoe, soy) and to limit foods containing estrogens. I have researched and have found very limited info. Can anyone share any info they may have? Thanks so much!
Tami

Rewriter said:

Video on anti-cancer diet posted by a former board member
This was posted a while ago, but it is a good introduction to the diet. Also, I would suggest using the search option to find more information on the anti-cancer diet. Good luck!
I'm not sure who posted this originally, but it is pertinent to this thread:


Incredible lecture given by Servan-Schreiber at UCSF. Discusses the studies and perspectives of why oncologists say what they say, dismissively, about diet and exercise. His arguments backed by science. A must-see!

Natural Defenses in Preventing and Treating Cancer - UCtelevision
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaDt3AJQ98c

(28:20 in) “…For the last 40 years, all of oncology has been focused on destroying cancer cells….We spent between 150 and 200 billion dollars on cancer research in the last 40 years and we’ve improved the median survival of metastatic cancer, which is really the only one that kills you, by 3 months….So maybe we’re not pursuing quite the right roadmap. And what [I and others are] saying…is that yes it’s great to kill cancer cells but obviously it doesn’t seem to be enough. It is important, at the same time, to strengthen the body’s ability to resist cancer by creating an inhospitable terrain to cancer growth. And you can do both at the same time. This is not about alternative medicine.”

Gracias!
I have almost forgotten this video. I am glad you posted the link.

Rewriter said:

Anticancer Foods/Alkaline-Acid Food Charts
There is an enormous amount of information on this board about the anticancer diet, which can be found by doing a search. Here, I have included only a portion of what is available:


POSTED BY JILL

Anti-Cancer Diet/Acid/Alkaline Food Charts

Elsewhere on this board, there is plenty of information on following an anti-cancer diet. A book with that title was written by Dr. Servan-Schreiber and can be found at your local bookstore. Other books have been recommended by some of the women here and can be generally be found in threads indicating that nutrition is the topic.

I'n not sure whether or not I have shared this link (need to cut and paste into browser), but here is a list of foods ranked according to their acidity/alkalinity. Following a diet that is mostly alkaline can reduce inflammation, which has been associated with the development of cancer and other diseases.


http://acidalkalinediet.com/listofalkalinefoods.pdf

Jill
USPC, Stage 1a, diagnosed following slight post-menopausal bleeding
Surgery May 2008, 6 rounds carboplatin/taxol, 5 brachytherapy treatments
Treatment completed early December 2008, NED since

POSTED BY CLAUDIA: DR. SERVAN-SCHREIBER ON YOUTUBE:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lwiQm5QaTs

MD Anderson is running trials using his approaches to tackling cancer. His book is Anti Cancer a new Way of Life. Your library most likely has it or it's available on amazon

As i said, i combine infor from this and the Foods That Fight Cancer for a good overall idea of what to do.

FROM CLAUDIA

http://www.essense-of-life.com/moreinfo/foodcharts.htm

Here's what i typed in google" alkaline acid chart and I picked one of the sites that showed up.

This site had some very helpful information. Towards the bottom of the page there is some reference to whether a food is highly, moderately or slightly alkaline of acidic.

CANCER PREFERS ACIDIC FOODS. And don't be fooled by how you think of a particular food. Lemon, after being processed by the body, becomes very alkaline, also good for your liver, which is a major detoxifyer. I don't think it menitons green tea, but while black tea is acidic, green tea tends towards alkalinity. A study, hopefully looked at green and black tea and coffe in regards to breast cancer and determined for the study that while green tea was helpful in counteracting tendency towards breast cancer, black tea drinkers tended towards more cancer and coffee drinkers were a wash. In the future I will try to always save the url with the file.

Google is your friend.

Of course some sites just want to sell you something. The university studies will often tell who it is that is funding their studies. Gov can sometimes have good info also.
I'll periodically look things up and past the urls here or elswhere on the site.

POSTED BY JAN

A strong word of caution - SUGAR is our ENEMY. It feeds CANCER.
Don't sabotage your future by feeding the beast. We need to starve the beast and make our bodies inhospitable (alkaline). Take heed, ladies.

Anti-Cancer foods and book
Thanks to Claudia and others who recommended Dr Schreiber's book - I am still reading it on my Kindle, but nearly through it. Am taking fresh Turmeric root, fresh ginger, olive oil, black pepper, green tea capsules (cannot bear the taste of it as tea) and anything and everything else recommended. I had breast cancer 11 months ago and a different endometrial cancer in November, ie. 3 months ago. A rare one, the second time, MMMT also known as Carcinosarcoma - v. little research has been done on it, so I am having NO radiation and NO chemo. Can't be a bad risk, it seems, and no worse than having the treatment with side effects. So am eating my way back to health. Thank you so much for helping. I am in London, England. Anyone who wants to contact me can on joan_edwards@btinternet.com Hope the email address doesn't disappear. In case it does, joan_edwards at btinternet.com......

RoseyR said:

JILL, THIS IS FABULOUS!


Thanks so much for gathering all this useful information that has been posted over the past year or two.

It helps so MUCH to have it all in one message thread rather than having to backtrack through hundreds of subject headings to find it.

As for the viability of studies done five or even ten years ago:

While I agree that the more recent, the more persuasive, I'd also remind us that stellar findings, brilliant intimations, and accurate theories--that never gained adequate follow-up study, often stymied by professional rivalries, jealousies, or lack of financial profit--should not be dismissed as possible CLUES to a CURE.

Yes, ladies, let's not be victims of "presentism"--bias against older research and theory.

For example: I find the speculation that some forms of cancer may be merely a form of fungus worth our further investigation. I believe it was the well-informed Carolenk who said that the subject deserved its own thread.

Appreciatively,
Rosey

Apricot Kernals
I have been doing research for my Mom's cancer and ran across this today and felt compelled to share it. www.chrisbeatcancer.com. I though the post on apricot kernels was especially interesting. There are lots of good links and information in both the post and in the comments as well. http://chrisbeatcancer.com/b17-laetrile-alternative-cancer-treatment-suppressed-50-years/

Best wishes and prayers of recovery and hope to you all.

Jules

RoseyR said:

SEVERAL THOUGHTS ON THESE RECENT POSTS

Am back to work full time, so able to visit the boards less often.

But am fascinated by some of these posts.

Re fatty liver, Claudia, I know only that artichokes are supposed to be the vegetable par excellence for the liver, helping to thin bile and nourishing the organ. Even Ralph Moss's web site has an entire article about it.

Re whether to take, or not take, supplements, I am of two minds.

Yes, food is the BEST source of most nutrients because they occur there with phytochemicals that are synergistic. And some supplements are far purer than others; Standard Process Labs, for example, reputedly produces supplements that are not mere extracts, but substances that occur in their "whole" form. (I am impressed by the theories of Dr. Bruce West on this subject; in his newsletter "Health Alert" he claims that his mother wound up in a wheelchair from radiation to her pelvic region for uterine cancer; that this cancer soon spread to her lungs; but that she is still alive nine years later on the Mediterranean diet, Standard Process Lab supplements (including peptides that boost the performance of the thymus gland, crucial to the entire immune system).

However, not only is much of our food supply degraded from depleted soil and other problems--so that unless we are really careful to eat primarily fresh organic foods, we are getting little sustenance-but the very digestive systems we have may well have been compromised by too much chemo and radiation, notorious for destroying the delicate tissues of the digestive tract so that, even a year or two after treatment, we do not ABSORB many nutrients.

The latter fact is one argument, for me, that supports the use of supplements.

Another is the fact--as reported by one of MD Anderson's key researchers, Aggarwal, that taxol is so toxic that it in itself creates an inflammatory state that causes micrometastases that show up, a few years later, and are diagnosed as evidence that our tumor has spread--rather than that taxol has HELPED it to spread. Curcumin is so suppressive of inflammation that he and other researchers recommend it be taken throughout chemotherapy to prevent this dynamic from occuring. And as Dr Jeanne Drisko (Kansas U) observes, patients who start chemo with high levels of antioxidants do better than those who are already low in antioxidants: which is why Dr. Russell Blaylock long advised HIS cancer patients to DELAY chemo and radiation for a few weeks to boster their immune systems with Vitamin E succinate, fish oil, and other supplements.

On the subject of melatonin, Claudia and all: I have a lot of research on it that would be happy to forward. I pursued the research upon finding a few clinical studies reporting that women with UTERINE cancer, of all cancers, are at diagnosis, notoriously low in melatonin. Reading up on the subject, and with the endorsement of my integrative doctor, I took 20 mgs a night during radiation and my last three rounds of chemo. Although I rarely had had trouble sleeping, neither did I feel 'drugged" by melatonin, whose use was first sanctioned for cancer patients by the Italian researcher Lissoni (sp?) a few decades ago. (Ladies, I also hate to report that my very use of this computer at the moment may well be lowering my melatonin levels; exposure to artificial light after dark--particularly, from computer screens, fluorescent light, and so on--diminished melatonin production, as does stress, which is why meditation has recently been found to boost melatonin levels.
Nurses who work the night shift, you may already know, suffer far higher rates of breast cancer than the female population at large--because exposure to sustained light at the very time our pineal gland should be secreting melatonin wreaks hormonal havoc. (Perhaps I'm too much the romantic, but it all makes sense: we were not MEANT to use sunscreen, which prevents Vitamin D absorption, just as we were MEANT to be asleep soon after dark--not staring into computer screens and watchig televison late into the night. (She said, while sitting in a WIFI cafe--hardly an ideal environment for a cancer patient. I saved forty dollars a month by getting rid of WIFI in my apartment because WIFI where we SLEEP is particularly hazardous. A good source on this subject is the recent book Zapped! by Ann Louise Gittleman.)

Getting back to nutrition: I agree with Joann that we need to watch the interactions of supplements; it's true that some, such as ginger, garlic, curcumin, fish oil can have anti-clotting effects. However that effect is only dangerous if our platelets are really low (below 60), or we're about to undergo surgery, or we've already had "bleeding episodes" showing fragile platelets. One of you who is taking intravenous Vitamin C wondered why you are bruising so much: it could be the OTHER supplements you're taking, such as those I just mentioned.

None of this is to pretend I know much about the entire elusive and underresearched field of cancer and nutrition. There will, my doctor shakes his head sadly, NEVER be adequate research in this field because the financial rewards are so few: no company will get rich on the discovery that Vitamin E succinate does enhance chemo or that fish oil does enhance our resistance to certain cancers. If he's right (and I hope he's not), we have to do the best we can to ferret out what we can.

As I noted in an earlier post, I'm now very interested in the theory that some cancers, perhaps even many, are manifestations of a fungus. Grape-seed extract is a powerful anti-fungal; so are garlic and rosemary. Do we know of others? Can we compile a list?

Best,
Rosey

Good info, Rosey. Just want
Good info, Rosey. Just want to add a caveat about melatonin: it lowers cortisol. When someone has strong adrenal glands, the drop in morning cortisol is not noticeable. When someone has borderline or exhausted adrenals, they notice the drop in the morning cortisol. That's where the drugged feeling comes from.

Nobody should be taking vitamin E without selenium--in food, these two are found together. Selenium is considered to be the anti-cancer & anti-oxident mineral. Taking vitamin E without selenium will deplete selenium.

Each vitamin has a companion mineral. Vitamin C (as derived from food) contains a small amount of copper. When you take ascorbic acid, you lower copper levels because food-sourced vitamin C is a lot more than ascorbic acid--it has bioflavinoids, copper & more. Taking large amounts of ascorbic acid binds with copper & pulls it out of the body.

I understand copper promotes angiogenesis (the creation of new blood vessels which may feed cancer) yet you don't want to be so low on copper that you get an aneurysm. Maybe I'm bruising from being low in copper--I don't take ginger or garlic.

Sunnysmiles said:

Hello Jill,
I have been
Hello Jill,
I have been following the Cancer Survivors Network for over a year now, but I confess only silently. I feel I am ready to 'join in' as even though no one here knows me I feel this close relationship to all these wonderful people that have so much to share.
I have a question on the diet and am not sure to ask it here or to start it new.... I was advised by my oncologist and doctors that uterine papillary serous carcinoma likes estrogen and to avoid foods high in plant estrogen and phyto estrogen. (ie flax, sweet potatoe, soy) and to limit foods containing estrogens. I have researched and have found very limited info. Can anyone share any info they may have? Thanks so much!
Tami

Tami
Unlike the normal uterine cancer, which is ER/PR+, and is responsive the estrogens, it is my understanding that because UPSC is mostly ER/PR-, it is not so responsive to estrogen.

Taxol works much better on the ER + cancers.


Claudia

Took a quick trip to your About Me page and did notice that you have mixed histology of adeno and upsc, so your doc was most likely referring to the adeno part of your cancer.

As someone who researched and

As someone who researched and followed the info I found on the benefits of foods, exercise, deep breathing, etc. I have found that whether the info is newly discovered or tried and true, as someone who will be a five year survivor next month, do all that you are able to do regardless of the age of the research.

 

Hugs and great love to you all,

 

Claudia

 

To all my old buds, I did finally make it to California and am living in "Hippie Heaven" in Ukiah. This people are mostly peace, love and sharing hippie souls. I haven't been this happy since I foolishly left California nine years ago. Just packed stuff in an SUV Christmas Eve and was here by New Year's Eve. Blessings on you all. Love you Jill, and Karen.

california_artist said:

As someone who researched and

As someone who researched and followed the info I found on the benefits of foods, exercise, deep breathing, etc. I have found that whether the info is newly discovered or tried and true, as someone who will be a five year survivor next month, do all that you are able to do regardless of the age of the research.

 

Hugs and great love to you all,

 

Claudia

 

To all my old buds, I did finally make it to California and am living in "Hippie Heaven" in Ukiah. This people are mostly peace, love and sharing hippie souls. I haven't been this happy since I foolishly left California nine years ago. Just packed stuff in an SUV Christmas Eve and was here by New Year's Eve. Blessings on you all. Love you Jill, and Karen.

Claudia! Great to see you posting here!

I think I sent you a message a while ago but don't recall.

Congratulations on your move! I'm so glad it worked out for you. Great job on your part.

I think I'll be in N. CA this June--Pleasant Hill area as well as San Jose. I'll let you know.

Excellent to hear that you're doing well generally. I'm doing all right myself--remission for the past six months, and planning to keep it going~!

Peace, blessings, love and hugs,

soromer/Kate

 

Kate

Will send you my email and phone contacts via private message.

 

Kisses