Vegan diet

I haven't. One of the nurses at my oncologist's office told me that colon cancer is the cancer they see the most often in people who are very health conscious. The ones who eat properly and exercise a lot. Also, we have friends that had a horse that had colon cancer and had a huge tumour. A horse is a vegan eater. I have a friend who had some kind of minor cancer issue in his neck, I don't know exactly what it was, and he swears that he hasn't had a recurrence because of cutting out sugary foods. I think it just wouldn't have come back anyway and sugar is in almost everything. So I'm in the group that doesn't believe it will help. It never hurts to eat well but I don't think drastic measures help.

I think that you can't say for sure what helps. Stess is supposed to be one of the biggest negatives for people with cancer. If a person went vegan and felt more confident about their chances would that reduce stress and that's what ultimately helps them? Or is it the vegan diet? And would the vegan diet then work for the next person? Everyone's cancer journey is so different. If one person does or doesn't so something and they never get cancer again that will make them believe that it helped but did it? Or would they have been okay anyway? There's no way to quantify it.  

Why does one person smoke heavily their whole life and not get cancer and another die from second hand smoke? Why don't dogs die from lung cancer when they live with smokers? I used to own a dog daycare and some dogs came in reeking of cigarette smoke, poor little things. My mom passed away from pancreatic cancer in 1997 and her brother-in-law was dying from the same cancer at the same time a few doors down from her in the hospital. My mom was in terrible pain and looked like a mummy by the time she passed, he'd been out for dinner with his family three nights before he passed and never had any pain at all. They both went within two days of each other, him first.

Sorry if I sound like I'm on a tirade. I just find it so frustrating that there's so little evidence of what really does or doesn't help after all these years and all the money spent. I wish we could say for sure that yes, something helps, or no, don't bother. This is probably one of the hardest parts of having cancer, not getting any proof that something works or doesn't. Even chemo isn't necessarily helpful. For one person it shrinks their tumour, for the next person with the exact same tumour it doesn't help at all or the tumour even gets bigger. What the hell are we supposed to count on? Sorry again, I just get so frustrated. We don't even know why we get this in the first place. A polyp that went cancerous? Too much red meat? Not enough milk or veggies? Bad luck in the cancer draw? Who knows.

Jan

I don't follow any kind of diet. 

I try not to be silly with sugar and fats. I've never been a veggie eater, but try to get something green a few times a week. I swear by my daily fresh squeezed orange and lemon, but would never dream of telling anyone it has 'cured' me of Cancer. 

I think that, if we learn to know our bodies, that we can be in tune with what to feed it to keep it running strong; even keep the Cancer at away or at bay. But, there are cases where no amount of healthy diets, restrictive diets, over the top diets will ever save us. Our beloved Nana, who I met exactly one year ago this past week, followed some pretty extreme diet restrictions, and as some of you know, she even went down to Mexico to the Gerson Institue; came home and passed within a month. She was so conscioetous and yet she is gone. 

So, no, I have never and would never follow a Vegan or even Vegetarian diet, because I know it wouldn't suit me. 

I pray that you will descover what is good for you, and feel confident as you go forward in the battle for a healthy and long life. 

Sue - Trubrit

it can't hurt to give it a shot.  From what I've read, there's not much in the way of actual evidence showing that any diet can make a difference in tumor growth, but it might be worth throwing it into the mix just to see what happens.

I lived off Hot Tamales while in treatment, tho, so I'm not sure I can even have an opinion on this!

Radiation kills bacteria, germs, and living cells. When it’s not killing them, it’s damaging them beyond repair.

And then there’s the pollution of chemicals in overused soil…

It doesn’t make a difference if the glass is ½ full or ½ empty, the water’s polluted…. (eh, Phil-G?)

And all eliminating sugar from the diet does, is help cancer cells starve your good cells.

A well rounded diet consisting of all the things we humans normally devour, is by far the best diet. And moving, not overtly exercising, running and knocking yourself out, is better than being a couch potato.

All a cancer cell is, is a cell that’s been damaged so badly, that it can no longer take directions from your body regarding how to grow. If your body (immune/T cells) doesn’t remove the dead/dying cell as it normally should, that cell can remain alive using the fermentation process. It takes in glucose and excretes lactic acid. The liver converts lactic acid back into glucose…..

Since the defective cell can’t take orders regarding how to survive, it just grows, taking in as much or more glucose than the surrounding cells. It steals glucose from normal cells that are taking orders, limiting those good cell’s uptake of glucose.

And since all normal things that grow, normally grow by splitting cells and naturally producing dead cells. Any one of those naturally produced dead or dying cells can remain alive via the fermentation process if they are not removed from the body as they normally should be.

It isn’t any “outside force” that causes cancer cells. Cancer is caused by the body’s neglect to remove the defective cell the way it should. Every one of us will have dead or dying cells inside us as a result of the normal process of growing and staying alive.

Before anyone attempts to change any normal behavior, one should understand what a cancer cell is and what it isn’t. Keeping the body in the very best shape will help the immune system do it’s job, but if the body is ignoring dead and dying cells, there simply isn’t too much one can do except help the body be as healthy as possible, and hope the immune system begins to do the job the correct way.

Some cultures eat an abundance of fruits and vegetables, others survive on more fish, others on a meat based diet…. Some eat excessively, and some nearly starving to death from the lack of any food. They all get cancer.

My strong opinion? Forget the crazy diets that accomplish nothing and make it more difficult for your body to survive.

Eat a well rounded diet and live life as normally as you can; Enjoy it all while you can.

Be well,

John

JanJan63 said:

I was chatting with a

I was chatting with a veterinarian I know on the weekend and she mentioned that her brother was diagnosed with cancer six years ago. I forget which cancer he had, I'm sorry, not colon cancer because I'd remember that. He'd been vegan for many years before the diagnosis but because of nutrition issues is now no longer vegan and must eat meat. However, he's been cancer free since his treatment. Interesting.

Vegan/fish with little to no sugar or dairy. A Harvard meta study (a summary of lots of little studies) showed it to have the least chance of recurrence. Plus I eat tumeric much more than I used to. I like it and I figure it can't hurt.

Easyflip/Richard

A "high quality" vegan diet is consistent with some of the science which relates to how limiting excess glucose, and by extension, insulin, limits stimulation of tumor growth.  This may be the case with excess protein as well.  There are other variations, such as short term fasting or a ketogenic diet combined with modest calorie restriction, both of which if done properly seem to show promiss in slowing tumor growth in limited trials. 

I would refer you to the work of Dr. Eugene Fine, Dr Valter Longo, and Dr Tom Seyfried all of which have been or are currently engaged in trials to assess how diet can be used to augment conventional treatment.   You can find some of their talks on Youtube.   None of these tested dietary models which these researchers are involved in are being advocated as stand-alone therapies but as supervised additions to standard care.   

You might also be interested in watching a lecture by Dr. Colin Champ.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ot96y5-D_K0

He's a young oncologist who has reviewed the available research literature and also concluded diet is an essential part of therapy.  He gives a good summary of the available research which he claims most of colleages (in oncology) are not aware of.   

Try to do what you can to keep your body and mind strong, both of which feed into your immune system which is also critical. You won't find a lot of support in the medical community for dietary interventions, or in fact any lifestyle intervention, but there is research (if one seeks it out) which supports the benefits of exercise, a good diet, and a positive outlook.   Be wary of and skeptical of personal opinions (including mine) and do your homework.  Anecdotal stories about single individuals are useless.  People who do everything right get cancer too, and visa versa.  That's why studies, whether observational or controlled, involving sufficient numbers of people (or model animals) are important.  

Good luck 

I have not but I know someone who went on a vegan diet without knowing what she was doing and she got seriously ill so just make sure you do it through a medical professional who can monitor your bloodwork.

I modified my diet but I added lots of healthy foods to it and eliminated absolute garbage but I found alternative healthy snacks (delicious all natural cookies) at Trader Joes. I stopped eating BBQ 100%, very little red meat but I will always eat chicken.  I also upped my fish to twice a week.  I am cancer free but that is because I opted for the radical surgery which was an option in my case.  My friend, who was on the board about 18 months ago, modified her diet completely and exercised for hours at a time and she's not with us anymore. I think a lot of what happens is plain luck. She fought really hard.  If it will make you feel mentally stronger, that's a good thing. Do what makes you feel like you are doing your best.  Just get the necessary nutrition.