What causes cancer?

libby.sparks said:

"I think I'll have that Snickers now"

Hi Cindi, Don's Wife and Eldri!

Hello. My name is Libby, and I am a sugar addict.

I ran the Paris marathon April 12, 2015, three months before my diagnosis and surgery. I was running 30-35 miles a week. I enjoyed excellent health, high energy and maintained a normal weight. I ate something sweet every day, sometimes several dessert a day, and a couple of tablespoons (or more) of ice cream every day in the summer. Like Cindi, I have always eaten what I wanted.

 

I LOVE that you are so realistic about nutrition. Not too long ago, I was so darned nauseated that I couldn't imagine eating a snickers or a cookie. On a 5'7" frame, I was 130 pounds in July, just before being diagnosed with Stage IV B USPC. The big GYN surgery involved  placement of an ileostomy. Three weeks after surgery, I developed significant abdominal distention, nausea and vomiting. I was hospitalized and found to have massive ascites, infected with e coli. A drain was placed to remove the infected abdominal ascites. In one week, I lost 18 liters of Protein rich fluid. My weight dropped to 92 pounds, and i was told to eat and drink high protein foods and drinks. Honestly, I don't know how I survived those weeks. I had no appetite and had to force every swallow of food. And if that wasn't bad enough, I battled persistent and significant dehydration from a "high output" ileostomy. I developed painful abdominal spasms, which were later discovered were caused by several small bowel obstructions. Without an omentum to support the bowel and massive adhesions from the infected peritoneal fluid, the small bowel developed acute turns and knuckling, and nearly complete bowel obstruction. After surgery to release the small bowel, and several areas of small bowel resection, the abdominal pain has resolved and now I feel great. I am happy to say that my appetite has returned with more verocity than ever. I was able to resume the treatment plan, and completed the 6th cycle of Taxol/Carbo on Feb 2. I have been eating everything in sight! I'm hungry now...for a Snickers (thanks, Cindi for reminding me how tasty they are ).

But, I just finished reading the (audio) book "Anti Cancer. A New Way of Life". One of the four major components of living an Anti Cancer Way of life is diet. As I understand it, eating high glycemic snacks (refined sugar) causes a rapid rise in the blood sugar, a rapid rise in insulin, and release of IGF (insulin like growth factor). IGF is a systemic inflammatory substance that perpetuates cancer growth. So I have committed myself to eliminating refined sugar from my diet. Today is the 4th day of no refined sugar. I'm waiting for the cravings  to fade. I did use a bit of Agave Nectar in my Pomegranite Green Tea. Maybe tomorrow will be a better day.

The author did say, that eating a square or two of dark chocolate at the end of a meal would not be expected to result in a sudden rise in blood sugar, insulin and IGF. And that having one glass of red wine with dinner is good for us. Sounds good to me!

Hugs to all of you. 

Hi Libby,Oh ! so sorry to read of your journey but what an eye opener this is . It informs, scares the heck out of me but shows the measure of your strength.I admire your determination to not roll over and play dead,You weathered the storm, you  strengthened me and no doubt others that have read your post , I thank you for sharing,

It seems to me that you've earned and deserve many bottles  of red wine, oops! not for one day consumption though.

You deserve NED after all that, I pray that for you it will come .

Moli - sending healing vibes and plenty hugs.

Hemochromatosis can cause heart attacks and it runs in families.  My father had a heart attack at 42, but managed to live to 84 and died of congestive heart failure that caused renal failure then.  My brother dropped dead of a heart attack at 57, while I was going thru chemo.  He thought I'd be dying soon, but he was the one to go.  After I didn't stop being short of breath after chemo, I was tested for hemochromatosis, and was found to have a sky high iron level by my family physician's office.  My oncologist, who's also a hematologist, checked me at my next appointment for the genes for hemochromatosis, and I did have one abnormal gene that sometimes causes hemochromatosis.  I now think that is what probably caused my father's death back in 1984 and my brother's in 2008.  My father had twin brothers that both had terrible heart problems, and I found a descendant of theirs on ancestry.com who told me that all of the men of the family have died of it except for one in the 3 generations that have come along since my father and uncles lived.  I had blood letting (phlebotomy) to bring my iron level down to normal, and I have to keep getting ferritin tests every few months.  I used to have a lot of palpitations and they're gone now that the phlebotomy was done.  Maybe you should have people in your family get their ferritin levels checked, and if high, get a genetic test done for the genes (either C282Y or H63D gene defects can cause it).  Women are often okay until menopause, as their iron levels are decreased by their having periods.  After menopause, the iron starts accumulating in the body causing a lot of different symptoms and many conditions that can kill them.  Something like 3% of the population has hemochromatosis, and most don't even know it.  Getting checked and treated could save lives.

Hi Eldri,

Such a good question!  I wonder to this day what caused mine.  Cancer does not run in my family, I was the first (my parents, grandparents, etc. had heart issues).  I was told that my particular small cell undifferentiated cancer was extremely rare and the cause was unknown.  I'm obese, but I'm working on that, that is something that definitely runs in my family.  Still, I cannot help but wonder what other factors are out there, including the environment.  At any rate, it's been 6 years since I was treated and as far as I know "cured", and I focus on the present.  Hope they keep learning more and more...I would love it if no one ever had to go through what we all did!!!!  I also feel very lucky to benefit from what they know so far.

Keep on asking those great questions!!!

Susan

Tethys41 said:

Cause?

Cancer develops because of mitochondrial damage.  Mitochondria are cellular organelles that produce energy.  People who end up developing cancer, first have a reduction of mitochondria in their cells and mitochondrial damage.  As a result, cells struggle to produce energy and revert from using oxygen to produce it to fermentation, which relies on sugar and an environment with little or no oxygen.  This is a natural process that cells revert to in a last ditch effort to survive.  What causes mitochondrial damage are toxins and inflammation.  As a result of mitochondrial malfunction and damage, DNA mutations occur, which causes other cellular malfunctions which result in cancer cells - cells that multiply without limits and cells that don't self destruct when they should.  So, although there is a genetic component, it is not directly the cause.  This is where conventional research is failing us.  Researchers are looking for the genetic trigger for each cancer.  There are some genetic influences, those that contribute to inflammation and other variables that contribute to cancer.  But the body's internal environment is what leads to mitochondrial damage and ultimately to cancer. What supports mitochondria? Limiting exposure to toxins; managing stress; controlling inflammation; heatlhy exercise (not endurance type exercise, which causes inflammation and adrenal stress); clean diet - low in carbs and sugar, high in healthy fats.  There are many great resources out there if you want to understand what causes cancer.

Already mentioned - Anti-Cancer: A New Way of Life; by David Servan-Schreiber

Tripping Over the Truth: The Return of the Metabolic Theory of Cancer Illuminates a New and Hopeful Path to a Cure; by Travis Christofferson

Pottenger's Prophecy: How Food Resets Genes for Wellness or Illness; by Gray Graham, Deborah Kesten, Larry Scherwitz

Best wishes,

diagnosed: 7/2009

stage III ovarian cancer

NED since 2/2010

Thanks, Pam.

https://thetruthaboutcancer.com/mitochondria-function-reduce-cancer-risk/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=partners&utm_campaign=draxe