New here, My Mom was just diagnosed

Jamkelso said:

Hi Karen,

Hi Karen,

so sorry to hear about your mom. I hope surgery went well and recovery goes smoothly!

My dad was just diagnosed in September and last week we found out that he had lung mets, so he started a drug called votrient.Im no expert about juicing, but I tried to do as much research as I could about it because I started juicing for him in October. Some other people may have some more insight, but the way I look at it is, I know it’s not going to cure my dad but it can’t hurt. Getting all of those extra vitamins and nutrients can only help. I wanted to start as soon as I could so that way his body would be even healthier if and when he had to start treatment. So what I learned was that there are two types of juices: centrifugal and masticating or cold press. The masticating ones are pricier, but I think worth it. They don’t use heat like the centrifugal so more of the nutrients are preserved. Also the juice stays for longer. its 24hrs with the centrifugal and 72 hours with the masticating. I was worried about blood sugar bc one veggies have a lot of natural sugar when juiced, but I started him slow (which is good bc drinking too much to start can upset your stomach and things. Ive just been having him cut out more of the processed sugar too, at least I’ve been trying  

He drinks about 96oz of juice over a 3-4 day period. I juice 5lbs of carrots, 6 beets (Stems and all), 2 small apples, and then some sort of greens (romaine lettuce, spinach, kale). I store them filled to the top of mason jars so as little oxygen as possible gets in. I’d love to hear if other people have any thoughts on amount of juice or what they juice, etc. 

my main points would be:

- use a masticating juicer (if it doesn’t say it’s one, then it’s not)

- start out drinking just a little and build up to more

- drink on an empty stomach usually about 30 minutes before she eats

- store your juice in an airtight container with as little empty space in it as possible (the mason jars have worked great for me) 

again im no expert. These are just some of the things I’ve learned from doing it. If you have any other questions, let me know! 

 

Jamie

I’m sorry to hear about your Dad as well. I’ve read a lot info about juicing on Chris beat cancer & the truth about cancer. I’ve been bringing her some juice while in the hospital . I’m hoping once she’s out she will switch over to an organic diet with lots of raw veggies & juice! I do believe it can help. 

Manufred said:

Pragmatic Approach

Karen,

I personally tend to look for answers in modern science, and kidney cancer has benefited a lot from that over the last few years.  In particular, immunotherapy drugs (artificial antibodies) that stimulate the immune system to detect and kill cancer cells are now available and work well for some people, myself included.  Side effects have been quite mild, especially compared to traditional chemo and also compared to angio-suppression drugs (Stutent, Votrient) which have been mostly used for RCC up to now.  Immunotherapy does not work for everyone but it provides another possibilty that, if it works, is much more tolerable and possibly more efective than other forms of treatment.

Search for names including Nivolumab, Ipilimumab, Opdivo, Keytruda and Yervoy, and find an oncologist who is aware of these treatments. Also look at the Checkmate 214 Clinical Trial.  If you search my name "Manufred" on this site you will find my previous postings which have more details about my own experience.

Good luck with you mother and best wishes.

Fred

the oncologists did mention targeted agents & Immunotherapy . Right now they seem focused on the Mets to the spine and she will be starting gamma knife radiation in about 2 weeks. She’s still recovering from the spine surgery . 

I’m not sure why all treatment can’t start at once . A question I will have to ask today . 

jazzgirl said:

Juicing

Hi Karen,

What a lot your mom and you and whole family are going through!  I think it's especially hard to have the holidays swirling around you as you deal with everything.

I can offer a few thoughts on juicing but only as it relates to the kidney.  I started juicing (yes, masticating juicer) about 10 years ago.  I had never eaten enough dark leafy greens and other veg - couldn't stand the taste of some of them, especially cooked.  Then I found out I actually liked them as juice, and was finally getting those vitamins and minerals daily.  We would juice apple, beet, beet greens, carrot, celery, chard, cucumber, ginger, green pepper, kale, lemon, parsley, spinach, and even broccoli and other veg leftovers...

Fast-forward to July 2016 with a renal tumor out of the blue and partial nephrectomy of my sole kidney (born with only the right one.)  I've seen various opinions on this site about change of diet/nutrition after kidney surgery.  On the advice of my surgeon, nephrologist, and dieticians, I have to really watch my levels of sodium, potassium, and phosphorous, along with protein (and me a major carnivore...)

When I looked at sodium and potassium content of the juice, many on our veg list are pretty high (especially carrots, chard, and spinach).  I'm also trying to get my blood pressure under control - it's been creeping upwards and is affected by sodium in particular.  So I haven't gone back to juice yet.  Maybe if my labs continue ok I'll try easing it back into my diet.

So, I really recommend juicing to get all those good vitamins, but as always check with your mom's docs about her kidney labs and whether the minerals will be an issue for her.

I wish you and your mom and all your family a new year of peace within the health issues.  Take care

We haven’t even seen the kidney oncologist yet. She’s still in the hospital and recovering from the spine surgery . While in rehab she started getting severe pain on her rib. MRI shows a fracture where it metastasized . Hoping the Dr will move up radiation to start this week! Original plan was Cyberknife to start on 1/10, but they are hopefully going to start on the rib this week. 

I will check with the Dr once we get an appt on nutrition related to the kidney . She’s not drinking a lot as I’m just bringing it to her when I can . But I do believe nutrition is key .