Metformin, EC, Solid Tumor Panels---oh my!

I've been a lot less concerned with modifying my diet in any dramatic fashion, but rather changed things for myself by going organic starting before I got cancer. That's eliminated a lot of the junk that I used to eat and I weigh less now than I used to, but I am by no stretch of the imagine thin like I was when I was younger.

I'm more concerned by the environmental factors, like endocrine disruptors (also known as obeseogens btw), that we are constantly assaulted with in our daily lives and aren't necessarily made aware of. It takes a lot of effort and time to find out what they are and take some steps to reduce exposure. It's a process that doesn't happen overnight.

There is no complete magic list anywhere that I have found that names them and where they are found that I can share for avoiding them. Producers are allowed by our laws to bring new ones to market without first proving they are safe. They have to be proven that they are unsafe to be taken off the market and that generally takes many, many years. Think about all the articles in the news these days about PFOS and PFOAS everywhere in our environment and drinking water as examples about just two of them. Remember BPA? It's just as important to be concerned about the packaging of what we ingest as what is in them because a lot of plastic and can packaging that says it is now BPA free to make you feel safer now use similar, but differently named chemicals that are still endocrine disrupters. It's like drug dealers cutting drugs with things like fentynal and other substance to alter them enough to make prosecuting them more difficult because they are no longer chemically what's illegal. 

A list I have found helpful (but by no means is complete) is known as the Dirty Dozen list of endocrine disruptors. It's like the one for deciding which organic foods to spend your money on. They are: BPA (and similar iterations), Dioxin, Atrazine, Pthalates (anything with fragrance as an ingredient has them), Perchlorate, Fire retardants, lead, arsenic (it's in rice and chicken feed for example), mercury, PFCs (PFOS & PFOAS-also referred to as forever chemicals), organophosate pestisides (who wants to eat Roundup ready corn and other foods, anyway?), and glycol ethers. There are many more, but this is a good starting place to learn about endocrine disruptors.

I know it can feel hopeless to avoid all of these chemicals we are unwittingly exposed to these days and that the damage has already been done to many of us. I guess this is how I fight back for myself and for my other family members, especially my daughter and granddaughter. It certainly doesn't hurt anything to reduce exposure where it's possible and so, for me, this is where I focus my post treatment efforts to improve my health.

I think a lot of us focus on diet and exercise influences on our hormones and this cancer because they seem to be within our ability to have some control over. Control over something relevant when we feel we have lost control is a coping mechanism. There's got to be some magic diet, right? If only we had exercised more! The list of risk factors is longer than that and there are a good number of those that we have no control over. A healthy diet is in our own best interest, but it won't guarantee anything. Still, picking and choosing what things work and are actually better for us is not a waste, but nothing is ever one-size fits all.

I don't think it pays to pays to be obsessive about any of the things we have some control over for our health, but it doesn't hurt to put some effort into getting rid of the less healthy habits we may have engaged in without it taking over the life we have or impeding our ability to enjoy it.  A moderate, gradual approach would be so much easier without the yo-yoing. It's unrealistic to try to keep everything at ideals all of the time. That holds true for anyone whether they've ever had cancer or not, so it's important to not go to extremes. It feels good, like any other accomplishment, to conquer what bothers us. We should be all about making ourselves feel good about our lives following what treatment puts us through.

Don't beat yourself up for anything that you've been doing. I tried to not gain weight while on Megace and that was an exercise in futility. It impedes cancer, but it has those unavoidable side effects on weight, BP, and BS. It's a really difficult trade-off and takes a long time to recover from. There just are no shortcuts to losing that weight because Megace induces the production of fat cells. With everything you've been doing and trying, you have learned a lot along the way. That's a positive and your sharing your journey matters and helps, so in no way should you think yourself a fraud for having gone down this path and shared it with us. 

There will always be new diets to try and people will attempt them and swear by them because of all the books and other marketing for them. You can't stop anything where there's money to be made. There's a lot of good information and science that can be learned from them, but I think it's a mistake to rigidly adhere to just about all of them for any length of time. It sets you up for failure you really don't need to deal with. I'm not much for mint chocolate chip ice cream, but life isn't worth living if I could never have a chocolate chip cookie again!

I remember a discussion about anti inflamatories reducing recurrence too.

I know there has been mention on this thread and others of using the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory aspirin for cancer prevention (initial and recurrence).  I knew that recommendations had recently changed on the use of aspirin for prevention of heart attacks and strokes, so I did a quick search to see what, if anything, was new on aspirin use with respect to cancer prevention. 

Here are a few links to recent articles on aspirin as it relates to cancer prevention.  Please make sure to do your own thorough research if this is something you are considering and also discuss with your doctor whether in your particular case the benefits of taking aspirin outweigh the risks. 

From the National Cancer Institute (NCI) (October 2020):  "Can Taking Aspirin Help Prevent Cancer?"  https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/research/aspirin-cancer-risk

Also from the NCI (August 2020): "Regular Aspirin Use May Increase Older People's Risk of Dying from Cancer"  https://www.cancer.gov/news-events/cancer-currents-blog/2020/aspree-aspirin-increases-advanced-cancer

From the American Cancer Society, "Regular Use of Aspirin May Help Improve Survival After a Diagnosis of Colorectal Cancer"  https://www.cancer.org/research/acs-research-highlights/colon-and-rectal-cancer-research-highlights/regular-use-of-aspirin-may-help-improve-survival-after-a-diagnos.html

From the Cleveland Clinic (November 2021): "Should You Take Daily Aspirin"  https://health.clevelandclinic.org/do-you-need-daily-aspirin-for-some-it-does-more-harm-than-good/

From the Mayo Clinic (October 2021): "Daily Aspirin Therapy: Understand the Benefits and Risks"  https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/heart-disease/in-depth/daily-aspirin-therapy/art-20046797