nutrition

Hi Krissy,
I read both of your letters and read your profile. Congrats, on that beautiful baby. I did not really change my diet after cancer, because I always felt I ate a healty diet--lots of veggies not too much meat. I'm not sure if our cancer is a diet-related as colon cancer, but it doesn't hurt to eat healty foods.

sue1 said:

Hi Again, I just returned a reply on your other email. I'm Sue1. Yes, before I even went to surgery I switched to a total vegan diet, no processed white flours, no refined sugars, no caffiene/alcohol. I had some literature from Mexico and they utilized this diet, plus after reading Lance Armstrong's bio he hired a nutritionist & she had him following the same basic diet. Supposedly, protien feeds cancer cells and you want those little boogers to be as inactive as possible, especially while undergoing chemo/rad. Once you are in remission you can start slowly adding chicken/fish to your diet, but they advocate that you cut out all red meat forever. I'm also taking large doses of multi vitamin, Vit A, Vit C, calcium and CQ-10. My Dr. says I'm the 1st patient he's ever had whose CA-125 came down so fast (after 1 month of treatment it's in the normal range) & I don't know all the contributing factors, but I don't think the diet can hurt. Have you done anything differently after your experience with cancer? Sue1

Vitamins
Are you taking mega doses of vitamin C. IV Vitamin C? I am currently on a 3x per week IV of 75 Grams of Vitamin C.

Two treatments of those prior to Chemo, actually brought my CA12 down from 75 after surgery to 22 (Normal).

I was diagnosed in March 2012 with Stage IIC Ovarian Cancer. Had a complete hysterectomy and then started on the Vitamin C before Chemo. I have completed 3 of the 6 Chemo Treatments and my CA125 is down to 13.

Just wondering.
Sheryl

kcsoftball said:

Vitamins
Are you taking mega doses of vitamin C. IV Vitamin C? I am currently on a 3x per week IV of 75 Grams of Vitamin C.

Two treatments of those prior to Chemo, actually brought my CA12 down from 75 after surgery to 22 (Normal).

I was diagnosed in March 2012 with Stage IIC Ovarian Cancer. Had a complete hysterectomy and then started on the Vitamin C before Chemo. I have completed 3 of the 6 Chemo Treatments and my CA125 is down to 13.

Just wondering.
Sheryl

Diet and Vitamins
Sheryl,
It sounds as if you are following a similar path to what I did when I was undergoing treatment. I did IV vitamin C once a week between chemos and also a nutritional IV each week. It really helped reduce the side effects of chemo and it is said to make the chemo more effective. All I know is that I was NED after 8 rounds of chemo. Recent studies from the Univesity of Kansas indicate that high dose IVC is beneficial for ovarian cancer patients.

The diet question is controversial. I work with a naturopath who recommends the Paleo diet for her ovarian cancer patients. She, herself, is a 20 year ovarian cancer survivor, and has found that her CA-125 is lower than it has ever been by following the Paleo diet. Keep in mind that this diet includes meat, but it must be hormone and antibiotic free, grass fed or free range or wild caught. Red meat would not be advisable for a patient with elevated iron. the problem with a vegetarian diet is that it is high in carbs. Carbs turn to sugar and sugar stimulates cancer growth. I have come to learn, working with my naturopath, that there is not one set of supplements that will address every patient's needs. She does a lot of testing and determines what is out of balance. Then she recommends supplements to correct those imbalances. She also knows the supplements that will not interact with the type of chemo the patient is receiving.