we need an alternative!

daughter of survivor
daughter of survivor Member Posts: 3
edited March 2014 in Breast Cancer #1
I am reaching out to those of you who have turned to naturopathic medicine. Has there been much success with stage four breast cancer patients? what alternatives to chemo and radiation would you recommend? and also, where can I find a directory for an oncologist who focuses on naturopathy? Thank you for your help!!!!

Comments

  • phoenixrising
    phoenixrising Member Posts: 1,508
    #2
    That is really a tough one.
    That is really a tough one. I don't think I've heard of anyone here using CAM for their cancer except as an addition to their traditional care. Like yoga and meditation for instance.
    I only know of one instance where CAM was effective (for a couple of years anyway) and that was for a colon cancer patient in our town who was told he was beyond tx and Docs gave him a few months to live. Apparently he looked very ill. All I know is that he was quite the frequent customer at our health food store for a couple of years, eventually felt so good he went back to work, but then I guess it returned as he is no longer with us.

    When my husband was first dx with colorectal cancer he went the CAM route first. I cannot tell you the work and $ involved as we designed a diet upon which everything had some anticancer benefit and tons of supplements including Essiac. He was incredibly healthy and his tumour was happily growing too. In the end it was the surgery, rads and 5-FU that cured him. He was almost stage iv and his odds of being alive today even with tx were not great.

    I'm not trying to discourage you, just letting you know my experiences with it. I was the biggest advocate of CAM and still am except when it came to my cancer I wanted the best odds.
    Esp after all the work we put into my husband to no avail.
    I felt the same way as you do and agonized and researched for months trying to avoid tx.

    Please do your own research and carefully discern where your info is coming from. A lot of people out there want to sell you their ideas even though there is no evidence. I've "heard" a lot of success stories but when it gets down to looking at the evidence it sometimes seems to disappear.

    These are some websites that might help in your research:

    http://nccam.nih.gov/

    http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/sections/complementary_medicine/

    and breastcancer.org has an alternative section.

    A good place to do research is: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?db=pubmed&tool=toolbar

    This is the place to check out soy and see how it can promote or inhibit tumours, or Indole 3 Carbinol and how some researchers think it can cause liver tumours while people on the boards are promoting it like its a cure-all. And knowing the difference between Essiac and FlorEssence as most people think they are the same. A very good place to check stuff out.

    By the way, there are women here who have been stage iv and are still alive and well after many years, but I believe they took tx.

    Good luck to you on your search

    jan
  • KathiM
    KathiM Member Posts: 8,028 Member
    #3
    phoenixrising said:

    That is really a tough one.
    That is really a tough one. I don't think I've heard of anyone here using CAM for their cancer except as an addition to their traditional care. Like yoga and meditation for instance.
    I only know of one instance where CAM was effective (for a couple of years anyway) and that was for a colon cancer patient in our town who was told he was beyond tx and Docs gave him a few months to live. Apparently he looked very ill. All I know is that he was quite the frequent customer at our health food store for a couple of years, eventually felt so good he went back to work, but then I guess it returned as he is no longer with us.

    When my husband was first dx with colorectal cancer he went the CAM route first. I cannot tell you the work and $ involved as we designed a diet upon which everything had some anticancer benefit and tons of supplements including Essiac. He was incredibly healthy and his tumour was happily growing too. In the end it was the surgery, rads and 5-FU that cured him. He was almost stage iv and his odds of being alive today even with tx were not great.

    I'm not trying to discourage you, just letting you know my experiences with it. I was the biggest advocate of CAM and still am except when it came to my cancer I wanted the best odds.
    Esp after all the work we put into my husband to no avail.
    I felt the same way as you do and agonized and researched for months trying to avoid tx.

    Please do your own research and carefully discern where your info is coming from. A lot of people out there want to sell you their ideas even though there is no evidence. I've "heard" a lot of success stories but when it gets down to looking at the evidence it sometimes seems to disappear.

    These are some websites that might help in your research:

    http://nccam.nih.gov/

    http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/sections/complementary_medicine/

    and breastcancer.org has an alternative section.

    A good place to do research is: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?db=pubmed&tool=toolbar

    This is the place to check out soy and see how it can promote or inhibit tumours, or Indole 3 Carbinol and how some researchers think it can cause liver tumours while people on the boards are promoting it like its a cure-all. And knowing the difference between Essiac and FlorEssence as most people think they are the same. A very good place to check stuff out.

    By the way, there are women here who have been stage iv and are still alive and well after many years, but I believe they took tx.

    Good luck to you on your search

    jan

    Wow!
    Thank you, Jan! I have copied your post (I hope you don't mind). I get asked about this by my patient partners, and I don't know how to respond.

    I did the 3-prong approach. Traditional treatment, complementary treatment (Herbal, nutrition, etc), and mind/spiritual faith. I, like your hubby, survived colon cancer before the breast cancer...

    Again, my dear, thanks for the information!!!

    Hugs, Kathi
  • phoenixrising
    phoenixrising Member Posts: 1,508
    #4
    KathiM said:

    Wow!
    Thank you, Jan! I have copied your post (I hope you don't mind). I get asked about this by my patient partners, and I don't know how to respond.

    I did the 3-prong approach. Traditional treatment, complementary treatment (Herbal, nutrition, etc), and mind/spiritual faith. I, like your hubby, survived colon cancer before the breast cancer...

    Again, my dear, thanks for the information!!!

    Hugs, Kathi

    No problem Kathi, I'm glad
    No problem Kathi, I'm glad you found it useful. There are a lot more sites out there but these are the ones I trust enough to give away except the forum on breastcancer.org and that is for opinions mostly. Check out www.nutritiondata.com if you want to see a comprehensive list of nutrients in your food. You can track your meals all day and sum it up at night.
    There is a nutritionist blog who comes up with some pretty interesting pieces of info.
  • daughter of survivor
    daughter of survivor Member Posts: 3
    #5
    thank you!!!
    Thank you so much for all your help! Yes, I will definitely keep researching and thank you for the links you gave me! Yes, it is really difficult to know what to believe about treatments which is why I am turning to others for help. So I really appreciate your input.

    We are looking for something different because my mom is going through her third time of chemotherapy treatments in 4 years for metastasized breast cancer. Her body is reacting terribly to the chemo- this is the sixth day in a row she can barely move- she cant even get up to go to the bathroom. So she will not be continuing the chemo. We just want to figure out a strict diet that might have some promise.

    So, thanks again!
  • phoenixrising
    phoenixrising Member Posts: 1,508
    #6
    daughter of survivor said:

    thank you!!!
    Thank you so much for all your help! Yes, I will definitely keep researching and thank you for the links you gave me! Yes, it is really difficult to know what to believe about treatments which is why I am turning to others for help. So I really appreciate your input.

    We are looking for something different because my mom is going through her third time of chemotherapy treatments in 4 years for metastasized breast cancer. Her body is reacting terribly to the chemo- this is the sixth day in a row she can barely move- she cant even get up to go to the bathroom. So she will not be continuing the chemo. We just want to figure out a strict diet that might have some promise.

    So, thanks again!

    What a wonderful daughter
    What a wonderful daughter you are. I wish you and your mom success. I do hope you find something useful.
    love
    jan

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