Has anyone tried a diet vs. Chemo

ninetoes
ninetoes Member Posts: 81
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
I think someone here is doing a special diet instead of chemo, if so I would like to get more info.


Dave
«13

Comments

  • PhillieG
    PhillieG Member Posts: 4,866 Member
    Calling the Carrot Chick!!!
    Emily, come here. We need you.
    Yes, we have one member who is amazing on so many levels. I think she would be more than happy to talk to you. I am juicing again but still doing chemo. There are others but 2behealed (Emily) is the most amazing one.
    -phil

    Dave, is that 9 toes on 1 foot or is that the combined total?
  • qwe
    qwe Member Posts: 124
    PhillieG said:

    Calling the Carrot Chick!!!
    Emily, come here. We need you.
    Yes, we have one member who is amazing on so many levels. I think she would be more than happy to talk to you. I am juicing again but still doing chemo. There are others but 2behealed (Emily) is the most amazing one.
    -phil

    Dave, is that 9 toes on 1 foot or is that the combined total?

    I also so would like to hear
    I also so would like to hear from Emily I am done with chemo but the diet she is on
    may help not to have a recurrence of cancer.

    Phillirg this might sound dumb but is v-8 juice the same thing as juicing??
  • ninetoes
    ninetoes Member Posts: 81
    PhillieG said:

    Calling the Carrot Chick!!!
    Emily, come here. We need you.
    Yes, we have one member who is amazing on so many levels. I think she would be more than happy to talk to you. I am juicing again but still doing chemo. There are others but 2behealed (Emily) is the most amazing one.
    -phil

    Dave, is that 9 toes on 1 foot or is that the combined total?

    Phil
    That's total, lost my

    Phil

    That's total, lost my big toe on my right foot in a motorcycle accident.


    Dave
  • PhillieG
    PhillieG Member Posts: 4,866 Member
    ninetoes said:

    Phil
    That's total, lost my

    Phil

    That's total, lost my big toe on my right foot in a motorcycle accident.


    Dave

    Oh Man
    The "Captain of the Team" as they referred to the Big Toe on Seinfeld.
    Sorry to hear that. Great screen name though.

    I have done well on chemo considering I was late stage IV. One has to go with what one is comfortable with and there isn't always a lot of time to make decisions. It could be life/death so I guess it should go to the top of all lists. While I like to think I ate healthy, I know I could have done better. The chemo/surgery route looked (to me) to be my best option at surviving this and possible being "cured" so that is what I have chosen. Now, at 5 years out from my initial Dx I still have some nodes in the lung(s). While I am on chemo I am also starting to juice again with organic greens and other goodies. I think that often our diet might give us cancer so why not have it help cure us too. Makes sense. The thing is going with what is right for you.

    I hope I wasn't out of line with toe comment. The name got me.
    Love your avatar too
    -p
  • PhillieG
    PhillieG Member Posts: 4,866 Member
    qwe said:

    I also so would like to hear
    I also so would like to hear from Emily I am done with chemo but the diet she is on
    may help not to have a recurrence of cancer.

    Phillirg this might sound dumb but is v-8 juice the same thing as juicing??

    V-8
    V-8 is to juicing like saying a Pop Tart is French Pastry. I'm not an expert by any means but I think that V-8 has been somewhat processed. I would think it is better than soda but with juicing you take fresh (organic) fruit and veggies and you extract the juice out of them. It's just juice.
    Emily knows more than I do. Shes the "go-to Carrot Chick"
    -p
  • PGLGreg
    PGLGreg Member Posts: 731
    Extremely inadvisable.
    Please do the chemo your doctors recommend. There is no special diet that can substitute for chemo. Emily, a famous member here whose name was mentioned, is probably not at all typical (since she's still alive, for one thing). Anyhow, if I recall correctly, Emily substituted special diet for a continuation of chemo -- she did have some conventional therapy.
    --Greg
  • Shayenne
    Shayenne Member Posts: 2,342
    PGLGreg said:

    Extremely inadvisable.
    Please do the chemo your doctors recommend. There is no special diet that can substitute for chemo. Emily, a famous member here whose name was mentioned, is probably not at all typical (since she's still alive, for one thing). Anyhow, if I recall correctly, Emily substituted special diet for a continuation of chemo -- she did have some conventional therapy.
    --Greg

    My doctor....
    ...put me on no special diet, didn't tell me what to eat or not eat, she did say to maybe take a multivitamin, and that's about it, and told me it didn't matter was eaten, as long as I start gaining weight, she would be happy!

    Emily (2BHealed) has been NED for 7.5 years with just juicing and her diet, I don't know how to juice, or what to use, so I don't do it, but hopefully she'll come in here to tell you about it, or you look for her posts, doing a member search ot something. To me, you're damned if you do, damned if you don't, since I know people who ate well, and still are struggling with cancer, I eat normal things, I like my chicken and turkey, and salads, but it's always interesting in what Emily has to say that helped her stay cancer-free for so long...

    Now where is she... EMILY!! you're needed!!! :)

    Hugsss!
    ~Donns
  • ninetoes
    ninetoes Member Posts: 81
    PhillieG said:

    Oh Man
    The "Captain of the Team" as they referred to the Big Toe on Seinfeld.
    Sorry to hear that. Great screen name though.

    I have done well on chemo considering I was late stage IV. One has to go with what one is comfortable with and there isn't always a lot of time to make decisions. It could be life/death so I guess it should go to the top of all lists. While I like to think I ate healthy, I know I could have done better. The chemo/surgery route looked (to me) to be my best option at surviving this and possible being "cured" so that is what I have chosen. Now, at 5 years out from my initial Dx I still have some nodes in the lung(s). While I am on chemo I am also starting to juice again with organic greens and other goodies. I think that often our diet might give us cancer so why not have it help cure us too. Makes sense. The thing is going with what is right for you.

    I hope I wasn't out of line with toe comment. The name got me.
    Love your avatar too
    -p

    Not out of line at all. My
    Not out of line at all. My license plate says ninetoes also.
  • PhillieG
    PhillieG Member Posts: 4,866 Member
    ninetoes said:

    Not out of line at all. My
    Not out of line at all. My license plate says ninetoes also.

    Whew
    Dave, I did get a hold of Emily, the Carrot Chick and she is out of town but should be back Thursday. She would be more than happy to discuss diet. She's a good egg too.
    -phil
  • PhillieG
    PhillieG Member Posts: 4,866 Member
    Calling Scouty (Lisa)
    Lisa (Scouty) also knows a lot about using diet to help with cancer. I forgot earlier that she is another great resource.
    -phil
  • ninetoes
    ninetoes Member Posts: 81
    PhillieG said:

    Whew
    Dave, I did get a hold of Emily, the Carrot Chick and she is out of town but should be back Thursday. She would be more than happy to discuss diet. She's a good egg too.
    -phil

    Thanks for your help.
    Dave

    Thanks for your help.

    Dave
  • 2bhealed
    2bhealed Member Posts: 2,064 Member
    PGLGreg said:

    Extremely inadvisable.
    Please do the chemo your doctors recommend. There is no special diet that can substitute for chemo. Emily, a famous member here whose name was mentioned, is probably not at all typical (since she's still alive, for one thing). Anyhow, if I recall correctly, Emily substituted special diet for a continuation of chemo -- she did have some conventional therapy.
    --Greg

    HERE I AM!
    Hello semi-colons.

    I am currently out of town and don't have access to a computer very easily. I am traveling today, work tomorrow (wednesday) and will post here on thursday.

    I NEVER DID ANY CHEMO EVER NEVER. I did surgery. I do western diagnostics and Eastern healing.

    I did my healing post surgery ALL WITH DIET AND SUPPLEMENTS and a ton of other stuff but NOTHING conventional. You can read my story on my web page here.

    Alright. I have to hit the road now. I have an 8 hour road trip ahead of me.

    Will check in in a couple of days. Until then KEEP JUICING!!

    peace, emily the juice chick
  • PGLGreg
    PGLGreg Member Posts: 731
    2bhealed said:

    HERE I AM!
    Hello semi-colons.

    I am currently out of town and don't have access to a computer very easily. I am traveling today, work tomorrow (wednesday) and will post here on thursday.

    I NEVER DID ANY CHEMO EVER NEVER. I did surgery. I do western diagnostics and Eastern healing.

    I did my healing post surgery ALL WITH DIET AND SUPPLEMENTS and a ton of other stuff but NOTHING conventional. You can read my story on my web page here.

    Alright. I have to hit the road now. I have an 8 hour road trip ahead of me.

    Will check in in a couple of days. Until then KEEP JUICING!!

    peace, emily the juice chick

    Misremembered.
    I'm sorry that I mistakenly reported you had some chemo, Emily.

    All the same, I think it's unwise to skip chemo using Emily as a model. Look at it this way: after curative surgery, the only reason in conventional therapy to do chemo is to improve your odds. Of those who skip chemo, it's inevitable that some will survive and be able to post about their successful strategy.
    --Greg
  • PhillieG
    PhillieG Member Posts: 4,866 Member
    PGLGreg said:

    Misremembered.
    I'm sorry that I mistakenly reported you had some chemo, Emily.

    All the same, I think it's unwise to skip chemo using Emily as a model. Look at it this way: after curative surgery, the only reason in conventional therapy to do chemo is to improve your odds. Of those who skip chemo, it's inevitable that some will survive and be able to post about their successful strategy.
    --Greg

    But...
    Greg,
    It's a personal choice and a crap shoot either way. Not to get into an argument about this but there are plenty of people who follow the traditional protocols and do the chemo and wind up dead too. There's a lot to be said for faith and belief in what you are doing. If you do not think your treatment will help, be it chemo or nutrition, chances are it will not. To me, what Emily did after her surgery makes as much sense as another person who believes in chemo following up their surgery that way.

    Myself, I have gone the chemo route. I am juicing now too but I am not overdoing it. I think it's fairly safe to say that food had a lot to do with many of us getting cancer, why can't it have a healing effect on us if done correctly? It's a personal choice with what one thinks will cure themselves. I think Emily is a perfect model for it too, maybe even a centerfold (all covered in greens with balsamic dressing!)
    That's my opinion on it.
    -phil
  • scouty
    scouty Member Posts: 1,965 Member
    Sorry, been out of town
    Dave,

    You have brought up a topic that a couple of years ago was as contentious as some of the recent "religious" threads have been and probably would still be today if some of us continued to be bull headed know it alls.

    Thanks for the kind words Phil and Greg I am the one you remember as having some treatments and I welcome your always predicable comments.

    Dave, I was stage IV with 3 mets to the liver, 1 to my left lung, and several enlarged lymph nodes in early April 2004. Surgery was not an option so I did chemo (folfox with avastin) for 8 months. My CEA was an indicator for me and it was 37 at my first chemo treatment. The first 2-5 months did a great job of shrinking my 5 known tumors and my CEA steadily came down. You can read my web page on this site to find out more about my journey.

    Anyway, after 8 months and my oncologist telling me I needed 4-7 more months of it I felt like the chemo was doing more damage than good. My CEA was down to 5.1 so I thought (thanks to my mentor Emily) boosting my immune system and changing my diet might be able to "replace the chemo". By FAR, the hardest decision I have ever had to make but since some of the Oxilplatin side effects were really getting to me, it was a non-brainer (I was having a hard time walking since I could not feel the balls of my feet hit the ground). I have since told my onc. that giving someone Oxy. for over 6 months is inhuman!!

    I completely changed my diet and most of my lifestyle and am very pleased to say that I hopefully will be hitting my 5 year NED (cancer free) mark while we are at CP7 in Key West. WHO KNEW!!!!!!!!!

    Before I can really answer your question I would need to know more about your situation (history and include blood levels if possible). I personally think that those that are in a surgical NED state that do chemo to "mop up" can benefit the most from diet/lifestyle vs. chemo the most (like Em did).

    I also recommend diet changes for the majority of us in the US, Canada, and Australia (the countries with the highest incidence of colorectal cancer in the world, by far). I am always amazed at the bad ink "supplements" get in the press while you rarely hear about FDA approved poisons until they get recalled or banned after too many people die or are seriously injured. It's all about money and who can afford to fund the testing to prove the validity of a product, take control of you and do some research. If you have an oncologist that does not think diet has anything to do with colorectal cancer, get another one YESTERDAY!

    Do yourself a favor and keep your blood levels up as best you can. Memorize each one, what it means to your body and how to help it, that is key to your success.

    Enough for now,

    Lisa P.
  • dixchi
    dixchi Member Posts: 431
    BUT
    And that is a big but.....Emily is also a super athletic person,
    does triathlons etc......and the medical world is already saying
    that exercise can help with colon CA...i.e., Lance Armstrong,
    Scott Hamilton also beat their cancers......don't believe diet
    was what totally helped Emily and I have already said that
    before to Emily in another post. I myself have changed my
    eating habits and all for the better but never would
    I ever substitute foods for chemo.....not an equal exchange.
    It makes sense that we get more out of fresh foods than foods
    that have gone through additives and other crap to preserve them.
    With all due respect to Emily, that is my belief. We also need
    to be cautious what we advise people in a medical sense.

    Barbara
  • ninetoes
    ninetoes Member Posts: 81
    scouty said:

    Sorry, been out of town
    Dave,

    You have brought up a topic that a couple of years ago was as contentious as some of the recent "religious" threads have been and probably would still be today if some of us continued to be bull headed know it alls.

    Thanks for the kind words Phil and Greg I am the one you remember as having some treatments and I welcome your always predicable comments.

    Dave, I was stage IV with 3 mets to the liver, 1 to my left lung, and several enlarged lymph nodes in early April 2004. Surgery was not an option so I did chemo (folfox with avastin) for 8 months. My CEA was an indicator for me and it was 37 at my first chemo treatment. The first 2-5 months did a great job of shrinking my 5 known tumors and my CEA steadily came down. You can read my web page on this site to find out more about my journey.

    Anyway, after 8 months and my oncologist telling me I needed 4-7 more months of it I felt like the chemo was doing more damage than good. My CEA was down to 5.1 so I thought (thanks to my mentor Emily) boosting my immune system and changing my diet might be able to "replace the chemo". By FAR, the hardest decision I have ever had to make but since some of the Oxilplatin side effects were really getting to me, it was a non-brainer (I was having a hard time walking since I could not feel the balls of my feet hit the ground). I have since told my onc. that giving someone Oxy. for over 6 months is inhuman!!

    I completely changed my diet and most of my lifestyle and am very pleased to say that I hopefully will be hitting my 5 year NED (cancer free) mark while we are at CP7 in Key West. WHO KNEW!!!!!!!!!

    Before I can really answer your question I would need to know more about your situation (history and include blood levels if possible). I personally think that those that are in a surgical NED state that do chemo to "mop up" can benefit the most from diet/lifestyle vs. chemo the most (like Em did).

    I also recommend diet changes for the majority of us in the US, Canada, and Australia (the countries with the highest incidence of colorectal cancer in the world, by far). I am always amazed at the bad ink "supplements" get in the press while you rarely hear about FDA approved poisons until they get recalled or banned after too many people die or are seriously injured. It's all about money and who can afford to fund the testing to prove the validity of a product, take control of you and do some research. If you have an oncologist that does not think diet has anything to do with colorectal cancer, get another one YESTERDAY!

    Do yourself a favor and keep your blood levels up as best you can. Memorize each one, what it means to your body and how to help it, that is key to your success.

    Enough for now,

    Lisa P.

    Thanks Lisa.
    I was stage 2

    Thanks Lisa.

    I was stage 2 and had surgery to remove 1 foot of my colon and a baseball size tumor. I was told that I had a 75% chance of it coming back without Chemo and 80 - 85% chance if I did it. So they have me on Oxi and 5FU with the fanny pack for 2 days, 12 rounds of treatment. My onc told me she did not want me to change my diet right now, just to focus on the chemo. Then after that was done she would have me talk to a nutritionist and change my diet.

    I have an appointment today with the onc to talk about the chemo, either way I'm going to start my new diet. I believe that my eating habits got me here, so it can't hurt to rid my body of all the junk and start eating right. I will stick to the chemo, but will reserve the right to change my mind in the coming weeks.

    Thanks everyone for your support and comments, I wish everyone the best.

    Dave
  • PhillieG
    PhillieG Member Posts: 4,866 Member
    dixchi said:

    BUT
    And that is a big but.....Emily is also a super athletic person,
    does triathlons etc......and the medical world is already saying
    that exercise can help with colon CA...i.e., Lance Armstrong,
    Scott Hamilton also beat their cancers......don't believe diet
    was what totally helped Emily and I have already said that
    before to Emily in another post. I myself have changed my
    eating habits and all for the better but never would
    I ever substitute foods for chemo.....not an equal exchange.
    It makes sense that we get more out of fresh foods than foods
    that have gone through additives and other crap to preserve them.
    With all due respect to Emily, that is my belief. We also need
    to be cautious what we advise people in a medical sense.

    Barbara

    wow
    It's getting like talking about religion...

    I agree Barbara that it's not just diet, exercise and a lifestyle change are factors too. There is no magic bullet for cancer. There are many ways to deal with it. Belief in what you are doing goes a long way. There are arguments for both sides, some people just try to pray it away as was recently in the paper.

    All of this and other posts are opinions only. I don't think anyone here is an oncologist so one has to keep that in mind and just use your common sense or your best researched information to figure out how to deal with their cancer.
    -p

    who has a big butt?
  • dixchi
    dixchi Member Posts: 431
    Context
    well, I haven't seen yours....lol! Only if you make it so
    does it go to religion.....it bothers me that these posts
    are sometimes taken out of context.....can you imagine what
    condition Emily's immune system is in....WOW!....I am
    lucky to get a few walks in a week and yet I know more
    would be better....I agree that none of us are doctors
    and we should occasionally add a disclaimer to what
    we are claiming.

    Huggs,
    Barbara
  • lmliess
    lmliess Member Posts: 329
    dixchi said:

    Context
    well, I haven't seen yours....lol! Only if you make it so
    does it go to religion.....it bothers me that these posts
    are sometimes taken out of context.....can you imagine what
    condition Emily's immune system is in....WOW!....I am
    lucky to get a few walks in a week and yet I know more
    would be better....I agree that none of us are doctors
    and we should occasionally add a disclaimer to what
    we are claiming.

    Huggs,
    Barbara

    My 2 cents...
    I agree that it is what you feel best doing. I WISH I could stop the chemo and go totally organic and juice all day, and I am slowly doing that again, as my appetite will allow, but for me at this time, I think I need to get through this chemo THEN totally 100% focus on PREVENTION. I do not ever want to go through this or put my family through this again, as all of you, but I want whatever cell may remain to DIE!!! Being Stage IV I want my best option I feel.
    Before my DX I was completely all about healthy foods, eat as natural as possible...although I did like my beer and wine. Ahhhhh....those summer days on the boat cracking open a ice cold beer........anyway, I will be cutting out that going forward. I guess my point is I ate pretty good and was fairly active, more so than even my husband and my friends, and I got the stage IV butt cancer. I was the one running around telling everyone the importance of healthy eating and wheatgrass!
    I guess it is what you truely believe in that makes you feel the best.