Anxious NPCsurvivor -- turmeric / curcumin ?

npcsurvivor
npcsurvivor Member Posts: 27
edited March 2014 in Head and Neck Cancer #1
Next week I am due for my first MRI after treatment for stage 2 Nasopharyngeal cancer (T2-N0-M0). I had 30 IMRT sessions followed by 3 Cyberknife sessions with concurrent Cisplatin (3 doses) which ended on July 1 2009. I didn't receive any adjuvant chemo. Recently, I have started becoming anxious that cancer has returned to my body. I have not been able to put on much weight since treatment ended (I was 155 lbs b4 treatment, came out with 135 lbs after treatment and have been around 140 lbs for the last 4 months). I have been eating alright, appetite is good but still lack energy and feel cold when nobody around me does. Recently, I began to feel congested at night, especially in my right nostril where the original tumor had been. I also feel like getting a rush of mucous after meals, especially if I eat something sweet (even fruit, which I rarely do nowadays) or eat a a big meal. The mucous is yellowish in the morning. These are the symptoms that bother me and make me feel that I still have the beast in me. Would like to know if any of you have experienced similar symptoms.

Aside from the above, I have started thinking about alternative treatments. I have found several leads on the web that indicate that curcumin, an ingredient found in turmeric, may have anti-cancer properties. One article even mentions its positive effects on SSC cells. Turmeric is a yellow colored spice used commonly in curry in South Asian cuisine. On the web you can find many ways / doses for taking curcumin. I am not sure what's the right dose. Turmeric is rather cheap (you can find plenty of it in Indian/Pakistani stores) and easy to swallow, I don't wanna buy expensive capsules being promoted by their makers when the natural thing can do the trick. Also, I don't know if large doses of it may have any adverse effects. Anyway, my plan for now is to take some (?) amount of turmeric dissolved in water everyday, stay away from sweets (even fruit) and foods with simple sugars that quickly raise your blood sugar, try not to eat big meals ;) and hope for the best. Please find some links on curcumin below:

http://www.goodhealth.nu/News_Articles/050111-curcumin-anti-cancer-US.htm
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/curcumin/AN01741
http://info.cancerresearchuk.org/news/archive/pressrelease/2009-10-27-curry-kills-cancer-cells-in-lab
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Comments

  • Hondo
    Hondo Member Posts: 6,636 Member
    #2
    Hay survivor
    Guess what you are in a boat with a lot of others who have NPC. I had many of the same things you have described, some of them went away and some I still have. One thing you might get and don’t be afraid if it happens is bleeding, when this first happened to me I rushed back to the doctor thinking the worse, but it was nothing.

    I use a lot of different herbal medicines after all I been there 3 times now and there is nothing that doctors can do but give me more Chemo. I eat a lot of fruit everyday, the sugar in fresh fruit is good for you body it helps the cells fight off cancer, the sugar that is process if very bad for you as cancer feeds on this type of sugar. I have been doing this for 3½ years now. Also I learned to put God in everything I do and give him the glory for helping me through all of this.

    Also curry is very good stuff, you will find very few Indian people with cancer.

    Take care and let us know how you are doing
  • Christmas
    Christmas Member Posts: 100
    #3
    NPC survivor symptoms
    Hi,

    It's been 5 1/2 years since my treatment for NPC, and I still get lots of mucous. I use a large syringe to irrigate both of my notrils with warm water morning and night. You might have a more severe case due to scarring of tissue in the radiated area.

    As long as you're eating, then don't worry about your weight. Give your body time to heal. When you feel a bit better, do some exercise to build up your strenght. I was very fortunate that our hosptial offered a program for cancer survivors at the YMCA. And due to perfect timing, some of my workers coerced me to join them in Yoga lessons.

    Have trust in your doctors. I know it's easier said then done, but stay positive and don't think that every little problem is your cancer coming back. I know because I've had more than my share of worries.

    Take care!
  • seenanN
    seenanN Member Posts: 24
    #4
    Christmas said:

    NPC survivor symptoms
    Hi,

    It's been 5 1/2 years since my treatment for NPC, and I still get lots of mucous. I use a large syringe to irrigate both of my notrils with warm water morning and night. You might have a more severe case due to scarring of tissue in the radiated area.

    As long as you're eating, then don't worry about your weight. Give your body time to heal. When you feel a bit better, do some exercise to build up your strenght. I was very fortunate that our hosptial offered a program for cancer survivors at the YMCA. And due to perfect timing, some of my workers coerced me to join them in Yoga lessons.

    Have trust in your doctors. I know it's easier said then done, but stay positive and don't think that every little problem is your cancer coming back. I know because I've had more than my share of worries.

    Take care!

    NPC survivor symptoms
    Hi

    I am 5 year stage 4 NPC survivor and I get lots of mucous too. Sometimes it's yellow and sometimes it's red especially during the winter. I do not often use humidifier and am not worry too much. As long as you eat right, keeping you weight stable, thinking positive and physically active then I believe the beast will leave you alone.

    Best wishes
  • npcsurvivor
    npcsurvivor Member Posts: 27
    #5
    seenanN said:

    NPC survivor symptoms
    Hi

    I am 5 year stage 4 NPC survivor and I get lots of mucous too. Sometimes it's yellow and sometimes it's red especially during the winter. I do not often use humidifier and am not worry too much. As long as you eat right, keeping you weight stable, thinking positive and physically active then I believe the beast will leave you alone.

    Best wishes

    listening to our bodies
    Hey guys

    Thanks for your encouragement. My 5 month MRI is scheduled for tomorrow. I will find out soon if the beast has returned. Regarding the symptoms I mentioned, my intention was to figure out if they mean anything. Sometimes our body sends us signals which we can't interprete and / or do not take very seriously until it's too late. The diagnosis of cancer in my case can in part be attributed to my persistence with my ent doctors that there was something wrong with me other than nasal allergies. He and other docs dismissed my concerns multiple times before it was finally discovered due to an endoscopy which took all but 5 minutes. After all I didn't have any swollen lymph nodes that they were looking for. But I did have a blocked ear for 3-4 months and on-going weight loss for the past 1.5 years.

    I think the forum is a great place for us to learn from each other. I have learned about a lot of things here that docs didn't tell me. I hope we all listen to our bodies' signals and share them on the forum. Perhaps it will help us seek out unlikely cures or formulate strategies in this fight of our lives. After all we all have been bitten once and are likely to be bitten again sometime in our lifetimes.
  • cjamesfu
    cjamesfu Member Posts: 14
    #6
    npcsurvivor said:

    listening to our bodies
    Hey guys

    Thanks for your encouragement. My 5 month MRI is scheduled for tomorrow. I will find out soon if the beast has returned. Regarding the symptoms I mentioned, my intention was to figure out if they mean anything. Sometimes our body sends us signals which we can't interprete and / or do not take very seriously until it's too late. The diagnosis of cancer in my case can in part be attributed to my persistence with my ent doctors that there was something wrong with me other than nasal allergies. He and other docs dismissed my concerns multiple times before it was finally discovered due to an endoscopy which took all but 5 minutes. After all I didn't have any swollen lymph nodes that they were looking for. But I did have a blocked ear for 3-4 months and on-going weight loss for the past 1.5 years.

    I think the forum is a great place for us to learn from each other. I have learned about a lot of things here that docs didn't tell me. I hope we all listen to our bodies' signals and share them on the forum. Perhaps it will help us seek out unlikely cures or formulate strategies in this fight of our lives. After all we all have been bitten once and are likely to be bitten again sometime in our lifetimes.

    You will be doing fine
    Hi

    I am in the 4th year remission and still have some of the symptoms you mentioned: not gaining weight, feeling cold, congestion, and mucous. But I got used to them and they don't bother me anymore. I too had a blocked ear that led to the diagnosis of NPC. I did not have swollen lymph node either, so the diagnosis really surprised me. I know I am doing fine now and hope you will be doing fine too.
  • npcsurvivor
    npcsurvivor Member Posts: 27
    #7
    cjamesfu said:

    You will be doing fine
    Hi

    I am in the 4th year remission and still have some of the symptoms you mentioned: not gaining weight, feeling cold, congestion, and mucous. But I got used to them and they don't bother me anymore. I too had a blocked ear that led to the diagnosis of NPC. I did not have swollen lymph node either, so the diagnosis really surprised me. I know I am doing fine now and hope you will be doing fine too.

    all clear
    I am glad to report that it's all clear. My scope looked good. In fact the doctor said he would give it a 10 out of 10. A preliminary examination of my MRI images didn't reveal any beasts lurking in the dark. The doctor did order blood tests for T4 and TSH levels to see if my thyroid / pituitary gland function was affected. The symptom that prompted him to test for this is the cold feeling.

    cjamesfu it's great to know that you had a case similar to mine and that you are in your 4th year of remission in spite of these symptoms. These problems are much smaller than life and like you they don't bother me much in my daily activities. Hondo it's great to know that your tumor is under control. I hope it stays that way.
  • maria2009
    maria2009 Member Posts: 10
    #8
    tumeric
    Dear npcsurvivor

    I am diagnosed with scc nasal septum in mid Oct and am still waiting for the cancer center here to give me a date to start radiation & chemo. I was offered surgery but rejected it.

    I have also read about tumeric about its powerful anti-tumour properties. Everyday I take it in this fashion. You should heat a little bit of oil (olive or canola) in a small pan, then add tumeric say 1 tablespoon and sprinkle black pepper on it. Remove from heat once it start to sizzle. I add 1-2 tbsp of juice to tone down its bitterness. By the way I am used to tumeric because I eat a lot of curry in my younger days. I also drink veggie shake.

    I weigh 118 kg and my husband is worried I might loose too much during the rad/chemo to counter attack cancer. I started to lose appetite one and half year back ( I used to weigh 20 lbs more before). I now suspect it is the cancer causing this weight loss.

    I wish you the best of luck.
  • npcsurvivor
    npcsurvivor Member Posts: 27
    #9
    maria2009 said:

    tumeric
    Dear npcsurvivor

    I am diagnosed with scc nasal septum in mid Oct and am still waiting for the cancer center here to give me a date to start radiation & chemo. I was offered surgery but rejected it.

    I have also read about tumeric about its powerful anti-tumour properties. Everyday I take it in this fashion. You should heat a little bit of oil (olive or canola) in a small pan, then add tumeric say 1 tablespoon and sprinkle black pepper on it. Remove from heat once it start to sizzle. I add 1-2 tbsp of juice to tone down its bitterness. By the way I am used to tumeric because I eat a lot of curry in my younger days. I also drink veggie shake.

    I weigh 118 kg and my husband is worried I might loose too much during the rad/chemo to counter attack cancer. I started to lose appetite one and half year back ( I used to weigh 20 lbs more before). I now suspect it is the cancer causing this weight loss.

    I wish you the best of luck.

    cachexia
    Hi Maria,

    Thanks for sharing this with us. The weight loss you describe may be due to cachexia, a wasting disease commonly caused by cancers. I also experienced weight loss over a period of time (1.5 yrs) before my diagnosis although I did not lose appetite. You may want to gather more info about your options by talking to other doctors / hospitals and also on this forum before you reject any options. Radiation should not be an automatic choice. It causes a lot of side effects, some of which you have to deal with for the rest of your life.

    BTW, I am currently taking turmeric powder uncooked mixed in with vegetable juice. I use a masticating type juicer to make the juice. I have an Omega J8005 juicer which is awesome. I bought it for about $260. It works by squeezing the juice out of veges rather than by shredding them as the centrifugal juicers do. It gets the most juice out of the veges. It's good for juicing all kinds of veges and fruits, even nuts. It's also easy to clean and makes very little noise. I mix in 1/4 tsp of turmeric with a cup of juice. I take one cup of juice every day. Taking more turmeric seems to irritate my stomach. Hope this helps.

    Best of luck.
  • npcsurvivor
    npcsurvivor Member Posts: 27
    #10
    npcsurvivor said:

    cachexia
    Hi Maria,

    Thanks for sharing this with us. The weight loss you describe may be due to cachexia, a wasting disease commonly caused by cancers. I also experienced weight loss over a period of time (1.5 yrs) before my diagnosis although I did not lose appetite. You may want to gather more info about your options by talking to other doctors / hospitals and also on this forum before you reject any options. Radiation should not be an automatic choice. It causes a lot of side effects, some of which you have to deal with for the rest of your life.

    BTW, I am currently taking turmeric powder uncooked mixed in with vegetable juice. I use a masticating type juicer to make the juice. I have an Omega J8005 juicer which is awesome. I bought it for about $260. It works by squeezing the juice out of veges rather than by shredding them as the centrifugal juicers do. It gets the most juice out of the veges. It's good for juicing all kinds of veges and fruits, even nuts. It's also easy to clean and makes very little noise. I mix in 1/4 tsp of turmeric with a cup of juice. I take one cup of juice every day. Taking more turmeric seems to irritate my stomach. Hope this helps.

    Best of luck.

    hypothyroidism
    Hello fellow survivors,

    After all the doc found out that I had a hypothyroid problem. My TSH level was 97 while the normal range is 1-3. I started taking Synthroid 50mcg on Friday. By Saturday afternoon I started to feel like someone had breathed new life into my fatigued body. I feel much more energetic now, don't feel as cold and also experience less nasal congestion. My mood has also improved significantly. This little pill is magical. I am so glad that I told the doc about feeling cold. OW, he was not planning to test me for TSH at this time. If you experience similar symptoms, please get tested. Many of us may wonder if the fatigue and other ill effects are simply related to having cancer and / or cancer treatment. I am telling you in my case it was the thyroid that was making me feel this lousy 5 months after treatment, not the chemo. Best of luck.

    I have heard it's best to take turmeric cooked or dissolved in bolied milk. Uncooked is a little hard on the stomach. I would give it a try.
  • Hondo
    Hondo Member Posts: 6,636 Member
    #11
    npcsurvivor said:

    hypothyroidism
    Hello fellow survivors,

    After all the doc found out that I had a hypothyroid problem. My TSH level was 97 while the normal range is 1-3. I started taking Synthroid 50mcg on Friday. By Saturday afternoon I started to feel like someone had breathed new life into my fatigued body. I feel much more energetic now, don't feel as cold and also experience less nasal congestion. My mood has also improved significantly. This little pill is magical. I am so glad that I told the doc about feeling cold. OW, he was not planning to test me for TSH at this time. If you experience similar symptoms, please get tested. Many of us may wonder if the fatigue and other ill effects are simply related to having cancer and / or cancer treatment. I am telling you in my case it was the thyroid that was making me feel this lousy 5 months after treatment, not the chemo. Best of luck.

    I have heard it's best to take turmeric cooked or dissolved in bolied milk. Uncooked is a little hard on the stomach. I would give it a try.

    npcsurvivor
    Glad to hear you are doing better, I did not find out that my thyroid stopped working until I almost could not walk anymore. I am on Levothroxine 0.112mg after taking it for a few weeks started felling like my old self again.

    Keep up on your positive side it really helps to heal faster
  • california_artist
    california_artist Member Posts: 816 Member
    #12
    Came across your link while searching turmeric lymph node
    There's a book I would recommend you try reading, especially the chapter on food. The author mentions benefits of turmeric. He suggests that even though it's not readily absorbed in the body, simply adding black pepper greatly increases the absorption rate. There are lots of places to get bagged organic turmeric very inexpensively, amazon being one.

    Name of the book:
    Anti Cancer, A New Way of Life. He's a doctor who was diagnosed with brain cancer and given a very short time to live, quite some time ago.
  • lisam61
    lisam61 Member Posts: 12
    #13
    maria2009 said:

    tumeric
    Dear npcsurvivor

    I am diagnosed with scc nasal septum in mid Oct and am still waiting for the cancer center here to give me a date to start radiation & chemo. I was offered surgery but rejected it.

    I have also read about tumeric about its powerful anti-tumour properties. Everyday I take it in this fashion. You should heat a little bit of oil (olive or canola) in a small pan, then add tumeric say 1 tablespoon and sprinkle black pepper on it. Remove from heat once it start to sizzle. I add 1-2 tbsp of juice to tone down its bitterness. By the way I am used to tumeric because I eat a lot of curry in my younger days. I also drink veggie shake.

    I weigh 118 kg and my husband is worried I might loose too much during the rad/chemo to counter attack cancer. I started to lose appetite one and half year back ( I used to weigh 20 lbs more before). I now suspect it is the cancer causing this weight loss.

    I wish you the best of luck.

    Veggie Shake
    Hi Maria, I'm Lisa my husband has npc large tumor in his left nostril radiated 6mths ago.
    I was interested in this Veggie Shake can you tell me what veggies you use he has trouble eating salads. I am praying for everyone with this awful cancer all we have is prayers and support from each other. My husband hates Curry so I don't know if the tumeric is going to be something he can take. He also lost 25lbs and has not been able to get it back. God bless you. Lisa
  • lisam61
    lisam61 Member Posts: 12
    #14
    Hondo said:

    npcsurvivor
    Glad to hear you are doing better, I did not find out that my thyroid stopped working until I almost could not walk anymore. I am on Levothroxine 0.112mg after taking it for a few weeks started felling like my old self again.

    Keep up on your positive side it really helps to heal faster

    Husband with NPC
    Hi Hondo I wrote to you awhile back about my husband. You look great in your photo. He's still having some issues after the radiation six months ago he seemed to be better but, then he got sick a sinus infection he couldn't kick, they did a pet scan and he needs a biopsy of his sinuses apparently something is showing there and they are not sure until they do this biopsy. It's so scarey I know you've been through quite a battle I am trying to stay focused and keep praying for him. If you have any thoughts on this pls. share.
    Thanks God bless you Lisa
  • Hondo
    Hondo Member Posts: 6,636 Member
    #15
    lisam61 said:

    Husband with NPC
    Hi Hondo I wrote to you awhile back about my husband. You look great in your photo. He's still having some issues after the radiation six months ago he seemed to be better but, then he got sick a sinus infection he couldn't kick, they did a pet scan and he needs a biopsy of his sinuses apparently something is showing there and they are not sure until they do this biopsy. It's so scarey I know you've been through quite a battle I am trying to stay focused and keep praying for him. If you have any thoughts on this pls. share.
    Thanks God bless you Lisa

    Hi Lisa
    I have been worried about you when I did not hear anything back. When I first finish treatment I too had a lot of infections, I would blow the ugliest green stuff out of my nose that you could imagine and the smell was unbelievable. My ENT had to put me on some very strong antibiotics to get rid of it and yes it would come back again. I went to see the doctors at MD Anderson and they told me that I should be using a Sinus Rinse everyday or twice a day if needed. I have not had anymore infections after using the rinse for sometime now, can’t say if it was the rinse or my body’s immune system that just stated working.

    As you know I am NPC and I have a area in my nasal way that has been lighting up there PET scans for almost 4 years now, At first it looks like cancer but the doctors here where I live were not sure, my ENT took a biopsy of it and it came back positive. So I went back to the doctors at MD Anderson, after they looked at all the test and did some more MRI’s and PET they are at the opinion it is scar tissue.

    What ever happens get more then one opinion, I will continue to keep you both in prayer
  • lisam61
    lisam61 Member Posts: 12
    #16
    Hondo said:

    Hi Lisa
    I have been worried about you when I did not hear anything back. When I first finish treatment I too had a lot of infections, I would blow the ugliest green stuff out of my nose that you could imagine and the smell was unbelievable. My ENT had to put me on some very strong antibiotics to get rid of it and yes it would come back again. I went to see the doctors at MD Anderson and they told me that I should be using a Sinus Rinse everyday or twice a day if needed. I have not had anymore infections after using the rinse for sometime now, can’t say if it was the rinse or my body’s immune system that just stated working.

    As you know I am NPC and I have a area in my nasal way that has been lighting up there PET scans for almost 4 years now, At first it looks like cancer but the doctors here where I live were not sure, my ENT took a biopsy of it and it came back positive. So I went back to the doctors at MD Anderson, after they looked at all the test and did some more MRI’s and PET they are at the opinion it is scar tissue.

    What ever happens get more then one opinion, I will continue to keep you both in prayer

    Hi Hondo
    So glad you wrote back. We've had a few issues going on and it's been awhile since I could get online but so good to know that you are doing well. I was wondering if you had any other activity in your pet scans. My husband has been scheduled for another biopsy next week and they are going to clean out his sinuses apparently the sinuses are lighting up which is very worrisome for me. I hope this isn't going to be traveling. It's very difficult to go through all of this again. The ENT tried to clean him out but he said it was up into his sinuses and maybe the petscan is showing inflammation so he'd decided to clean out his sinuses and also to do a biopsy to be safe. WE see the Oncologist tomorrow hopefully he won't have to go through chemo. It's so good knowing someone else that has been through this. He rinses his nose with a netty pot everyday sometimes 2x a day or more. This infection the antibiotics were not able to help it because it's deep in the sinus. As always I am praying for everyone thank God for this Network. You continue to do well and I will stay in touch. Prayer is the power.
  • Hondo
    Hondo Member Posts: 6,636 Member
    #17
    lisam61 said:

    Hi Hondo
    So glad you wrote back. We've had a few issues going on and it's been awhile since I could get online but so good to know that you are doing well. I was wondering if you had any other activity in your pet scans. My husband has been scheduled for another biopsy next week and they are going to clean out his sinuses apparently the sinuses are lighting up which is very worrisome for me. I hope this isn't going to be traveling. It's very difficult to go through all of this again. The ENT tried to clean him out but he said it was up into his sinuses and maybe the petscan is showing inflammation so he'd decided to clean out his sinuses and also to do a biopsy to be safe. WE see the Oncologist tomorrow hopefully he won't have to go through chemo. It's so good knowing someone else that has been through this. He rinses his nose with a netty pot everyday sometimes 2x a day or more. This infection the antibiotics were not able to help it because it's deep in the sinus. As always I am praying for everyone thank God for this Network. You continue to do well and I will stay in touch. Prayer is the power.

    Praying for you
    I will be praying for you both so please stay in touch. I wish all these doctors who deal with us cancer people would have a way to talk to each other it would help them to take the guess work out of the way. Before they do any type of treatment I am willing to let your doctor talk to mine as he has been treatment me now for passed 5 ½ years.

    Take care and God be with you both
  • lisam61
    lisam61 Member Posts: 12
    #18
    Hi Hondo
    Well we went to the Oncologist today and he gave us bad news the cancer is back and he needs chemo it's spreading to his bones I don't know which way to turn. Maybe yours is different but I passed out in the doctor's office when I got the news it was so awful.
    My husband would like to maybe one day talk to you or email you if that's okay.
    Thank you for being such positive influence. God bless you Lisa
  • Hondo
    Hondo Member Posts: 6,636 Member
    #19
    lisam61 said:

    Hi Hondo
    Well we went to the Oncologist today and he gave us bad news the cancer is back and he needs chemo it's spreading to his bones I don't know which way to turn. Maybe yours is different but I passed out in the doctor's office when I got the news it was so awful.
    My husband would like to maybe one day talk to you or email you if that's okay.
    Thank you for being such positive influence. God bless you Lisa

    Lisa
    I am so sorry to hear this, my e-mail address is on my post just click on Hondo it will take you there, e-mail me your phone number I will call you.

    Keep it a matter of prayer never give up hope, I too will be praying for you both.
  • lisam61
    lisam61 Member Posts: 12
    #20
    Hondo said:

    Lisa
    I am so sorry to hear this, my e-mail address is on my post just click on Hondo it will take you there, e-mail me your phone number I will call you.

    Keep it a matter of prayer never give up hope, I too will be praying for you both.

    Thanks Hondo
    I sent you an email with my info any light you can shed would be appreciated. God bless you and keep you well always.
  • Hondo
    Hondo Member Posts: 6,636 Member
    #21
    lisam61 said:

    Thanks Hondo
    I sent you an email with my info any light you can shed would be appreciated. God bless you and keep you well always.

    Lisa
    I looked on my e-mail and don't see anything from you please try it again

    timhonmc@aol.com

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