diet changes

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brn2ride
brn2ride Member Posts: 32
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
I was diagnosed with stage 1 in nov 07 after an excision of a polyp that was too big to be removed during a colonoscopy I had in oct 07.
the surgeon said my best chance for a cure would be the removal of my rectum and anus.
well I chose to modify my diet and exercise more instead, with regular checkups to monitor for a recurrence.
I am on a high fiber diet with lots of veggies and fruits. I eat mostly fish and chicken with limited amounts of red meat. I quit eating sweets and drink mostly water, juices, tea, milk, nnd a couple of cups of coffee a day.
I started taking ginger supplements and a multi vitamin daily.
what other herbs and diet changes are good for combatting cancer? where to find info on them?

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  • shmurciakova
    shmurciakova Member Posts: 906 Member
    #2
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    Hi! Wow, that sounds scary. Good call IMO. I remember when you posted before. Where to begin?? There are so many different things you can do. Sounds like you're off to a good start. If I were you I would search out a good N.D. (naturopathic doctor) who has dealt with cancer patients, and/or is interested in preventing cancer. That is what I did. Some other good supplements include tumeric (or you can just eat tons of curry!). It has anti-inflammatory properties and many colon cancers are dependent on the cox-2 enzyme. So, any anti-inflammatory type supplements that would inhibit that enzyme are good. Others include oregano, etc. Tumeric is thought to be the best though.
    I also take fractionated citrus pectin which is a form of fiber thought to help prevent recurrences. I take a multi, fish oil, calcium, fractionated pectin, oregano, Celebrex (but want to switch to something natural), and another thing called IP-6 with Inositol. Another thing I have read about, but not tried is Tagamet (over the counter) which for some reason has been proven to prevent colon cancer recurrences. I told my oncologist about it and she said "Well, if nothing else, you won't have heartburn!" She said go for it, so I think it is harmless and may well help!
    Try to keep your pH around neutral. You probably already are with your diet changes. You can Google acid/alkaline diet and learn more about that.
    Another thing is to drink fresh juice that you make yourself. Get yourself a juicer and add stuff like ginger, etc. There are loads of books on juicing.
    Try to eat as close to natural as possible - always a work in progress. One good website (I think) is called Life Extension. They are an organization dedicated to finding natural remedies for various diseases. They sell supplements but are quite expensive IMO. A cheaper source of supplements is Purity Products.
    I also recommend getting massages (for stress management), and yoga, etc...
    OK, I have to get off the computer and go for a walk!!
    I hope you get lots more responses, but I would try to find a good N.D. to guide you along.
    Best wishes,
    Susan H.
  • LOUSWIFT
    LOUSWIFT Member Posts: 371 Member
    #3
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    I am a little confused by your post? You were Stage 1 and you did not have the treatment "the removal of you anus and rectum" and you used diet to "cure" you or you did have surgery and you are now attempting to avoid a reoccurrence? I think diet and exercise is important although the effectiveness of these are somewhat in a gray area. However if it works for you.... great!! Anyway did the diet "cure" your cancer or was it the surgery?
  • brn2ride
    brn2ride Member Posts: 32
    #4
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    LOUSWIFT said:

    I am a little confused by your post? You were Stage 1 and you did not have the treatment "the removal of you anus and rectum" and you used diet to "cure" you or you did have surgery and you are now attempting to avoid a reoccurrence? I think diet and exercise is important although the effectiveness of these are somewhat in a gray area. However if it works for you.... great!! Anyway did the diet "cure" your cancer or was it the surgery?

    I did not have the surgery done. I had a local excision done to remove a polyp. at this early stage they said the only way to tell if I still had cancer was to perform the surgery and do a biopsy, so in my situation the cancer could have all been removed with the excision or it may not have been all removed.
    I have been to 4 different doctors. the standard treatment and best chance for a total cure is surgery. in my case removal of the rectum and anus.
    Unfortunately there are cases where people have the surgery done only to find that there were no cancer cells left when the biopsy was done.
    I am gambling that with diet changes and lifestyle changes I can at least delay or hopefully eliminate the need for surgery. The downside to this option is that if there is still cancer and it grows out rather than into the colon it may not be caught with rectal exams and it could turn into a higher stage harder to treat cancer.
    I have found the only thing for sure is that nothing is for sure.
  • 2bhealed
    2bhealed Member Posts: 2,064 Member
    #5
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    brn2ride said:

    I did not have the surgery done. I had a local excision done to remove a polyp. at this early stage they said the only way to tell if I still had cancer was to perform the surgery and do a biopsy, so in my situation the cancer could have all been removed with the excision or it may not have been all removed.
    I have been to 4 different doctors. the standard treatment and best chance for a total cure is surgery. in my case removal of the rectum and anus.
    Unfortunately there are cases where people have the surgery done only to find that there were no cancer cells left when the biopsy was done.
    I am gambling that with diet changes and lifestyle changes I can at least delay or hopefully eliminate the need for surgery. The downside to this option is that if there is still cancer and it grows out rather than into the colon it may not be caught with rectal exams and it could turn into a higher stage harder to treat cancer.
    I have found the only thing for sure is that nothing is for sure.

    hi brn2ride,

    I applaud you for braving it and making your choice. I too took the diet route (among other things...like lifestyle changes, exercise, yoga, etc) after having my tumor removed.

    There are many successful stories from those of us who have taken this route but are often tossed aside since there is no "scientific" data to back up our claims. But I am living proof that post surgery, dietary changes can keep one cancer free.

    It's hard work but it has been worth every penny and pound expended.

    Life means taking chances and having choices. I wasn't willing to take a chance with chemo (no one in my family has survived it) and you are willing to chance not having your rectum and anus permanently removed.

    In the 6 + years of remaining cancer free, I have found that keeping a blood pH alkaline is so imperative. the herbs you are taking sound good--especially the ginger for digestive purposes--and staying off sweets will help with the pH. Meats, dairy, and coffee will put you in the acid area so it's important to balance that with lots of greens which are alkalizing--especially wheat grass.

    I juice every day and put green powder into my juice for that added protection--many factors can create an acidic environment--not just food.

    If one's blood pH remains alkaline and base then cancer just cannot grow.

    A good book on the whole acid/alkaline issue is The pH Miracle by Dr. Young (I think).

    Also there have been successful cancer healing with macrobiotics. Muchio Kushi has a book THe Cancer Prevention Diet.

    But my most favorite cancer nutrition book for herbs and supplements is Patrick Quillin's "Beating Cancer with Nutrition". It has been very helpful to me in wading through all the questions I had on what to take for optimal healing.

    Hope this helps.

    peace, emily the juice chick

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