Firstly, I had my last chemo today yipppppppppeeeeeee!! Secondly I would like to ask peoples opnion about Vitamin D and it’s relation to cancer and other serious diseases. I saw a post on here recently from a lady who’s prognosis was not very good with a very aggressive from of breast cancer and she is still here 8 1/2 years later. Her advise was a healthy diet and vitamin d and calcium. This made me think because my sister was diagnosed with severe vitamin d deficiency about 5 years ago. The hospital consultant put her on 800 iu of vitamin d and calcium daily. Shortly after I was investigating this and came across Michael Holick the worlds leading expert in this and a professor of medicine at Boston University, USA (there is an intersting lecture on line by Holick on this and it’s relation to serious diseases, including cancer - you tube Michael Holick and it should come up, it’s a hour long for very informative.) I found and email address for Holick and sent him a message and was very lucky to get a reply. He said she is being under treated and needs to be on 50,000 units a week for 6 weeks etc. She contacted her consultant about this ( giving Holicks details) and he said stay on the 800 iu as this is how we treat it here and referred to Vitamin D ‘enthusiasts’. It is very interesting to note that recently we have found on line a paper from this very same consultant on Vitamin D deficiency and how they treat it. For severe deficiency (my sisters was undetectable) they recommend 50,000 iu per week for six weeks - exactly as Holick had said! Meanwhile leaving my sister under treated for all these years. He also said that vitamin d deficiency can lead to serious diseases and said that up to 80 per cent of the population could be Vitamin deficient. Yet it is not routinely tested. At the time of my sisters diagnosis I was also tested and mine came back at 8.5 and doc deemed this adequate, yet 30 and above is now deemed adequate and I now have breast cancer! The docs have now put me on Vitamin D. Whilst waiting for my chemo today I was reading a magazine and there was an article about different medical problems and under cancer it said Vitamin D. I urge you to read Holick’s leacture and form your own opinions. What do other people think though)
Carol
Hi there, Ive started to take vitD3 too since diagnosis - how much should we be taking though?Em x
I posted on this site a while ago about vitamin D deficiency. Not sure where the post will be now. But I was treated with chemo, surgery, rads and Herceptin from November 2010 until finishing Herceptin recently. Early on my onc did a test because she very much believes in the link between vit d deficiency and BC. She told me that she routinely tests all her patients now and so far 90% are deficient. She put me on high strength vit d - I am taking 5,000iu daily and have been doing for over a year now. Interestingly I recently went on holiday to the United States and decided to stock up whilst there. In the leaflet which goes along with the bottles I bought it does actually say that one of the benefit is healthy cell creation which in turn may prevent some forms of cancer including breast cancer. Also whilst in the States I saw a TV programme where a doctor being intereviewed said that vitamin d deficiency should be tested for and treated along side hormone imbalance problems as it was just as important, more so than any other vitamin. To me its a no brainer, I had all the conventional treatment (which I thoroghly believe is the best way to beat any disease) but I also think you need to then make sure that your body and cells are in the best possible shape otherwise the conventional treatment is fighting a losing battle. The other thing about vit d deficiency is that there isn’t a typical person to suffer from it. I was fighting fit before BC, exercised regularly, normal weight, healthy diet - not the sort of obvious candidate so it does make you wonder how many more out there would benefit.
Interesting thread, I need to read more about this.
My Onc gave me vitamin D but my GP told me that she wasn’t sure whether she should renew as in her notes it says not to prescribe in case of bone disease. (I have bone mets). More homework.
Im on a trial and the moment and have to take Vitamin D and calcium daily Gill
I am interested in supplementation because I did a test recently and I am deficient in vitamin D. But I read somewhere that vitamin D supplements may reduce the effect of aromatase inhibitors. Does anyone know anything about that? I would like to get my vitamin D levels up again, although I don’t believe it will necessarily help me avoid breast cancer - too late for that!
Margaret
I am interested in this issue because I have just been diagnosed with a second primary breast cancer (we think). On both occasions, I was found to have a Vit D Deficiency.
My medical team advised me that the current research had identified exactly this, but it was not yet known whether and what this meant although Vit D is needed for all cellular function.
What I wanted to ask is how you are managing to take the Vit D? I could not tolerate it as it upset my stomach so much. In the end, I had injections but I do not know if this is feasible in the longer run.
Would love to hear others comments?
Rattles
went to see GP yesterday and hes agreed to give me a blood test for this. so going on tuesday to nurse at surgery for it. will see what comes back. should i take vit d anyway regardless of results???
Thanks
Just to say that my understanding is no def. not as too much can be bad for you.
Rattles
All I can say to you all in to go on you tube and type in Michael Holick and listen to the lecture about it - IT IS VERY IMFORMATIVE and he is the world leading expert on this and a professor of medicine. Check out the 2nd one down and it is a lecture he did in the UK .