Has anyone decided to reject the conventional route of fighting cancer in favour of doing it alone with diet?
Hi, I’m not brave enough to do it with diet alone, but I am combining it with conventional treatment (chemo, rads etc). I particularly like David Servan-Schreiber’s Anti-Cancer book, and I believe in looking at your “terrain”, so that you’re also looking at exercise, coping with stress, etc. I do have a friend who overcame ovarian cancer through diet alone (she was diagnosed 7 years ago).
no im not that brave, belt n braces for me… taking all docs medicines…eating as healthy as I can , drinking tons of water, taking vits,… .but i think in it all the biggest favour I have done myself is to offload the stess I was under at work…and I do think this will have a big impact.
take care xx
I know someone who tried it for cervical cancer and sadly it didn’t work, by which time it was too late to do anything with conventional medicine. It would take a much braver woman than me to rely on that alone.
There is no evidence at all that diet plays any role in protecting against cancer. There are lots of theories and lots of books on the topic and quite a few people getting very wealthy as a result. But there is no proof.
There is, however, a lot of evidence that maintaining a healthy weight is important and that obesity is a bc risk factor.
Why reject conventional medicine which has a proven track record? You get no second chances with this disease. If you get mets then it is game over. Why not fight it with everything available to you?
forgot to mention the weight control,its all clinical team are going on about, I must shed the spare tyre to reduce the chances of reoccurance…and I am trying it was the chemo that put it there.honest.
x
think it’s a mad idea !
Why would you…Throw it all at me!
Sandra
Re. weight control, I had my first annual check-up today and was saying to the doc that I keep reading it’s best to lose weight with bc, but it’s so difficult when you’re on Tamoxifan. She said that although the more fat you’re carrying the more oestrogen there is circulating in your body, the Tamoxifen is blocking the oestrogen, so not to get too hung up on it. Will still try to lose some weight though.
I knew someone who tried it with lung cancer but it didn’t work and he was dead within a year. I’m not brave enough to try it and I have accepted all the conventional treatments I’ve been offered.
Best wishes
Anthi
I’ve tried it with chemo because one of my friends is a great believer and has kindly offered. It did work for someone I know but it didn’t really work for me. It did however, helped to relieve some side effects caused by chemo.
I found it quite hard to stick to and gave it up in the end.
Take care
not on your nelly…
I have to do everything I can to stay with my family
I agree with you Daisyleaf, I want to see my girls get married and have the pleasure of grandchildren (hopefully if they want children that is!!)
I’ve recently met someone who is controlling their cancer with diet and exercise. She has a heart condition and so cannot have surgery, radiotherapy or chemotherapy. However, I understand that she’s never felt so well in her life and may now be convinced of its efficacy. She tells me that her diet is a variation (more extreme) on the Bristol programme. I’m arranging to have a detailed discussion with her on the subject as I’ve been looking at whether the diet is a useful adjunct. For the moment I’ve decided to focus on the aspects of weight reduction, fat reduction and alcohol reduction, together with eating quality protein and organic dairy.
Debs x
Hi
There is no way I would try and fight bc with diet alone…I have been the healthiest i have ever been in the 16 months before being dx(mid feb 2010)…going to the gym 2 to 3 times a week, eating healthier and walking more…taking part in a 13 mile walk for local hospice and race for life.
i wonder if it’s always worth takig notice of living a healthier lifestyle… but hopefully being fitter will help me through the battle ahead.
Hi
I think one of the problems in relying on diet alone is that there is no clear proven information but lots of conflicting advice. I am triple negative and have finished the mx, chemo & rads route so now feel its important to do what I can with improving my lifestyle to keep the cancer away -diet,exercise, stress management.
I have just read on the American BC site that a new piece of research is going to be published showing that blueberries have anti-TN properties. I already eat blueberries quite a lot - they didn’t prevent me getting bc but I would love to believe they would stop it coming back. Sadly I don’t.
Joss
I’m another one who wants whatever they can throw at it!
I don’t think there’s enough evidence on exactly what foods you should & shouldn’t have for me to even consider turning down conventional medicine. Some say no soya, others say soya aplenty…all have their own theories & stories to back up their claims…how do you decide who to believe?
As for the Blueberries ajaytee…I’m with you! I eat loads of them & I’m TN.
I have some theories on how my innocent cyst turned to cancer & none of them include diet…and I wasn’t overweight, don’t drink or smoke & was fit & healthy!
Hxx
I agree with what’s been said. I’d say do what you want with your diet within reason but don’t refuse medical treatment. Until much more is proven with diet it would be too high risk. Of course going to a better diet may confer other health benefits such as lowering cholesterol, losing weight (if needed), increasing energy levels etc
I’ve made radical changes to what I eat and so has my husband. I’ve also had surgery, chemo, rads and now tamoxifen. I don’t see this as an either/or thing.
Elindax
I’ve had a constant struggle with weight since my 30s when I went from a size 10-12 to a 14-16. I ma very careful with my diet, don’t buy junk or ready meals and only have the occasional takeaway; plus I walk a lot and do yoga. We also grow veg and salads. Ideally, I’d like to shed 2 stones.
However, when I was diagnosed most of the other women I met were very slim ladies who went to the gym. After I finished treatment the ladies I met who were overweight had been thin before diagnosis and said they had gained on the drugs like Tamoxifen. I was the only one whose cancer wasn’t hormone positive btw.
I think eating well and taking exercise makes you feel good, and I do like to be in charge of how I look etc, but thats not a treatment for cancer, its living well (in my opinion).