Hope everyone is doing well. Has anyone finished chemo and began to implement natural remedies? If so - what kind.... and what were the results? As I mentioned last week my mom is wrapping up chemo and I am looking into every option to keep this beast away.
Praying and hoping for only the best for everyone 🙏🏽
Dear Lind,
Your mom should be in line to have a PARP inhibitor after this first line Chemo, or to go on a PARP inhibitor trial, such as Icon9, where she could have the PARP Olaparib plus an anti angiogenesis drug that looks less traumatic than Avastin.
But, she may not be eligible because she has not yet had a recurrence. It is something to ask about.
Anti angiogenesis means stopping blood vessels that feed cancer from forming, but Avastin is pretty brutal and I am not a fan of it.
I wasn’t allowed to have it anyway, so I tried an anti angiogenesis diet, which I read about on line.
I also became a vegan after treatment.
Nevertheless, I recurred within 6 months.
I am still vegan and trying to eat lots of the recommended anti angiogenesis diet, but after successfully completing second line treatment, I too will go on a PARP inhibitor, Niraparib.
My other recommendations are walking as much as possible every day and socialising, too, as well as resting every afternoon and trying to eliminate as much stress as possible, which means accepting help from friends and family as much as possible.
You are a great daughter and your support is really valuable to your mother. That is probably the best natural remedy she can have.
Best wishes,
Laura
Hi
Do you think it is possible to have an anti angiogenesis diet on a low fibre, gluten-free diet?
I've been vegan nearly 20 years.
Avastin is do-able but monitoring and adjusting was almost a fulltime occupation for me.
I am not sure of what a low fiber diet include, but the anti angiogenesis diet is basically a ramped up Mediterranean diet.
Lots of tomato sauce, greens, grapes, etc. But like I said, it did not save me...
caloriebee.com/diets/Anti-a...
Best wishes,
Laura
My mom is actually BCRA Negative and has been told she doesnt qualify for any parps at this time. Do you know of any that are geared towards to BCRA negative patients? When we asked they said her tumors do not have the make up to qualify.
My mom before this nightmare began - exercised daily, ate a plant based diet, never drank, never smoked.
This does not seem fair! Your mom should not have cancer in the first place, according to many ... I was blaming my BRCA Mutation, but I guess it is the luck of the draw.
But now, she needs treatment options and better luck going forward.
Some of these trials are available for non BRCA women and I guess you just have to take it into your own hands, going forward and perhaps look for a second opinion.
Here is the trial gateway in the UK:
ctc.ucl.ac.uk/TrialDetails....
I wish you all the best,
Laura
Hi thereI was first diagnosed January 2014 and have had one recurrence (fingers crossed) i an braca -ve. I thought long and hard about my diet supplements etc and made a choice to continue as normal and just live my life xx i eat very little red meat but i drink wine eat sweets and eat a healthy varied diet. My mission is fitness and i walk 2-3 times a day with my dog Betty hence my tag name. I felt i needed to stay fit for any future operations and chemo and it has helped me immensely. I admire and totally respect people who are strict enough to follow diets but its not for me and that is my point really. The evidence at the moment says nothing helps for our cancer, cancer research says all people should be eating less red meat and processed food and drinking less alcohol and not smoking. Evidence says pescatarians have the least cancer of all groups (last time i looked). So whatever your mum decides support her but make sure she doesn’t put any pressure on herself as that is definitely bad xx.
And if she choses a path and then changes her mind no guilt. I was like your mum healthy fit and moderate in my lifestyle i was out jogging the week before diagnosis.
Just my thoughts as sometimes i think when we are not following what others say we should be doing taking or advising we can feel guilty if the cancer comes back, my experience from this site and lovely ladies i have met (and lost) is that this cancer makes its own path and totally rides roughshod over our ideas and understanding of it and the only thing that makes a difference is luck. So i wish your mum all the luck in the world on her journey xxx
Diane
Off out with Betty now 🐕 xxxx
Hi Lind58
Betty has said it all for me. It feels as though if you are “good” and are healthy then you shouldn’t get cancer but this is not how it happens. There has been evidence of certain cancer causing chemicals and products like asbestos and smoking but diet there is no firm evidence. Of course eating healthily and having a good lifestyle is generally good (must try it some time 😇).
So any healthy lifestyle changes are good and will hopefully help deal with whatever you have to but please no guilt if this cannot be achieved.
If you go on the Inspire forum (mainly American but has posters from all over like we do) and search for poster GlennC. He has a whole regime for his wife and details it in his profile. He is absolutely convinced about it and his posts are very interesting.
Best wishes to you both
Fay
Hi Lind, it's such a tricky one. I'm 8 years into advanced OC and have done remarkably well but things are getting a little tricky now.
I personally feel that reducing stress is the one thing we can all do to help. I've had counselling, mindfulness sessions and regularly have reiki and massages and found them useful. My diagnosis and recurrences, I feel have been triggered by periods of stress and bereavement.
After initial diagnosis, I cut out caffeine, dramatically reduced dairy and red meat and had mountainous portions of plant based foods. I recurred 2.5 years after first line chemo. I then modified my diet to a conventional very healthy diet and recurred 3.5 years after 2nd line treatment. I also take Salvestrol food supplements, turmeric and include lots of ginger in my diet although this could be complete quackery (particularly the Salvestrols as the evidence base they present is old and the author has shares in the manufacturer).
I have been on the forums for quite some time. I have seen some purist eaters pass away and some more relaxed eaters go from strength to strength and vice versa. It's so difficult to tell.
In my case, I feel that having a healthy diet has helped me tolerate treatment well and kept my blood results healthy.
Wishing your mum a long, long remission.
Sandra 💐😘
If your mum hasn't read it already, then I suggest getting a copy of 'Radical Remission' written by Kelly A. Turner.... there's a list of things in there that she compiled from speaking with people in remission that appear to have some impact on whether or how soon your cancer returns or not, and one of those is mindset... that's the one that slapped me round the face when I read it. It may be that isn't the one that sticks out for your mother, but given that ovarian cancer (according to the oncologists) is said not to be linked in any way with diet, smoking, drinking or any of the other things we might do to ourselves to cause cancer, and given the fact your mother is already eating primarily plant based and already had a healthy lifestyle, there does not seem to be anything obvious she can change.
For myself (I should be dead or at least very ill by now, apparently, according to the oncologist, though she hasn't put it in those terms, just expresses astonishment) I take beta glucan 1,3, along with nutritional yeast daily (also full of beta glucans), focus on foods that discourage angiogenesis and have a green nutribullet smoothie (always using organically grown leafy greens with one being from the cruciferous family, so cabbage or broccoli and so on, as well as spinach or something similar) with berries daily or every other day. The sulphonamides in raw cruciferous vegetables are very much disliked by cancer... I do have salvestrols, but can't take them all the time because they really inflame my arthritis, since they're citrus based. Otherwise, lots of milled seeds (like flax), and organic whole cereal grains daily. Also CBD oil and sometimes, when I can face it 1:1 thc/cbd oil. I don't drink (never have, really) but I do still smoke a bit, as I have for years. Otherwise, its no dairy at all, no eggs at all, meat and fish rarely, sugar occasionally, and about 3 or 4 small squares of 90% organic dark chocolate daily. I also spend as much time as possible outdoors - I'm an avid gardener, and always find something to do out there, if the weather allows, despite having an absolutely enormous incisional hernia which will not now be repaired. Working in the garden brings me utter joy and serenity and a sense of connectedness to the both the natural world and the natural order of things.
I should say, though, I am not expecting to get rid of my cancer by doing this; I was Stage 4b at diagnosis - my aim has been to simply to slow it down, especially since I refused adjuvant chemotherapy. It probably speaks volumes about my personality type that, although I accepted the idea of dying, I was utterly determined to live not only as long as the other women with my rare form of OC who had chemo, but to actually live longer than they did, just so show the oncologist it was possible, which I appear to have already achieved. Headstrong , determined and difficult to the last.... but perhaps the fact, at my age, I've accepted this thing will kill me eventually and am calm about that has made a difference too, I really don't know. I'm 68, coming up 69 in May and no one gets out of here alive anyway, do they... despite the oncologist telling me I was unlucky to get the form of OC I have, I personally feel deeply grateful that it was not diagnosed before the age of 67, as it so frequently is with other, much younger women. Perhaps achieving that (hard won and eventual) calm acceptance of the situation has also made a difference, along with my bullheaded 'I'll show you' attitude... or its just not my time - in other words, I've been given the ticket, but not required to pass through the gate yet.
Miriam
Hi Lind58
You've had some good responses already from the other ladies in this group.
If you start to look into natural remedies and treatments you will find that it can be like digging a big hole with lots of tunnels in it. There are some good sources of information but unfortunately there are some bad sources too.
Ultimately though this will come down to what your mum wants to do next. It's great that you are ready to support her.
From a personal perspective I was told at diagnosis that I wouldn't be cured. So my aims reflect that. I chose to aim for having the best quality of life from day to day that I could. I vastly reduced sugar and maintained that after I found that my energy improved, I take some herbs because I found that they increase my feeling of wellbeing, I eat a lot of fruit and veg because I just prefer eating them to processed food and I do think they create a feeling of wellbeing, I do yoga because I enjoy it, I walk my dog because I enjoy the fresh air, etc.
You may come across information that this particular thing could help or that particular thing could help. Maybe they will or maybe they won't, but it comes down to what a particular person wants to do.
A couple of things you could look into though if you are in the UK. The Penny Brohn centre in Bristol do free courses for people affected by cancer. The courses cover nutrition and mindfulness and the centre does have a really nice feeling about it. There are also several Maggie's centres around the UK who do courses including nutrition for cancer.
Also you've already had the suggestion for the Radical Remission book which I agree is very good. And depending on where you are sometimes there are local charities who have complementary therapies or courses available and these are often free to people affected by cancer.
Ultimately though I would say that there is a lot to be said for finding the joy in each day. That differs for each individual so we can't really tell your mum what it is for her. I think if you find ways to improve your feeling of wellbeing then that is definitely worthwhile.
X
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