after reading other blogs about health supplements and diet it made me remember what I was told when I was first diagnosed.
A hospital specialist I had been seeing for years for my chronic pain and fatigue told me that cancer loves sugar it feeds off it, so knowing that may be helpful.
She also taught me how to do some breathing exercises.
She explained that cancer can does not like oxygen - most of us, especially those of us with busy or stessful lives, tend to breath from the upper torso. observe ypur breathing to find out if this is you.
lay down on a bed and breath deeply taking note which part moves up and down. if this is your chest you are not breathing deeply enough and oxygen is not reaching the lower part of your lungs therefore starving parts of your body from oxygen.
Try to breath deeper into your abdomen and then deeper still until your lower tummy muscles, observe how they move up and down when you in hale and exhale. Breath in through your nose and gently blow out through your mouth.
Its an amazing technique, you can even breath into a pain, lower back works well for that lower back pain us ladies get more often than we welcome.
I did buy a book about this I will look out its references and pass it on.
Aparaently if we do these simply breathing exercises 3-4 times a day we can help kill off cancerous cells and prevent them from deveoping.
I wouldn`t like to advertise miricles as I`m a little sceptical however, I do practise the exercises anyway because it seems to help me feel more energised.
I just need to add that I mentioned this to three oncologists and they all agreed that cancer does not like oxygen. Breath for thought eh!
Take care everyone
love sent from Tina xxxx
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TinaWright
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It may sound "logical" in thinking that eliminating sugar from our diet will affect cancer cells, more than normal cells, but this is not necessarily true.. our body takes all food and converts them into sugars...the cancer cells do not mind where sugar comes from... cancer cells use eight times as much as normal cells... even if you stopped eating altogether... the body would start using fat and convert that into sugar... You would then become weaker and weaker.. Therefore making you more vulnerable to cancer.. no matter where our body cells come from... they all need energy to function... myself I think an healthy diet is key to fighting this disease.. as are medical interventions...and what you eat...most things in moderation...as far as oxygen is concerned I thought our blood carries oxygen around our bodies ... the logic to this is we stop eating... and stop breathing cancer dies.. But I am not a medical person...
It worries me a little when I read things like this, re sugar, especially when so many ladies out there are desperate for any cure, myself included. If only it was as simple and not eating sugar! I agree a balance diet is the best option for giving the body strength to fight cancer and I am all for alternative treatments and ideas, but it needs to be carefully managed.
The breathing exercise would surely make anyone feel better though, as it would increase the oxygen in the blood.. but I have to ask myself, if oxygen kills cancer cells, why am I not on 100 per cent oxygen! The breathing exercise is a good stress reliever as well, and I for one could do with some relaxing and distressing.. so its on my list starting tomorrow!
Julie xx
Hi Julie
Yes!! it bothers me as well.. but looking into the cancer versus sugar debate... it doesn't actually mean that cancer "likes" sugar it just means that all cells need sugar to survive.... so if we cut out sugar all together... our good cells wouldn't survive either... so I've decided not to even bother about it.. I was merely trying to address the balance..I agree that the breathing exercises are a good Idea... and something to try..as far as the oxygen killing cancer I would question that ...the point there.... being what about blood cancer? as far I know we have oxygen in our blood? and of course elsewhere in our bodies... ..what about people having cancer in the upper part of the body? It doesn't stop it growing there? and of course we need oxygen to breathe.... as far as I'm concerned... there are more questions than answers.
Best wishes x G x.
Tina's original message was about a 'shortcut' to remember that her doctor had told her. "Cancer loves sugar' is an over-simplification, and vulnerable to the misinterpretation that many put on it, but it is a reminder that sugar (usually sucrose, and foods containing it - there are many sugars) is a very volatile and potentially dangerous substance for those of us trying to avoid recurrence of cancer, or deal with active disease. In another extreme over-simplification; it is the way the particular foods are broken down and the glycaemic-index and insulin production that is important. As is usually the case, it is not a simple; eat this -don't eat that; but actually, avoiding all sucrose is not a bad rule of thumb.
I was really interested to read your blog and was heartened by the idea that an oncologist was looking at alternative methods in living with cancer. Given traditional medicine doesn't work on our particular strain of cancer I think that anything we do to make ourselves feel well - including healthy eating and good breathing techniques - can't do any harm.
The idea of breathing control is a good one. Macmillan did some research which suggested people who take aerobic exercise for 30 minutes three times a week are in general more likely to have longer remission. A friend showed me how to do some hatha yoga which is based on deep breathing and developing an awareness of health-giving oxygen refreshing the organs of the body. Yoga isn't much for me as it makes me fall asleep but I did reckon it would be a good therapy. Fired up with the idea of health-giving oxygen I tried jogging rather than walking three times a week and I really did feel a whole lot better feeling the air flood into my lungs and energising the body.
I agree with the idea of avoiding simple sugars. It takes energy to break down complex sugars, and even more to break down starch and excess fats into sugar. That seems to me to be good common sense - for people living with cancer as well as others. For this reason I avoid pre-prepared processed or catered food - but then I enjoy cooking with fresh ingredients.
Thanks so much for your post - along with the other recent ones on food supplements and Ayurvedic medicine. It's good to keep an open mind to see if anything particularly hits the spot for any of us. I hope there are a lot more posts on this subject.
love Annie xx
With regard To the deep breathing, my cancer group, yoga teacher and reflexologist promote healthy deep breathing. It does make you feel better, even if you are only sitting in the armchair with your feet both on the ground. We also have a emotional freedom technique practioner that comes to the group and a lot of that is based on deep breathing, to help get things flowing through the body properly. With regard to the sugars, the nutritionist always says prepare your own, and avoid anything with 'complex sugars'. I'm afraid when I feel down I want a treat of any kind, regardless !!!
Like everyone I am a little sceptic about 'miracle' foods etc but the breathing sounds like that taught by Yoga teachers and pilates instructors and I have practised it for years and it may be why I seem able to tolerate pain more than some, to the extent that people sometimes do not believe my condition is particularly severe. As for sugar I assume we are speaking of refined sugar, I am not sure whether any of you have been watching "the men who made us fat" but the use of corn syrup in processed foods is frightening in its consequences. I am lucky as I gave up sugar in 1955 and have never liked sweet things much except for fresh fruit. Since chemo even the sweet things I did like, such as very good ice cream and very good dark chocolate leave a foul taste in my mouth.
Like everyone else I think the important to have a healthy diet. As I am also trying to control my weight I am following the Slimming World Extra Easy plan. I had a very healthy diet before though and I still got cancer and, when on my first round of chemo and unable to eat much, I was advised to go for calorie dense foods to keep up metabolic function. I don't eat much dairy either as I dislike milk and ration cheese because of its fat content. I must admit that my O/C responded well to carboplatin and the recurrent tumour was operable so I am lucky. Maybe the healthy diet works maybe not but I feel well on it.
It is true that all cells use sugar for energy, but what is different about cancer cells is that they can only use a simple method called gylcolysis to get their energy. Unlike other cells (bar some brain cells) they are unable to convert fat to sugar. So the theory is, if we cut out sugars and starches, then we stop the spikes in blood sugar levels which then limits the sugar for the cancer. Grains/cereals (our main source of carbs) also contain high levels of omega 6's and phytates which cause inflammation and prevent you from absorbing vitamins and minerals from other foods so its can be very beneficial to remove or at least limit these from your diet.
Thank you for sharing your info on sugar etc. Whether it'll help the cancer or not, it's just what I needed to get me back to eating sensibly. I've been really bingeing on all things sweet, comfort eating and out of control !! It's always been my way of coping with worry and as my husband has been in hospital for a foot op. and now mustn't put any weight at all on the bad foot for at least two months, so is pretty incapacitated, he's been as bad as me.
As for the breathing excercises, I'm just off upstairs now to try them out - but I'll probably fall asleep before I get far.!!
This is an interesting and thought provoking thread and responses have been understandably mixed.
We have recieved an abuse report about the thread. The OP's contention on sugar does not chime with our current knowledge (positively or negatively); however that does not mean that there is some evidence to support it.
I have been in contact with the OP to understand if such evidence exists and will post again with the results of our investigations. Until that time we would ask that you treat the contents with 'interested caution'
We would remind all readers that, as it says on the top of each page, "Content on this site does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them. Views expressed are those of individuals and not of My Ovacome
I look forward to investigating this matter further, and certainly we will be discussing this with our Med Ad board in the coming week.
I have also been taking Pomi-T. It contains four superfoods in a pill for a convenient way to boost your daily healthy anti-oxidants. Contains broccoli, green tea, turmeric and pomegranate. Recommended by oncology consultant - worth researching. It is currently being evaluated in a national scientific clinical trial. WWW.pomi-T.com
Although we may not really know if any of these suggestions/theories/ideas whatever we care to call them are scientifically accurate, isn`t anything worth thinking about?
Some of us will always feel sceptical, others may fight the discussion with an argument and others will simply tell themselves they have nothing to lose to try as long as and I will always point this out
"we talk it through with our oncologist first".
Remember that I and none of you are medical experts all we can do is share what we know or query what we have been told or what we may hear about.
I am truly sorry if my blog provoked some of you - personally I cannot see how but then someone has reported this thread as abusive??????
We all interpret things in different ways and maybe thats just our own frame of mind at the time of reading. Everyone has their own opinions and if we can keep an open mind then hearing other people take on things can teach us many things.
I can not see anything wrong with this thread at all but it may have to come off site if it offends our readers.
Massive apologies, please don`t hold it against me, just trying to do my best and put things right.
I am sure the complaint (if that's what it is) wasn't directed at you... I think it probably was more a query... don't forget that there are people on here that are not doing so well with their prognosis... and might well feel sensitive to this issue... I myself don't agree with some views expressed on here.. and have indicated that...but everyone is entitled to their own view.. but don't feel the need to report it...If they are investigating these views.. Surely that's a good thing? none of us want to be ill informed. Best wishes love x G x
I know that your intentions are good.I am certainly in agreement with you that everyone(not only people with cancer) can benefit from less sugar, and that breathing excercises are beneficial.
However I would like to respectfully point out that the above website is not a source of properly researched and unbiased scientific /medical knowledge.It is a really dodgy site, more of an online shop, for vitamins 'cancer cures' etc. eg they are selling apricot kernels which they claim 'kill metastases 100% of the time.' They are making money out of desperate and vulnerable people.
Maybe you only saw the 1st page.
Is it appropriate for ovacome to direct people to such sites.?
I must point out that any suggestions about any theory or study that we hear about does not mean that we are responsible for our own cancer or that it is our fault for not getting better from it. It also is not saying that we should follow this path otherwise we won`t get better.
We hear about testimonials all of the time from people who claim they have cured this or avoided that and other by some healthy option or another.
We need to be vigilant for our own well being by doing whatever we feel is right for ourself as an individual. Holistic or other could be dangerous to replace modern medicine and those who are lucky enough to control or combatt cancer altogether after following a more natural process must realise that this could be down to co-incidence.
I know that we are all sensible on here, I`m just saying, no body is suggesting that any thoughts shared are set in stone whether it be about cumerin, ginger, turmaric or natutal HRT supplements. Sugar or breathing exercises, its trying to help us all find a healthy balance to keep us stronger and healthier.
Firstly let me point out that I am merely no different to you guys, I DO NOT WORK FOR OVACOME!!!!!, I am sick just like you are.
I am a volunteer just as you `volunteer` your opinions and share on this site. The only difference is I volunteered for the post because I thought this was the procedure as it can be with some groups. If you wish I will glady ask for the volunteer box to be taken off my name to prevent any further confussion.
Ovacome did not and has not directed anyone to any dodgy site - as a member and volunteer I DID? It was not sent for anyone to purchase supplements or sources of vitamins it talks about elliminating refined sugar from our diet and an explanation of what it does. The same pllied to the breathing.
As for me I DON`T have an opinion, I have never once argued that this is correct information or not - I have no more idea on the subject than you do.
However, I wrote my blog because others were writing blogs about alternative medicine and supplements and this reminded me of what I WAS TOLD by a medical proffesional within a pain management clinic at my hospital. When they found out about MY cancer these are the two things I was told. I bought the book they recommended and use the exercises daily. This is self managment not a drug or vitamin or supplement its a self help technique that we could all benefit from. Whether it will help our cancer, I doubt it, but it may do us harm if we did nothing in trying to imprive our well being, There is no proof on this either way and that is not what I have said, even if cancer deosn`t like sugar there are a lot of things it doesn`t like, my brother never gave up smoking right to his end - this was his choice and we respected that.
I was just as sceptical as you about the breathing and sugar theory until I read about it and asked medical opinions on it - I asked in the chemo ward, I asked my oncology nurse, I asked the macmillon nurse, I asked my oncolgist. And although they may not have proof of this they all agreed that cancer does not like oxygen and it does thrive on sugar so why feed it more?
It could help with our general well being, help us tolerate the treatments and or the pain.
I have to say, My own cancer was not caused by any of these things and no body is saying yours or anyone elses was either.
I have an inherrited gene that triggered mine!!!!!!!!
If I fancy a cake or have a sugar craving I have it! Life is too short to take out the things we enjoy from our diet just because of SOMEBODIES THEORY unless thats what it is.
But with a big` B`, is it so wrong to share any useful information, tips of self help or other on this site, if you don`t like it - no one is poining a gun to your head. Do whatever you feel is right for you.
It appears that more people have found this more interesting and useful than the few that haven`t and maybe others just don`t want to get into a cat brawl of insults and abuse. I do feel that some of your comments are below parr and totally unessasry.
I will say it again - my posts have the same rights on here as yours or anyone else so if I talk some blabber, then accept it. I don`t hear anyone blasting anyone else out who suggests ginger or natural HRT supplements, some of those can be equally as dodgy and we can be in danger of buying the wrong source, Cutting down on refined sugars as much as we can do and follow a few deep breathing exercises can`t harm any of us - its a fact we could feel better for it.
I have never once suggested taking supplements just used those blogs as an example.
As overcome have explained they are looking into the matter to see if there is any truth in the cancer hates Oxygen theory and cancer loves suagr theory.
All I ask is a few deep breaths ladies and please re-read my originonal blog and interpret it in the way in which it was written.
I will ask over come to take the Volunteer box away from my name.
I would also like to say - we are all fighting the same disease here.
I DON`t need this, I do not have the energy for it, I am ill, just like everyone else, no one needs this on here, its a disgrace quite frankly.
Please Stop being abusive, its upsetting for everyone!!!!!
I have spoken with Tina this morning and with her agreement this blog will stay up, but we respectfully request that this is its final post.
Complimentary therapies are always a contentious issue. For some there is the issue of trust, for others finance, and some have philosophical positions either for or against. Whatever our individual beliefs, this place, My Ovacome, belongs to each person here. Provided the simple rules are upheld, everyone is entitled to express their thoughts. Tina has not broken the rules, hence we did not take the post down.
One of the things we have learnt is that the word 'abuse' as a reporting alert are not appropriate, and we will be asking Healthunlocked to change it to something more in keeping.
I have suggested to Tina that she takes a few days away from the site, as she has been upset by the thread. I trust you will all respect both Tina and Ovacomes request that the thread ends here.
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
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