Hi,
This is my first post, although I commented on others posts and love that we have a place to go and share.
I was diagnosed with breast cancer the first time at 34 years old. Since I was young and triple negative with only one node positive, I had a partial radical mastectomy and 6 months of grueling chemo and NO radiation. A little over 2 years ago (18 years after the first time I had cancer) I started having what we thought was chronic asthma attacks. They got worse and worse until I was unable to climb up a flight of stairs without stopping every 2 or 3 steps. I could no longer go to the gym or strangely enough sing (albeit badly) along with the radio. Finally, a new PA in my primary care office was looking over X-rays from an ER visit a couple of months prior and caught a moderate plural effusion. She sent me for new x-rays and there is was and then some; my lungs were being smushed! After multiple drains of my lungs, my left lung collapsed from a small hole in it (probably a puncture during one of the draining appointments). I was immediately hospitalized and eventually had thoracic surgery. No tumor was ever found, my diagnosis was from the fluid in the lungs that came back with the discovery of estrogen positive cancer cells. The cells were producing soft tissue around the lungs with kept the plural fluid from going in and out freely as was the norm.
Since then, I am being treated with Ibrance and Letrozol. Within a few months, I was almost back to normal. I was even back to the gym! The side effects were not nearly as bad as they were when I had it the first time; still annoying and sometimes hard to deal with. Mainly, the three I experienced were, tiredness sometimes later in the day, increase activity with my Crohn's (another whole story, ha!) and the worst of all THRUSH! Every month, my tongue turned nasty white and sometimes my throat was involved. The Ibrance made my appetite decrease and food tasteless at times, that with the thrush made eating a chore instead of enjoyable.
After starting a new job about 7 months ago with a guy I worked with years prior, told me he was doing the Keto diet and was able to stop his statin meds. He also mentioned that people use the diet for cancer. At that point I felt comfortable enough to tell him my cancer was back. He sent me tons of articles and videos online about how much success people were having with the diet and research that was being done on adding this diet in conjunction traditional cancer treatments.
Upon reading and listening to people much smarter than me, I decided to give it a go (and yes, my doctors knew, which I highly suggest anyone do when trying a new diet). I was 112lbs and 5'4" at the time which was 4 pounds up from my lowest during this latest cancer. I did lose the 4 pounds, which was ok with my doctor and have been stable now for 6 months. The amazing part is that the thrush is gone! I haven't had it in 6 months and no more bleeding and pain from the Crohn's (it seems I am in remission)!!
I am doing a clean keto diet which means I do not eat bacon and hamburgers (sans the buns) all the time. Most of what I eat is plant based and considered whole and organic. Lots of stuff made from almond flour and good fats. My new favorite food, however is chicken wings cooked in my air fryer. I also love my cauliflower pizzas too. Another thing I do, which researchers also think helps with fight cancer is intermittent fasting. There are different ways to do this type of fasting. I do a 14-15hr fast each day. No eating basically from 6:30-7:00pm to around 10-10:30am the next day.
Just wanted to put this out there and if anyone has questions or wants to read the research themselves, let me know. I can send links, but you can also google Dr. Seyfried’s book, Cancer as a Metabolic Disease. The book is meant to be used as a text book for med students, but there are tons of articles on his theories and the research he does.
PS. The picture is my keto pancakes (almond flour). Very tasty!
My life with Cancer
Goodbye to Ibrance . Gutted but not surprised. 
Faslodex/Ibrance ...last PET/CT scan
Morning smoothie to help verzenio side effects.Watery eyes....is it letrazole?
Happy to be alive and wake up every day.
