What do we think of this lady is she ... - SHARE Metastatic ...
What do we think of this lady is she for real?
Hi Ellie,
Thanks so much for sharing this video. I spotted your post, so went ahead and listened to Ruth's interview. I will have to check out her web site. I do actually believe that diet has a central role to play in radical remission. If you notice at the start of the interview, she explained that her breast cancer was metastatic: lung, bones and liver. She also has a PhD, so she has dedicated years of her life to studying health and nutrition. When I have read about other radical remission survivors a lot of them have also mentioned diet, so there must be something in it.
Sophie x
I emailed her, so I’ll let you know what she says. I’m on a new combo of basket case drugs so I’m trying not to be gullible! I really want to give up the hormone medication and try something different. With all the side effects it is literally a miracle I’m still here x
I hope she emails you back! I get the feeling she is genuine. A lot of others who have survived cancer against all the odds have done similar things and changed their whole outlook on life. I wouldn't be hasty about giving up on the hormone therapy though. Maybe you can look into lowering the dose of the medication or trying something else that is less likely to leave you with such bad side effects. I would discuss your concerns with your oncologist.
She said a vegan diet would lower the hormones naturally, she sent a long reply but I feel I can’t really paste the whole thing she said to look at her book: I felt overwhelmed by what I saw in vegan cookbooks, even the raw ones. I experimented and simplified the whole process to make it Cheap, Healthy, Easy, and Fast -- CHEF, my ebook which can order from my website.
I'm glad she replied to you. I would still speak to your oncologist though. Maybe you can combine a vegan diet with hormone therapy to get the most out of the drugs too. I don't think that going off the drugs altogether is the answer. I am reading Dr Greger's How not to die cookbook at the moment, and you can get lots of great plant-based recipes online if you want to become a vegan. I have thought about becoming vegan, but I haven't decided yet. I'm also reading 15 minute vegan on a budget by Katy Beskow, which gives you lots of good ideas without spending a fortune on ingredients.
Well this regime has b
Try again...pressed reply by mistake!!
Obviously this regime worked for this lady but you’re not her!!!..there’s no proof that a vegan diet lowers hormone levels...all breast cancers are different (wish they weren’t) so please keep taking your prescribed medication and follow her diet if you think you’ll feel better by doing so
I eat very little meat and eat healthily but I also enjoy what I eat...and I let the professionals prescribe my drugs
I went to a bbq last night...they’re all country people and carnivores!!!
I ate a burger probably first time in six months but no way am I going to obsess over it or make a big fuss to the people who invited me as I think it’s a bit rude to the host to demand a vegan burger
Just my thoughts
Barb xx
Hi Barb, I agree with you. I was a vegetarian and then a vegan for over 25 years, didn't drink smoke, I exercised religiously and still got cancer. There isn't a rhyme or reason. My oncologist is trying to get my cancer tested for its DNA. Its called geonomic testing. Have you ever heard of it?
Yes it’s unfair when you’ve led a healthy life ...annoys me when I see really obese people eating rubbish and they are well whereas I’m not
I’ve heard of this test that’s all
All the best to you
Barb xx
Well life is not fair. A lot of women have led healthy lives and still get cancer. CHILDREN get cancer and they have not even started their lives. Your remark about obese people eating rubbish and they are well, while you got cancer is a bit off-putting to me. CANCER IS RANDOM. Getting it or not getting it has nothing to do with what you eat or if you are skinny and obese. I don't know why it would annoy you that someone else did not get cancer.
You are still here using that hormonal medication so it is working obviously.
I saw some of her interviews. She is definitely genuine and has an amazing story.
I have gone 100% vegan plus no oil, no salt no sugar a few months ago.
Ruth didn't do chemo or took a hormone suppressant. However, I believe, in my case, to do allopathic together with a vegan diet are my best options. That's my choice of course and I fully respect anyone's choice!
By the way, Dr. Greger has a new book coming out in a few months "How Not To Diet". Can't wait to read it as I follow him and all his recommendations.
I was thinking the same thing too. She does seem genuine.
Good for you for making those lifestyle changes! I stopped adding salt to my diet when I was 16 when we found out my mum had high blood pressure, so that's not a tough one for me. Taste buds adapt over time. I just notice it more if I eat out, as restaurant food is normally heavily seasoned with salt.
Thanks for mentioning Dr. Greger's new book. I will have to keep an eye out for that. I was impressed with his grandmother's recovery when she was told she didn't have long left to live but she went on to live into her 90s. What an inspiration!
If only I had more energy. I have to rely on my husband for everything and he’s not brilliant/motivated with cooking x
If your husband is the main cook in your family how about if you give him a simple recipe to follow? Would he be more inclined to do that if he could see how easy it would be to make something you like? Or maybe you can ask some friends to make up some recipes for you to fill your freezer? What we tend to do is batch book and then use those plastic containers you can get from Chinese restaurants to fill the freezer. The food lasts for ages and is great for when neither one of us feels like cooking.
I’d like to do the raw vegan thing. I did it first time around but stopped after a year. Still can’t believe this thing came back. I was so fit and healthy now I’m just a blob x
If you did the raw vegan diet before and liked it maybe you can transition back into it again. I'm sure you are not a blob. Didn't you enjoy running at one point?
Yes I love running, since my metal rods in my femurs I had to learn to walk. I still wobble. I’d like to build up to running if I could. It’s just the lack of energy.
In that case, Ellie, I would set that as one of your goals. As you enjoy running then I would see about getting back into it again. I would talk to your GP or oncologist and see what they say about that and if there is a certain time frame you will have to wait until you are well enough and able to get back into running again. I would also ask about getting your vitamin D and B12 levels checked, as that might be another reason why you do not have much energy at the moment. Your GP can take care of that for you. I had mine done a few months ago.
Maybe frozen vegetables and fruit may be a good option for you? They are just as healthy as fresh, sometimes even better. Your hubby could just get some fresh salads together and cook beans.
I never was a good cook, and this vegan diet is so much easier for me. Start slowly...don't stress over it.
Annoyingly I’m a really good cook but I just can’t concentrate to do it. I don’t know if it’s the radiation to my head or maybe I’m still in shock. I can manage an avocado!
He’ll learn...cooking is easy but sometimes the motivation is lacking...I know how he feels...I don’t like cooking therefore don’t do much of it therefore never get really good at it!
Barb xx
Yes, Sophie, amazing about his grandmother! Had a short time to live and was given up by her doctors; was in a wheelchair and went back to a long and healthy life. That was very inspirational for me too.
Do you believe that could happen to us if we tried hard enough?
Yes, I firmly believe it can happen to us!!
I think that is amazing. How can doctors get it so wrong?! I want to prove my doctors wrong too and have them turn around and tell me to go home as they don't need to see me anymore!
How sweet would that be Sophie ❤️
It isn't a pipe dream though because I have heard of so many people who have managed to achieve radical remission.
If we could work out a plan between us and prove that it works that would be incredible! Shame I’m stuck in bed. Old Ellie would have been on it!
I am up for it. I am willing to share ideas and tell others about what has worked for me.
Let's do it!
Yes, let's do that! One thing I have done recently is watch some Anti-Cancer Revolution videos hosted by Ryan Sternagel.
I will share that for the first time in my life (I'm in my sixties) my ridiculously high cholesterol is normal because if my diet! I could never take statins as I was allergic to them
That is great news! When I had my cholesterol checked recently for the first time I was told my cholesterol was very good. I take a statin as part of the COC protocol, off-label, not because I have high cholesterol.
Yes, because cholesterol and cancer are not a good mix.
Maybe you posted this before, but why are you stuck in bed. I'm not trying to be nosy or rude...
I fell over and broke my neck and fractured my pelvis. Ended up in A&E where I was brutally diagnosed MBC I think he assumed I knew. Anyway a week lying flat on a trauma ward followed by 3 weeks on an oncology ward, break for Christmas, then 2 weeks in on orthopaedics. Then wheel chair, Zimmer frame, crutches! Today last year I ran an 11k hill race and finished with a really good time. It’s been brutal!
Omg Ellie! You've come back from hell! What an ordeal. My mbc was also diagnosed in the hospital and many complications followed. But I think because you were an athlete (just like Ruth) you can recuperate faster than someone who has never been athletic. I know what you mean about energy. I also was pretty athletic and had zero energy when I got home from the hospital. I had home health come in for therapy for my lungs. They told me to start walking. I first walked around my house and then finally ventured outside. The walks got longer every week. That plus my diet gave me energy back although God knows Ibrance and Letrozole can zap you of energy.
Let’s hope so. My first oncology team told me that this was a ‘blip’ and I’d live to be 80. So shock doesn’t describe it! Especially as my fears of not seeing my children grow up now look like reality. I spend a lot of time googling ways out. I’d love to believe in the Mexican clinics but at the bottom of my heart I don’t x
I believe things will only work if you truly believe in what you are doing. When I was in the hospital my family was asked if they had made funeral arrangements!! I had a rabbi come and see me. Today things are looking much better for me and I started believing that I can help myself live longer (I already did). It's not easy, I know, and I certainly have my down days, especially during the Ibrance off week. But I'll keep believing that I can prolong my life and have a decent quality of life. My strict diet helps with that, I am convinced of that.
Oh that’s horrible. I had that too. Young girl with ridiculous eye brows. I told her to leave immediately. We may be ill (I’m a bit younger than you) but we’ve accomplished things in our lives they can’t just expect us to bow down and hand ourselves over! They keep asking me if I wanted to decline resuscitation, I also signed x3 loss of life consent forms. I kept thinking I have children, you are doctors supposed to be making me better not trying to kill me! We need more doctors with brains! Xxx
I know women I met from a forum board who have been stage iv for many years and still hold down full-time jobs. They take the medication Ibrance and falsodex monthly. If may make you feel better to eat vegan, or take supplements or read about some new doctor who can make cancer go away, but the reality is the meds work better than that. Stage IV is not a terminal illness; it's incurable. Think of it as a chronic condition in which you need to take medication like people with a heart problem. I have been progress free for two years. I eat what I want, drink occasionally and was never into exercise although I try to walk and I admit I still smoke cigarettes. Two years progression free. The meds work for most and when they stop, they have a second line of treatment.
You really have had it tough havent you. I know you've been having a very hard time of it lately but you must be a stronger person than even you realise to endure all that. I genuinely hope things start to get better for you. Xx
Thank you. Yes my mental health is in bits!
Ellie, I so hope you'll feel better soon❤️
#goals. Thats exactly what I want, to see that magical NED! It can happen and I definitely think diet helps. I still eat meat sometimes but I have very small portions eg 50-60g of chicken and always organic now. Ive bought some ready made vege items off Ocado on line which Im really enjoying. Having to get my head around it all though cos noticed some soya in one or two - only a tiny bit though so not gonna worry too much. I now eat more nuts and seeds but Im afraid I do have a sweet tooth. Dont add sugar to drinks etc but I do like a cake or bit of chocolate. Also doing intermitent fasting. Dont know if it helps but some think it does and it does me no harm so i think I can but try. Xx
I think we all do! I am the same way. I had a little organic chicken tonight with barbecued sweet potato and garlic parcels. Soya is in so much food, it's ridiculous! I have always had a sweet tooth too, but I don't crave sweet things like I once did. When I do, I tend to make my own healthier alternatives and that helps. Or I treat myself to some cake occasionally. I do intermittent fasting too, but I want to do it more often.
I do 16/8 most days. I just had some strawberries we picked today - yumyum - which means I wont eat now until 2pm tomorrow. Then have an 8 hour window to eat. I do tend to eat late so trying to change that but we didnt get home until 9 so was a bit tricky today. Ive always been able to go a long time between meals so dont find it too bad. Xx
That sounds good. I try to finish eating by 6:00pm at the latest if I can, and then eat again at 8:00am, so that's more a 14/10 for me. I am sure I could tweak that some more. My husband tends to prefer eating later, but I could finish earlier. I am still working on it.
I had a sweet tooth! Loooooved desserts. I have replaced sugar with date syrup that I make myself. Or I just eat 3 dates stuffed with walnuts.
That's a good idea. I have a cupboard full of dates. I like to eat a few at a time or use them as the main ingredient in bliss balls or raw vegan brownies. It makes the brownies really moist and decadent. You don't even notice that there is no butter or added sugar!
I make cashew milk with dates. So good!!
That sounds really good! I will have to look through my recipes and see if I have that recipe.
Sophie, 1/4 cup soaked cashews with 3 soaked (&pitted) dates in blender with one cup of filtered water. Blend away and enjoy! So creamy and sweet. I use it to thin my steel cut oats they I batch cook.
That sounds really simple and easy to do. I'll see if I have some cashews in my cupboard. Thanks for the recipe!
You're welcome! I've made the same with soaked almonds btw. After soaking it's easy to remove the skins from the almonds. Also tasty, but I like the smoothness of cashews better.
I love trying out new, healthy recipes! I have so many recipes for nut and seed milks, but I haven't made any yet! I normally just cheat and buy unsweetened almond milk from the shops. I need to get on that.
Right now I'm experimenting to make a perfect, compliant salad dressing that's easy and tasty. I want to make a five days worth supply. Haven't made a good one yet, although they were ok, but not fantastic 
Do you have one?
I haven't tried this, but I have a raw ranch dressing
I wrote down from one of Kris Carr's books:
Yields 1 ½ cups
¾ cup cashews soaked for 2 hrs
½ cup water
2 tbsp lemon juice
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
½ tsp dried thyme
½ tsp oregano
1 clove garlic
½ tsp onion powder
3 tbsp fresh parsley
3 tbsp olive oil
Blend all ingredients in a high-speed blender until blended
Thanks for that recipe! I would need a substitute for the oil as I don't use any. Maybe I could substitute with Tahini!?
Yes, that might be a good idea. I don't tend to add oil to salads. I have always used lemon juice. Sometimes I use balsamic vinegar. So I will probably adapt this recipe if I try it!
I'll report back once I've tried to make it 😍
yes thanks for the recipe! I am open to changing my diet for improved health. May we all be open (smile).
Mindy, i also do 13 hour intermittent fasting. Minimum 5 or 6 days per week. When I go out to eat it's not always doable.
Weekends are more tricky for me. I do try but it goes astray a bit. Just keep doing our best. Thats all we can do isnt it. X
Absolutely! We have to continue enjoying life and not always put restrictions before fun and enjoyment. But I found that friends and family now ask me what I can eat! I always reply with..."a plain, oil and salt free salad and just open a can of beans. It's the company that's important not so much the food".
I think each person needs to do what they feel is good for them, if not in reality, then for peace of mind. I was diagnosed with stage iv two years ago. I eat whatever I want and have cut out nothing and no progression after two years. Steve Jobs was a perfect example. He was diagnosed with the "good" pancreatic cancer which is usually a death sentence. But he was told by doctors in US that he need chemo and surgery but that it could be stopped. He did not want chemo. He is rich so he was able to go overseas and to all these clinics and doctors that swear by taking certain supplements, not eating meat, etc. that they could cure his cancer. He was getting progressively worse after a year of trying all non-medical treatments overseas. By the time he returned to the US, the option to "cure" his cancer was gone because it had progress to the terminal level. He told his biographer while sick that his biggest regret ever in his life was not taking the treatment the US doctors had recommended and that he could have years left. That was his biggest regret.
Thank you. That is how I feel too. I have reached decisions about my healthcare based on how I feel, what I want to achieve and so on. I have no intention of giving up on conventional medicine, but I want a more integrative approach. I want to treat the whole "me", not just the disease. That's really sad about the man you mentioned. I won't be doing that.
Steve Jobs' vision of a "computer for the rest of us" sparked the PC revolution and made Apple an icon of American business. The man who created Apple when he was a young man. He did this when he was 20 years old. He created the first man who created the first personal computer with color graphics and a keyboard.
??
Doctors are not getting it wrong. You are still here and alive and that is because of the medication.
I love to hear real stories of how people were able to turn things around. We can try to do that too.
will I want to listen to Ruth's interview as soon as I can. If it offers hope and real hope, I'd definitely be interested.
I would recommend it, Susie. I emailed Ruth yesterday and she got back to me. She has done so well following her diagnosis of metastatic breast cancer. I can more readily relate to people like her, not someone with stage 1 grade 1 breast cancer who finished treatment and has not had a recurrence or metastatic spread.
yes! I am going to try this, a little at a time.
Many of the women I met on several forum boards had had breast cancer from years ago. Double mastectomies, chemo, radiation only for it come back and be a stage iv after 10 years. Like I said, I think it's random.
will I ordered her book, it sounds hopeful. I just emailed her, shared my story.
I am so sorry you have gone through hell! There's a song that says, 'if you're going through hell, keep on going ... here it is to inspire you! have you heard it? youtube.com/watch?v=sBKybUu... And, I am a broken record when it comes to ginger root powder because when I first started taking letrozole the pain and hot flashes were horrible. I read ginger root was good to combat cancer cells so that's why I bought the 540 mg. capsules and started taking 3 in the morning and 3 at night. Lo and behold, my hot flashes stopped and the pain is gone. I hardly ever take aspirin anymore other than my one a day for health; it's been proven that 1 baby aspirin a day reduces risk of heart attack and stroke by 50%! I only take 3 in the morning now because once starting the ibrance, the 3 in the afternoon became too much for my stomach. Hope this helps and I agree, since you are an athlete you should bounce back even quicker! I have a titanium rod in my right hip down to my knee and screws/plates. I fell and broke my femur above the knee in January. It is healing nicely and I've been walking on it since right after the surgery. I loved to ride my bicycle on the beach, but now I will only walk because I don't want to take unnecessary risks and the seawall in the summer takes some defensive bicycling as you have your walkers, skate boarders, surfers all on the concrete and you can wreck real easy. I may just ride my bike around the neighborhood, but what I'm getting at, since I know my bones break so easily now, I will not take unnecessary risks because I happen to enjoy walking on the beach just as much anyway. It's not really about fear, it's about me not wanting to be laid up in the hospital and I know none of us do. My my, I have become a long-winded old gal these days LOL. Please try the ginger, you can get it at Swansons vitamins for $2 a bottle and it's good for a myriad of things. Also read that ginger root powder is one of the few things where the dried powder is actually MORE potent than fresh! Please do not ditch the letrozole, as all the success stories I've read, the women have been on it 15 to 20 years. The lady who wrote "inside MBC" only takes letrozole as a matter of fact because I asked her directly in a message! God bless you and heal us all in Jesus name, amen! <3 xo
I’ve just ordered some but the brand you recommended isn’t available in uk
I hope it helps with my pain...it spoils my life
Barb xx
you may have gotten higher quality, I bought from them because it was so cheap and that's not always the BEST ... I really hope and pray it does for you what it did for me; I'm still amazed because was not expecting it. Made the letrozole aches and pains non=existent and hot flashes went away! I can't say which I hated more, the pain or the melt downs! I like this scripture for ALL OF US!
Psalm 118:17-18 New International Version (NIV)
17 I will not die but live,
and will proclaim what the Lord has done.
18 The Lord has chastened me severely,
but he has not given me over to death.
We have SURELY been chastened but we shall live, yay! <3 xo
Thinking of you and hope you're feeling better after finishing your SABR! <3
I emailed Ruth when I was first diagnosed 3 1/2 years ago, she was so encouraging to me! I email her on my cancer anniversary diagnosis date every year to let her know how I am. I believe she’s 100% the real deal.
I am plant based but not as strict on the oil as I used to be. I do feel like being so strict at the very behind really helped me.
Happy Sunday everyone!
I would really love to believe that just being a vegan would cure us. I just can't get there.
I've been a vegetarian forever and here I am.
There are many women like you. No matter that they were vegans, did not smoke or drink, ran marathons and still got cancer. My onco told me they felt guilty bc they thought they were so healthy and had done everything right. Cancer does not work like that. But if it makes a woman feel better after being diagnosed to eat vegan or whatever, more power to them. As long as they are taking the medications required by their onco. It's a dangerous thing (in my opinion) when women on a forum board start telling other women what they should or should not be taking. They don't know their medical history and they did not go to medical school. People just need to be careful about dishing advice out to others without knowing the whole story.
I don't know what "radical remission" is but I have been living with extensive bone mets and been in treatment constantly since I was diagnosed 3/1/2004 and I've not followed any particular diet, just eat a somewhat balanced diet and definitely dessert, and the bc specialists I've seen have just said to eat a balanced diet and not try to follow some strict diet that is hard to stick to. I love to bake and prepare elaborate meals and when I have the energy to do things like that in the kitchen, I do. My cancer survivor grandmother, a farm wife, lived to be almost 102 and ate eggs, fresh milk and cream, beef, homemade pies, for most of her life until she became too frail to garden, tend the chickens and cook! And I don't get the "too many questions" part of this thread.
Hi,
Your story is an inspiration! I hope you don't mind me asking, but did your grandmother live with metastatic cancer for the rest of her life, or was she cured? Her lifestyle sounds like my husband's when he was growing up. He grew up on 32 acres. His family had cows, pigs, chickens, horses, so they had their own milk, made their own butter and would butcher their own animals. My mother-in-law would also cook from scratch for her large family (my husband is the youngest of 9). They also had a large vegetable garden and ate off the land. They didn't really need to go food shopping for much.
Sophie
My grandmother didn't have metastatic cancer--she had endometrial cancer in the 1950s when she was in her 70s. She didn't talk about it and I only heard about it years later from my parents. But cancer treatment was so much diffferent then than now, and I know that I have never gotten the whole story. I do know that I am super fortunate to have done so well for so long.....and here I sit, at the computer, eatin oreo cookies! lol
When I was first diagnosed, I was told "Don't feel guilty." I was puzzled by that and said why would I feel guilty about being diagnosed with breast cancer. It happens to one out of 8 women. She said that she had many women when first told of their diagnosis get very upset and not understanding how they could get it because (1) they were vegans, (2) they only ate organic stuff, (3) they never smoke or drink and (4) they run marathons and work out every day. It doesn't make a difference. Cancer is random. If eating healthy and taking supplements really worked, many of these women would not have been diagnosed with breast cancer. IMO.
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