I know that many struggle with their weight on immunotherapy treatments. I have put on 7kg's on my Ibrance/Letrozole treatment despite cutting back on my food intake.
I have just returned from a week's walking holiday (Camino) and although we covered over one hundred kms in 6 days with very little to eat other than salads and an energy bar each day I lost no weight.
I am wondering now whether I should look at my gut health and wondered if any one has tried pre/pro biotics and found that they have helped.
I also have hand and feet flare ups which I have had investigated with no obvious outcome, My oncologist hadn't heard of these issues a few months ago but now is asking all her patients if they have issues with hands and feet so it must be something that has come to the fore.
Thank you in advance for all your wonderful postings. I'm often quoting Healthunlocked to my oncologist as it is only here that you can look at symptoms and possible cures, not to mention medications available in other parts of the world!
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Rosiero
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Perhaps you might find that ribociclib (Kisqali) is kinder to your body than Ibrance. The research is quite clear that it is generally the more effective breast cancer treatment. I have taken Kisqali with letrozole for five years without gaining weight. I am now 79 years old.
If you are wanting to look into gut health I would recommend reading - Eat to beat Disease by Dr William Li and Super Gut by Dr William Davis. As far as a probiotic I would suggest looking into akkermansia muciniphila. It is a bit expensive and can be naturally derived by drinking pomegranate juice however I was told by my pharmacist to stay way from pomegranate juice since I am taking Verzenio. Almost certain the same would hold true for those taking Ibrance.
My oncologist told me that breast cancer is the ONE cancer that makes it hard to lose weight. With Letrozole and other anti-estrogens it's really hard to lose weight. I put on more than 10 pounds...probably more like 15 and it makes me crazy. Changing food did not really help with losing the fat, so I came up with a new idea.
I joined a health club and started working out. It was included with my AARP Medicare Plus package, which is really nice. So free. I have been doing water aerobics three times a week and I got myself a trainer for 8 weeks to help me figure out what to do to build muscle. I started the end of August and I saw results within a couple of weeks.
I really only like to swim so she developed a group of exercises that I can do in the water. I do not feel flabby anymore...and she said, it will take time, but the muscle WILL overtake the fat. Keep in mind that when you lose weight the first place you lose it is in your face. My plastic surgeon when I had my original cancer surgery told me this. Face first and then everything else. I can say when I look at myself on the side on Zoom I am not cringing..as much.
So I am stopping looking at the scale, which honestly has not moved, but more looking at how clothes fit.
hi , I have been taking probiotics everyday since my MBC in lungs 4 years ago , I never feel sick when I take Ibrance and Letrozole, I have always eaten apples pears bananas , I read about other fruits being good for lack of energy , the last 4 weeks I have also added blueberries and Kiwi’s everyday, and I feel so much better , a lot less tired , I know this might not be for everyone , but I do feel so much better ❤️
Rosiero, This response is not to do with the pro/prebiotic question, but, I was on that concoction for nearly 6 years, and I put on soooooo much weight too. It was awful. I felt too heavy. I looked too heavy, (for my eyes). But it took coming off that treatment and now being on Piqray with Fulvestrant injection, (and I now also have type 2 diabetes), to loose that weight I gained… and some!
I feel so much better for having lost the weight and I think the is treatment suits me better. I have more energy, and I’m not quite as tired now that I’m settled into the regime.
So good luck with it. But. The longer you can stay on this line of treatment of course, the better it is.
Good luck with it, and it sounds like you’re doing well anyway.
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