Dear PJ:
Thank you for the information, it really is a big help for me and to others. After my chemo , i never tasted meat but because of your recent info, i am now convinced (since my surgeon and onco already told me that i can eat anything), again, thank you very much and belated Happy Easter Sunday.
By the way, can you give tips on how to prevent my arm from becoming bigger? My friend told me that it is a side effect of chemo treatment, is it true?
Thankis,
Miram
Miriam, the best diet advice I've heard is "a little bit of everything" - don't cut anything out of your diet entirely; just don't eat too much of any one thing.
Your arm swelling - lymphedema - may be due to chemo, but more likely to surgery and/or radiation. This is something your doctor definitely needs to know about, if you're experiencing it. If not, read my tips on how to help prevent lymphedema. Good luck - and nice hearing from you again. PJH
The infoprmation in this article is very interesting to me. I fit the bill totally for having post menopausal breast cancer because I am obese and have had the problem from the age of 36 after giving up smoking. My cancer was diagnosed at the age of 52 after years of having the contraceptive injection depo provera and all the hormonal problems under the sun. Yet when analysed, my lump was found not to be hormonal and therefore I am not receiving any Tamoxifen or aromatase inhibitor. This has totally baffled me as I was convinced when diagnosed that it would logically be a hor mone receptive cancer. I keep looking for some sort of explanation as to how my cancer originated and whether the risks of diet, obesity and alcohol are related - can you help please?
Jane, I'd say you're a prime example of the randomness of cancer. You can have every risk factor out there for a particular cancer, yet you're diganosed with a different cancer. Or you can have no risks at all, and be diagnosed. Looks like your cancer developed independent of your lifestyle/risk factors - at least, so far as we currently understand risk factors. Yes, there's definitely a connection between weight gain, alcohol, and breast cancer - but in your case, the connection didn't happen. Another one did. Strange, eh? Random. Thanks for your input here - PJH
I read this article about the cosmetics that might contains estrogen which is really scary when you try to do everything to fight the breast cancer as I do , mastectomy, first day of chemo today , and than 3 to go. then hormone therapy. In this article theu tested 16 products and found 6 of them with estrogen! they do not want to give the names of them in the study but said that it was not even written on composition of the lotions and creams. So what do we do? throw everything in the garbage? well that is a question that I wiil surely ask to my oncologist next time I see her. So scary!
Elisabeth
Elisabeth, of course it's a good idea to try to avoid estrogen as much as possible. But please try not to panic about things like skin cream - topical estrogen isn't really the issue, compared to the estrogen your body makes. Best of luck with your treatment, and stay in touch here, OK? We can help. PJH
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Thanks, PJ. So many people are anxious about getting breast cancer because they have some risk factors beyond their control like family history. It's good to know there are some actions we can take to reduce our risk. Of course, we know there are plenty of people who have no risk factors and who live a perfectly healthy life style who still get breast cancer. But taking action can reduce some of our anxiety.
Good point, Phyllis. Once you have cancer, you vow "I'll do what i need to do to keep it from coming back." What if we made that same vow without even having cancer, instead applying it to lifestyle? Personally, I don't espouse harsh measures; I'll continue to enjoy the occasional glass of wine, a piece of high-fat cheese, and an afternoon of lounging around. But I believe daily exercise and eating a reasonable diet - one you can live with and enjoy, while still eating healthy - is the way to go. Thanks for your thoughts- PJH