It's Time To Take Back Your Life

Tag: vegan diet

Breast Cancer: A personal journey

Check out my podcast, Nutrition is the Key to Health at the link below. You can find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google and RSS Feed.

https://www.buzzsprout.com/2340649/14766031-a-personal-journey.mp3?download=true

You might be wondering, why all this interest in diet? Well, I am on a journey. A journey to try and reclaim my health. I found that if I put it out to the world for all to see, it holds me more accountable. So, this is my journey.

In 2019, I was unexpectedly diagnosed with Stage III Metastatic Triple Negative Cancer. I didn’t even find it, my cat did. The diagnosis was a shock. No one in my family had ever had a history of breast cancer. Where did this come from? Why me?

The doctors told me this was an extremely aggressive cancer. I was thrust into the conventional therapy wormhole. I was given multiple chemotherapies, radiation, and surgeries, but fell short, and could not finish either therapy due to complications. This was before I knew about a plant-based diet, and the effects it can have in assisting cancer patients overcome their disease. It didn’t matter, I didn’t want to eat anyway, not even with all the steroids.

By the grace of God, I am still here to write this blog and I don’t know how. There were ten women I met when with my diagnosis of TNBC. Some had lower stages than I, and some were bouncing from trial to trial due to their Stage IV diagnosis. 

All the women have passed within about a year and a half except me. So, I am currently trying to educate myself on transitioning to a plant-based diet to see if I can overcome some of my health hurdles. I have found Dr. Kristie Funk MD on YouTube via Physician’s Committee for Response Medicine (or PCRM.org), and have gotten a lot of information from her and the channel. So, she, along with the others I have listed in my resource page on this blog, has helped me in my quest to further educate myself on diet and exercise.

I will say that chemo and radiation are the gifts that keep giving. For any of you who have gone through it, you will understand what I am saying without any explanation. All cancer therapies come with great costs, some more than others. When I say costs, I am speaking of financial costs and health costs. The drugs that save your life, can eventually kill you. They are not without risks.

When I was diagnosed, my cancer had already metastasized to my nodes. I had a tumor in my axillary region (under my arm), that was larger than most women’s tumor in their breasts. The primary tumor in my breast was large. Triple Negative is the second most aggressive breast cancer, taking a back seat only to Inflammatory Breast Cancer.

When I was in chemo, I would talk to the other people next to me and I would always ask what kind of cancer they had. They would return the question, and I would say Triple Negative Breast Cancer ( or TNBC), the next words out of their mouth were always the same, “I’m so sorry.” That wasn’t a warm feeling. I felt like I had a death sentence and everyone knew it but me.

All the other women I was there with that had Triple Negative, did not make it. They all passed within a year or two. So, I feel a bit guilty that I am still here. For some reason, God didn’t think it was my time, I still have work to do. 

Triple-negative is a disease that likes to return quickly and when it does, it is always at Stage IV and has metastasized to all organs, brain, and bones before they find it. I would call that, a point of no return.

The therapies after that are, in my opinion, for the forward movement of science and science only. At this point, they are throwing every drug and trial at you that your body can stand. I am not sure if there is a TNBC Stage IV survivor in this world. I am going to have to do a bit of research. I am sure there might be, but very few. 

For those that have more troubling diagnoses’, I am just wondering if conventional oncologists would use strict vegan diets along with conventional therapies if the survival outcomes would be greater? But then, will they ever do that due to cancer and their therapies, being “big cash cows” and financially huge for the doctors, facilities, and big pharma? That is food for thought. 

We all hear of those stories of curing cancer and beating it back in submission. First of all, you never “cure” cancer. Cancer is living in our bodies all the time. It is just activated into a disease state when our bodies can no longer fight and the cancer replicates or divides faster than our cells can. Then we lose all hope of keeping it under control. 

Second, I truly believe if I had refused the conventional therapies at my current disease state, and attempted a “diet only” approach, I would be dead within six months. When I came out of my fog after the diagnosis, I asked my oncologist, if I didn’t do anything, how much time would I have. He came back with “6 to 8 months, hard to say really.” 

I believe that there are certain times when we have to intervene with conventional therapies, and then follow with a diet to achieve a successful outcome. I also believe that each human being is different, and what might work for one, doesn’t work for all.

You and I have much different meanings of the word “success”, than the doctors. For instance, success to us, is a cure, and we get to live. Success to a doctor is an extension of the patient’s life of 3-6 months beyond what the patient would have without any treatment. 

There were a lot of things I wish I had known before going into my journey with breast cancer. I had a lot of sleepless nights on all the steroids and in pain, so I tried to put my time to good use. I wrote, and self-published Your Journey Through Breast Cancer, What You Don’t Know, Can Hurt You. In case you or your loved one have recently received a diagnosis, it will help you navigate the storm. 

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I have also created a matching corresponding lined blank writing Journal, to accompany the book. One of the things that got me through this difficult journey was journaling. It was a lifesaver. 

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Regardless of your lot in life, the nutrition you choose to put in your body, is the key to your health, whether you are battling diseases or not, “you are what you eat!”

Welcome to my journey. 

Alicia

Disclaimer

The following article contains affiliate partner links.  I could earn a small commission, at no cost to you, for any qualifying purchases.  

This blog is for entertainment and informational purposes only.  The information contained within this blog is not intended to diagnose or cure any medical condition.  I am not a physician, licensed dietician or physical therapist.  This blog is the result of my personal experiences and what I chose to do for a healthier lifestyle.  As always, before you begin a diet, exercise program or add supplements, please consult your healthcare professional.

Which is the healthier diet?

Vegan vs Keto, or somewhere in the middle?

I don’t know about you, but this is the most confusing part of trying to decide which eating plan to follow in my new journey to a healthier lifestyle. I have been on both a vegan diet and a keto diet, and achieved significant weight loss on both. My concern comes with a high fat Keto diet and what effects it will have on my systemic health, especially my cardiovascular system. Then, there is the concern of some limiting factors on a vegan diet like like B12, protein, not to mention increased fructose intake.

If you look at the photo above, you realize the animals in that picture are notably some of the strongest (if not the strongest) animals on this earth, and they don’t eat meat. That’s right, they are fully powered by plants! Common sense would tell you they ALL can’t have it wrong. Right?

I looked up vegan plant-based athletes to see what I could find. What I found were some jaw dropping stories. Some of the world’s greatest record holders in every sport are vegan, and their stories are incredible. Below are just a few of those stories. You can find them in weightlifting, skiing, surfing, race car, cycling, swimming, NFL, NBA and NBA and just about every sport you can think of.

Just a few vegan athletes

Ruth Heidrich – Is one of the most impressive stories I’ve read. She was a marathon runner who was diagnosed with Stage IV Breast Cancer. She was given a death sentence. She refused all chemo, radiation, and hormone blockers and sought the guidance of Dr. John McDougall, MD.

McDougall is a functional medical doctor, who placed her on a strict vegan diet and exactly two years from the date of her diagnosis, she not only beat her cancer into submission, but she completed her first Kona Ironman Triathlon, becoming the first vegan and cancer survivor to do so.

At 86, she went on to complete five more Ironman competitions. She holds over 900 trophies, 8 gold medals in the U.S. Senior Olympics. She has competed in 67 marathons to include Boston, New York and Moscow, and all while powered by plants!

Fiona Oakes – British runner and vegan since the age of six. She has completed 50 marathons and holds four world records. She holds the world record in an event where she ran 7 marathons on all seven continents, and took the fastest aggregate time. All, powered by plants.

Carl Lewis – is a track and field superstar and has been vegan since 1990. He won eight world championships titles and nine Olympic gold medals. It is difficult to deny the power of plants when you look at his story.

Pat Reeves – British runner, turned power lifter. At age 32, she was diagnosed with a terminal genetic cancer (14 brain tumors). She adopted a vegan diet, and her cancer went into remission, there was no evidence of tumors remaining.

In 1982 she took up powerlifting and began to compete. In 2019, she was told she had three months to live, due to a car accident that left her with crushed lungs and pulmonary fibrosis. She has refused to submit to the disease, still power lifting at age 76 and still breaking her own records.

Scott Jurek – Named one of the greatest runners of all time. Scott eats a plant-based diet and has given it credit for some of his greatest wins. Although there are too many to list, he holds the world record for running the 2189 mile Appalachian Trial Run. Not a run for the faint at heart. Scott has won over twenty-four marathons to date.

A personal account

I spoke with a woman that was diagnosed with terminal metastatic cancer from a prominent medical facility in California. The doctors told her she had just months to live and to get her affairs in order. She moved back to Texas to be closer to family. She refused all treatments, went fully vegan (specifically 100% organic) and exercised 8 hours a day as a spin class instructor. She only drank Fiji water and changed to all natural products in her environment.

After six months, she went to an area oncologist to get additional scans. She wanted to see if her efforts were paying off. The doctors could not fine a trace of any tumors left in her body. The doctors looked on with disbelief and asked her what protocol she was using to cure her cancer. Her response, “I am vegan”. They all scratched their heads in disbelief. Plant power once again.

I don’t know about you, but I am seeing a common thread in these accounts.

Cancer + vegan + exercise + positive attitude = cancer remission (in some incidents)

Not all people find these kind of results. I lost my mother to cancer, so I understand not all stories have happy endings. There are an estimated 2 million new cancer diagnosis each year, and over 608,570 deaths that are attributed to cancer alone. For some, it’s a second chance. For others, it is a death sentence.

My personal journey

In 2019, I was diagnosed with Stage III Metastatic Triple Negative Cancer. This was an extremely aggressive cancer. I was thrust into the conventional therapies of multiple chemotherapies, and radiation, and surgery, but fell short and could not finish either therapy due to complications. This was before I knew about a plant-based diet and the effects in can have assisting cancer patients overcome their disease. It didn’t really matter, I didn’t want to eat anyway, not even with all the steroids.

By the grace of God, I am still here to write this blog, and I am currently trying to educate myself on transitioning to a plant-based diet. Chemo and radiation is the gift that keeps giving. For any of you that have gone through it, you will understand what I am saying without any explanation. All cancer therapies come with a great risks, some more that others.

When I was diagnosed, my cancer had already metastasized to my nodes. I had a tumor in my axillary region (under my arm) that was larger than most women’s tumor in their breast. The primary tumor in my breast was large. Triple Negative is the second most aggressive breast cancer, only taking a back seat to Inflammatory Breast Cancer.

When I was in chemo, I would talk to the other people next to me and I would always ask what kind of cancer they had. When they would ask me, and I would say Triple Negative, the next words out of their mouth were always, “I am sorry.” That wasn’t a warm feeling.

All the women I was there with that had Triple Negative did not make it. They all passed within the year. So, I feel a bit guilty that I am still here. For some reason, God didn’t think it was my time.

Triple negative is a disease that likes to return quickly and when it does, it is always at Stage IV and in all organs, brain and bones before they find it. I would call that, a point of no return.

The therapies after that are, in my opinion, for the forward movement of science and science only, I am not sure if there is a TNBC Stage IV survivor in this world. I am going to have to do a bit of research. I am sure there might be, but very few.

We hear these stories of curing cancer and beating it back in submission. First of all, you never “cure” cancer. Cancer is living in our bodies all the time. It is just activated into a disease state when our bodies can no longer fight, and keep it under control. Second, I truly believe if I had refused the conventional therapies before me, and attempted a “diet only” approach, I would be dead within six months. When I came out of my fog after the diagnosis, I asked my oncologist, if I didn’t do anything, how much time would I have. He came back with 6 to 8 months.

I believe that there are certain times which we have to intervene with conventional therapies, and then follow with a diet to achieve a successful outcome. I also believe that each human being is different and what might work for one, doesn’t work for all.

You and I have much different meanings of the word “success”, than the doctors. Success to us, is a cure and we get to live and go on with our lives. Success to a doctor, is an extension of life, 3-6 months beyond what the patient would have without the treatment.

There were a lot of things I wish I knew before going into my journey with breast cancer. I had a lot of sleepless night, so I tried to put them to good use. I wrote and self-published this book in case any of you might have recently been diagnosed or you have a loved one that got the news. It is on Amazon and I will put the link below, just click on the book.

Regardless of your lot in life, the nutrition you choose to put in your body, is the key to health.

Welcome to my journey.

Alicia