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I have read the ISWF book and am a firm believer that food has so many healing properties. I have been following the Whole 30 off and on and committed on August 1st. I have also been following the principles of Paleo nutrition over the last few months.

I have been gradually losing weight over the last few months so I attributed it to cutting out all the calorie dense carbs such as wheat products, sugars, and dairy. However, yesterday my family intervened saying I looked anorexic and forced me to go to a doctor. Wow! What a shocker. After a multitude of tests the good news is all my organs look good, but I have a mass in my abdomen soft tissue that they suspect is cancer. I will find out for sure this week. I am scared to death!!!!!

I have always eaten healthy for the most part and not like the majority of the fast food society so I am totally shocked by this possible diagnosis.

I plan to continue on my clean eating plan. I guess what I am really reaching out for is for some of you who have gone through this, to give me some insight on how this type of eating has helped you.

What scares me the most is the traditional types of treatment plans like chemo I have ahead for me and its effects.

Thanks for reading. I appreciate any information you can provide me. :)

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First off, that is a lot to deal with, and it's great that you're looking for the support you need. I would say definitely look for all the types of support you can. If you think a therapist would be nice, try to find one; if you need a support group, seek one out; if you need someone to come over and help with your laundry because you're just too damn tired, call someone for that.

My most direct experience with cancer is watching my mother and several close friends go through treatment. Chemo sucks, but it's survivable. My mother (mid-60s, not great health overall as a result of previous bouts with cancer and diabetes) found that chemo didn't slow her down nearly as much as she'd been warned it would. She felt bad some days, but she felt mostly ok a lot of days. The point I'm trying to make is that it's scary and there's lots of side effects and treatment options and all that to negotiate, but hopefully everything won't be super awful.

My mom's got a clean bill of health with regards to the cancer right now (hooray!), and she's cleaned up her eating a LOT to try to treat/manage her diabetes. I think with cancer as with most serious illnesses, every single thing you can do to help bolster your health helps. So, I'm sure eating a lot of nutritionally dense foods that don't trigger inflammation is probably going to be helpful.

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There are many successful alternatives to conventional cancer treatments. This link is from a political website (ignore the comments) but it is the most exhaustive link list I've seen:

Alternative Cancer Treatments.

I cannot vouch for or recommend any method. I'm just providing the info.

FWIW, If I were diagnosed, the first thing I would do is see an alternative health professional and begin intravenous Vitamin C treatment.

Eating a Paleo diet is always the first step toward better health

I wish you the best.

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pdc4 -

First let me say my thoughts and prayers are with your right now. I have never personally had to deal with a medical situation such as yours.

I am sure it is VERY difficult, but until you get confirmation of a diagnosis, it's still speculation. As an RN, I advise you find out what it is, then seek more than one medical opinion if indeed it is cancer. Ask for references, do your research, check out non-traditional alternatives, then sort it all through. Only you can decide what is best for you and right now you still don't have a definitive diagnosis. All cancers are different, and treatment protocols vary significantly. I am praying for you that it's something benign.

In the meantime, I agree with the other members. Continue with your healthy eating plan. Continuing to nourish your body with the best possible whole foods can do nothing but help your situation and perhaps even help you manage the stress. Feel good that you are taking charge of an aspect of your health that you have complete control over - what you eat.

Keep us posted. Hoping to hear good news from you soon.

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Hi pdc4,

I'm just now reading through the forum and I saw your post. Positive energy and prayers to you. While I don't have personal experience with a medical diagnosis like yours, I would echo what others have said above. Focus on those aspects of your life that you CAN exercise control over-starting with food. No matter what the diagnosis or the route you take, nourishing your body can only help.

I hope that you are doing well during this difficult time. Please let us know how you are.

julie

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Depending on your diagnosis you may want to take a look at the new book "Practical Paleo". The author included a 30 day meal plan/protocal specifically geared for Cancer Recovery.

Prayers and positive energy for you that your diagnosis is favorable.

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Thank you for all of your input. The type of cancer I have is called liposarcoma in the abdomen. The course of treatment is surgery then possibly some chemo. My doctor was very positive. When I told him about my diet, he told me to keep eating healthy; so he must have thought I was doing something right. I meet with the surgeon next week so hopefully I will be on the road to healing very soon.

In the meantime, I am continuing to eat healthy foods. I am a firm believer that food has many healing properties. Before my diagnosis I was 4 days into my Whole 30. I am doing my best to stick to the many principles of the program without being totally strict Whole 30 right now. I still am staying away from grains (except for the one piece of sourdough bread at the restaurant the other night); but have added back small amounts of grass fed cheese and steamed rice with my stir fry. I lost a lot of weight so I am trying to gain some before surgery.

The best part is that I have not felt sick at all. I'm sure that switching over to the Whole 30/Paleo way of eating over the last few months has helped with all of this.

kcrady57... Funny you should mention the Practical Paleo book....I just received it from Amazon yesterday and was so excited to see the Cancer eating plan.

Thanks again for all your positive comments and suggestions. :)

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi PDC4. I've been thinking of you and your recent diagnosis-what a frightening and confusing time for you and your family.

I am sending you another link that you may find helpful/informative/inspring/hopeful. Like the others, I am not making a recommendation beyond reading about Chris' experience yourself. www.chrisbeatcancer.com.

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Hi Everyone,

Sorry I have been out of touch lately. I am doing well just haven't been on the computer much. My surgery is scheduled for Oct. 1st and I am really looking forward to getting it over with. I appreciate all your kind thoughts and the prayers you are sending my way. :) My main focus right now is to keep positive and focus on the things I can control. I continue to eat as healthy as I can. Since I lost so much weight, my doctor has me supplementing my meals with Ensure nutrition shakes (2-3) per day to boost my calories. I wasn't too happy about that at first because I felt it was better to get my calories from real foods, but felt I needed to do something to put on some weight. Since I started the supplement, I have gained 6 lbs. My doc is very pleased with this. I also purchased a Vitamix last week so I have been adding fruit and vegetable smoothies to my diet. My meals contain many of the Whole 30 compliant foods along with small portions of Kerigold cheese. I am also continuing my Vit D-3 and Vit C supplements and Natural Calm along with Turmeric capsules and grated raw garlic on salads.

Thanks again for sending your warm thoughts and prayers my way (and the links). You are a great help! :)

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Hi, just wanted to say thoughts and prayers are with you. I've only been on W30 3 days but, like you, I believe health has to stem from food. I was diagnosed with an advanced hormone -, her2 + breast cancer about 16 months ago. I had the whole breast, underlying chest muscle and all lymph nodes on that side removed and 2 courses of chemo. I'm still undergoing herceptin treatment. I know it's a completely different type of cancer to you but I do understand some of the fears and apprehensions you'll be going through. Chemo sucks, I can't pretend otherwise but IT IS survivable. One tip I was given was while on chemo to take hot/warm baths with a cup of epsom salts and a cup of baking soda added. This is supposed to help pull the toxins out of the body. I found my Vitamix a godsend, as smoothies were easy to keep down when I felt nauseous. I also used a juicer and juicing green veg + beets + an apple for flavour was another easy way to get nutrition down. If I'd known then, what i know now I'd have added in bone broths. Please keep us posted and let us know how you get on.

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I had hodgkins lymphoma when I was 23 and honestly the paleo diet is about the healthiest diet you can do while you have cancer. Refined sugars feed cancer cells because cancer cells metabolize sugar 3x faster than normal cells. Maybe it was a blessing that you went to the doctor in time. I'm praying its not cancer for you but if it is - feel free to reach out if you need someone to talk to - been there and done that. Chemo, radiation, the whole bit - and I'm here 10 years later healthy as a horse! Chemo is not as bad as it once was too - I threw up one time the whole time I was on it because my nurse forgot my anti-nausea meds that day. I tolerated it really well. Best of luck to you.

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Well, the countdown is on...only a little over a week until my surgery on Oct. 1. I am continuing to nourish myself the best I can to prepare myself. I have been reading several books on cancer healing foods; but most say no eggs, sugar, red meat or dairy since they are inflamatory foods. These books were published in the late '90's and early 2000's so no mention of grass fed beef is mentioned. I figure that these authors are referring to factory farmed meat and cheese. I have continued to eat small amounts of grass fed beef, organic or omega 3 eggs and kerigold cheese. I hope I am making the right decision to keep these foods in my diet since Paleo says they are so healthful (with the exception of the cheese).

Megmac- I went to the chrisbeatcancer link and it has some wonderful information...so inspiring!

I was told that I probably wouldn't have to have chemo; radiation will be used instead. One of the books I am reading talks about radiation being just as harmful in the long run. I don't want to cause more harm that might crop up later. The book goes on to state that it is hard to undo the damage that radiation and chemo has caused...but at the same time, I am afraid to only rely on diet. I know many have undergone these therapies along with nutrition and have survived. Is it possible that all of the negative statistics are based mostly on the people who never change their lifestyle? It can get very confusing.

Thanks for all of your input and continued prayers. :)

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I sooo know what you mean by confusing. Conventional medicine totally ignores nutrition and natural health sites scream at you you're killing yourself if you take conventional treatment. I began to feel totally paralised. The one book I found really great was Anticancer A New Way Of Life by David Servan-Schreiber. He was an academic physician who developed a cancerous brain tumour. He had all the treatment, went into remission and then it recurred. He had the treatment again but this time decided to look at diet and lifestyle.

i liked his approach - if you have cancer you must take the medical treatment to get rid of it. If you want to stop it recurring you have to look at your diet and lifestyle. He did a lot of research for the book and quotes a lot of studiesso it's not just his own ideas but it's very well presented and he must have done something right as it's 18 years since he was first diagnosed.

In saying that I don't totally agree with everything he says. I think you still have to make up your mind. He advocates eating things like legumes and tofu that I'm not sure about. But he lists many plant foods that have known anticancer properties and how to incorporate these into the diet. It was a fascinating book and it stopped me feeling so helpless. It left me feeling quite empowered and that I could do a lot to help myself. I think it would be a great addition to a Paleo diet.

I wish you the best of luck and will be thinking of you. Do let us know how you get on.

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  • 4 months later...

I so apologize for not updating you on my progress. I had my surgery on Oct. 31. It was postponed from Oct. 1. My surgery was very successful and I recovered faster than my doctor ever dreamed possible. I attribute the success to the fact that I was healthy in all other aspects. I am currently undergoing radiation to zap any microscopic cells that were left in my body and will be finished with my 28 days on Jan 29th. I feel very fortunate that I have not suffered any effects from the treatment. I am continuing to work on my "terrain" and stay as healthy as possible. Thank you all for your concern and support. :)

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Your paleo diet is probably helping you a lot. I recently listened to a podcast where sugar studies were mentioned where ingested sugars went straight to the cancer sites and were visible in scans. Lower sugars has to help with re-growth and rate of growth.

Wishing you all the best for a speedy recovery :D

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