I am taking a step back and rethinking all of what I am
putting into my body to continue this fight against my cancer. Whatever I am doing seems to be working. I won't know for sure for another two weeks when I get my next PSA test, but I can't complain about my current health.
I'm using a three-prong strategy:
I'm using a three-prong strategy:
SUPPLEMENTS
1.
Vitamin D
– There is a school of thought that says that deficiency of vitamin D is a
major contributor to the spread of cancer.
Another says that many holistic therapies require the combination of
vitamin D and the therapies to be effective.
Several sources say that the ideal preventative is to be sure that you
have 4000 IU/day of D. A very well
balanced meal will provide 1,250 IU so I am sure to take 4000 IU in a D3
capsule every day. It is possible to
overdose in D but the amount would be much higher than this.
2.
Modified
Citrus Pectin – This has been shown to improve outcomes of chemotherapy. Its active mechanism is blocking cancer cell
aggregation, adhesion, and metastasis because of its effect on galectin-3. It can also have an effect in chelating toxic
heavy metals. I am taking 1/3 the dosage I was taking during chemo.
3.
AHCC
– One study showed that AHCC could enhance the activity of natural killer cells
in test tubes and animal studies suggest that AHCC has antioxidant effects and
can improve the response of the immune system in chemotherapy-weakened immune
systems. This has not been proven in
human studies but is used with chemotherapy in Japan. It was shown to lessen the effects of chemo
on the immune system. I took it mainly
for this reason.
4.
Turkey
Tail - When I was researching this article I ran across Turkey Tail (AKA
Cordyceps or CS) mushrooms, taken in liquid, liquid capsule, or powdered form. The ongoing studies have shown Turkey Tail to
have many anticancer effects, such as attacking cancer stem cells, inhibiting
metastasis, and it has even shown to protect against bone loss. I am going to switch from AHCC to Turkey
Tail. .
5.
Saw
Palmetto and Stinging Nettle Root
– Taken together, the chemical theory is that this attacks free cancer
cells. All I know is that it reduced my
PSA by 20% in only two weeks. It is said
to have similar effects to Finasteride without side effects.
6.
Broccoli
sprouts – Although broccoli itself is definitely good in an anti-cancer
diet, the benefits of broccoli sprouts have been shown to be much greater than
mature broccoli. This is because sprouts
contain an abundance of myrosinase, which is an enzyme needed for the formation
of sulforaphane, the cancer-fighting, anti-inflammatory component in broccoli. Broccoli
has myrosinase, but cooking can destroy it.
Anecdotally, a friend who has had recurring bladder polyps is taking
broccoli sprouts and after taking the sprouts for a month, experienced his
first polyp-free exam.
7.
Multivitamin
– I take one Costco senior multivitamin tablet every day. I am hoping that this will make up for some
of the vitamins and minerals I don’t get in my diet. This is my main source of vitamin C. I could probably stand to take more vitamin
C.
8.
Omega 3
– I take one fish oil capsule per day with the intent to deal with cholesterol.
9.
Magnesium
– I take this to deal with swelling in my feet, thanks to the hormone-blockers
that my doctor has me taking.
10. Potassium – I take this to deal with
neuropathy and tremors. At first I had
these symptoms by now I have practically none of these symptoms.
11. Rhodiola Rosea – This is a Russian herb
that is an adaptogen that helps the body heal from physical and emotional stress. The Russians have used this with Olympic athletes
because it improves their performance in strenuous exercise. It has also been shown to increase mental
performance and last, it has killed bladder cancer cells and leukemia cells lab experiments. Last, it does increase the lifespan of fruit
flies by 25% in repeated experiments. I
have noticed that in taking it I feel more energy, regaining some of the energy
I have lost due to the hormone-blockers.
Note: There are some possible
drug interactions, so no caffeine, no anti-depressants, no P-glycoproteins and
no substrates of Cytochrome P450 3A4 (Biaxin, Cardizem, Sporanox, Nizoral,
Ketek, grapefruit juice erythromycin, etc.).
DIET
The main premise that I operate on is that sugar feeds
cancer. Carbohydrates are converted to
sugars in the body. Hence carbs are
bad. Secondarily, it is said that
processed foods with all of their chemicals also has a causal relationship with
cancer. Also, consuming an overabundance
of certain foods can indirectly or directly cause cancer to grow.
On the plus side, we all have been indoctrinated to think
that leafy dark green vegetables are good for fighting cancer.
Other than these “truths” there is a lot of noise around
the best diet for people fighting cancer.
1.
The Budwig Protocol – This is built around
flaxseed or linseed oil and cottage cheese as well as vegetables, fruits and
juices. Processed foods, sugar, and most
other dairy are no- nos.
2.
The Ketogenic Diet – This is a high-fat,
adequate protein, low carbohydrate diet.
The idea is that the fat replaces the carbs, putting the body into a
metabolic state called ketosis. The body
is then living on ketones instead of glucose, that has many health benefits,
not the least of which is a treatment for epilepsy. This diet has lots of chicken, fish, beef,
pork, cream, butter, mayonnaise, low-carb fruits and vegetables.
3.
The Atkins Diet – This is close to the Ketogenic
diet. The modified version of this diet
places no limit on calories or protein.
4.
The Paleo Diet – This is a diet based on what
cave men and women ate, so there is no dairy, grains, or processed foods. It includes vegetables, fruits, nuts, roots,
meat, seafood, and coconut oil. It
doesn’t include the farm-grown vegetables like corn
All of these diets have one thing in common: limit sugar/carb intake. But which one?
Many doctors prescribe the Ketogenic diet to patients that have
cancer—especially brain cancer. This may
be a good choice, but it does have its side effects and is not all that appetizing.
The real problem is that the medical profession has not
collected the data and therefore doesn’t have the evidence to correlate
particular food intake and particular forms of cancer. The only thing that is known is that certain
foods provide certain benefits.
So, Kathe and I have formed the Les & Kathe
Cancer-Fighting Diet, consisting of the following:
1.
Trying to eat only organic foods and avoiding
all processed foods.
2.
Drastic reduction of sugar and carb intake.
a. As
a treat, the limited use of natural sweeteners such as coconut sugar, monk
fruit sugar and some stevia
b. Avoidance
of manufactured sugar substitutes such as saccharin and aspartame
3.
No cow milk and reduction of all milk products
a. Use
of coconut oil and almond milk
b. Limited
intake of hard cheese and plain yogurt
4.
Increase of leafy dark green vegetables
5.
Limited intake of low sugar, antioxidant fruits
such as blueberries and strawberries
6.
No high sugar fruits like mangos, oranges, cherries
7.
Smoothie every breakfast - The smoothie consists
of one solid cup of spinach and kale (little frozen pieces), pea protein
powder, turmeric powder, unsweetened almond milk, potassium/magnesium
supplement, chia seeds, blueberries or strawberries, broccoli sprouts, and
walnuts.
8.
We eat chicken, tuna, other fish, some beef, and
(I eat) some ham
9.
Snacks consist mainly of walnuts, pecans,
macadamia nuts, almonds, almond butter, and occasional fruits such as apples or
white peaches
10. Kathe
has picked up a Paleo Sweets recipe book, so we have had some cookies with a
little maple syrup or honey as sweetener.
11. Lots
and lots of water.
We will both admit that the diet gets boring.
POSITIVE ATTITUDE and LOW STRESS
This is the woo woo part.
We both feel it is essential for the immune system and for healing that we
maintain a positive attitude. This is not
always easy if the patient is in pain or suffering in other ways, but
maintaining a positive attitude is much easier with the support of my loving wife, friends, relatives,
and a strong faith that God will help in helping maintain a positive attitude
and in giving us wisdom to make the right choices.
It is really important to minimize stress. This is not easy in today’s environment. Avoiding the news is nearly impossible. We try our best, realizing that there is so
little we can do anyway. There is political, social, business and, last but not least, financial stress. This last one is not easy when we know how much these drugs
and treatments cost and may cost in the future. To our benefit,
Kathe is a Medicare guru, so I have the best supplement insurance available. So far we have had to pay very little out of pocket (I won't mention the supplements and organic foods).
I therefore thank Kathe and MedicareQuick.com
for this major stress-reliever.
Next appointment:
August 31st with the oncologist and labs
