kbienapfl's Cancer Blog

Dearest Kathy,
We are all desperate in our own ways. I am sure we also can all identify with your breakdown. I am a traditionalist, and I breakdown as well, over what to chose from the menu of chemotherapies vs. side effects. What is working, and how hard is it on my body, and how much does it take from the quality of the time I have left? I trust my oncologist, truly with my life. She is brilliant. People in “the business” all praise her to the highest. She is the number one rated oncologist (by other M.D.s) in Sacramento. I am an R.N. and get much of the inside scoop. Each time I read something that steps outside of traditional treatment, that to me seems a possibility, I ask her to explain it to me. So far she has been very open and gives limited credibility to many of these treatments. Many she smiles, and then explains to me as a medical peer in biochemical and physiological language that convinces me that most of these non-traditional treatments are not worth the anxiety and discomfort that accompanies them. Something as simple as a low sugar diet (because cancer cells thrive on sugar) is ridiculous as all food is converted in our livers to a by product of sugar before our body utilizes it. In order to deprive cancer cells of sugar you would have to stop eating altogether.

My point is, don’t make yourself crazy and torture yourself. If your oncologist/medical team are honest human beings. If you trust in them to
provide the best care, to honor the oath, “first do no harm”, they won’t allow you to die because they are seeing the world with blinders on, or becausenthey own stock in drug companies. Hopefuly your cancer center offers nutritional counseling and they will give you proven tips on doing what is best for you.

Have you ever been overweight and sought out a miracle drug or diet to help you lose weight? Have you ever tried a pill or extreme diet (cabbage soup?)promising to shed those unwanted pounds without exercise, but with significant side effects? Some of them serious/deadly. If this isn’t you, surely a friend or family member. How many people have died looking for a miraculous cure for being overweight? It still doesn’t stop them, even though they know the dangers. They are desperate. People without weight problems can’t understand why anyone would take such a risk. But we all know that proper diet and exercise are the only sure and safe way. If there were a magic answer we would all know about it. It is the same with cancer. How desperate can we become? Are we willing to try the most absurd things that so drastically alter the quality of our lives that we die anyway, but spend the time not enjoying what we have left and even increasing our own suffering? We cause our own suffering, not enjoying food and limiting ourselves to bizarre diets, and thus falling apart in front of strangers in a grocery store. There is plenty of time during traditional cancer therapy that we don’t enjoy food, why increase that time?

Kathy, I totally get it. What you are trying to do. But I want to enjoy my life. I do what my physician thinks is best for me (which is miserable enough). She does all she can, of this I am convinced, to make sure my disease is held at bay. She does all she can to keep me comfortable and happy. I do not chose to make myself any more miserable than necessary. It would be defeating to me, and cruel for my family.

None of us know “The Answer”. I wish there were one expert source we could go to. But there is too much that there are no answers to.

I trust my oncologist. It takes the pressure off of me, for I am not an expert. I have not spent my entire adult lifetime studying medicine and oncology. She has. I trust her, with my life. I hope you are blessed with a physician for whom you can feel the same. Sending you love and blessings. Gaile

Posted on January 31, 2008 at 8:56:38 PM by gaile

After I started getting chemo, I began researching everything that I could about cancer, breast cancer, established chemo protocols and alternative therapies. I found hundreds and hundreds of articles. Many were absolutely contradictory. This study shows this, this study shows that—etc. When I found one that especially worried me, I would send it to my oncologist. My medical center has a great way for you and your physician to communicate via the internet. I did (and still do) send the article to my oncologist and they comment on it back to me. Sometimes we talk by email and sometimes during my office visits. This is a tremendous help to me in dealing with all this maddening, contradictory information. I am fortunate in that the medical center at which I receive treatment is in the top 10 nationally.

I hope that you feel comfortable in discussing alternative treatments with your oncologist.

For myself (and this is the decision that I have personally made for me and me alone), I try and follow a healthy diet. But, I eat what I want when I want it. I’m lucky now. I was addicted to sweets. Now, since chemo, I have no desire for them. I drink almost no caffeine, an occasional cup of coffee is all.

Please take care and try not to let all this hype mess up your life. Unfortunately, cancer is big business and there are a lot of folks trying to make money on us. Trust your oncologist and medical team. If you don’t, then change them. Our time is too precious to spend trying to sort through all the various established treatments and alternative medicine approaches without expert help.

Posted on February 1, 2008 at 5:47:05 AM by carolmcb