22 replies to this topic

[TeddyB]

Just started reading this book, as it was recommended to me by a person who has CLL.

I guess the basics of the book tells you to eat more healthy and ease your mind using certain techniques to help fight cancer.

Im no health freak, and i never will be, but i will read this book and maybe take some advice from it if i find it to be good.

Has anyone else with CML read it?

If so, what are your thoughts?

[rct]

If you go to Childrens Hospital up in Philly, you'd have a heck of a time explaining to those very many cancer patients of very many kinds what they could have, should have, or needed to do in their short 6 years to ease their minds and eat healthier gummy bears.  Whenever I mention that fact to the health nut crowd I get booed.

Good to see you upright and reading though!

rct

[TeddyB]

Good point.

I dont think eating healthy and exercising will cure me (i hope Gleevec or another drug will at some point though).

But i hope it can help give me some more energy, help boost my immune system, and maybe, just maybe increase my chances a little bit if it ever comes to a BMT.

Also, the feeling that im doing at least something to help battle this crappy disease will hopefully make me feel a bit more good about my self.

Oh, and from the reviews ive read, the book recommends one glass of red wine per day

[Sneezy12]

RCT-BRAVO!!! Frank

Message was edited by: Francis Farrell

[CallMeLucky]

I think the idea of trying to live and eat healthy is a good one for many reasons, but I do object to this idea of a healthy lifestyle preventing cancer.  We have seen time and again very healthy people with good eating habits, exercise etc and they get cancer and then there are the people I stand next to at the deli when ordering breakfast and I am just baffled they are even standing and I'm the one who has cancer.  There are many theories about why we get cancer about as many as there are opinions and you know what they say about opinions.  With the exception of a few specifics like intense radiation exposure, etc, most of the cases are unknown origin.  So with that I think you have to approach this with the proper mind set.  I've fallen into the trap of blaming myself and my life style (which wasn't that bad mind you).  Thinking like that just makes you feel worse.  I even read through a book where the author's claim was basically that if you had cancer you likely gave it to yourself from stress.

Eat healthy and exercise because it is good for you.  Try to have a good attitude because it makes your day better and more so because it makes the day better for those around you.  The rest is up to chance (in my humble opinion).

[TeddyB]

rct: Thanks for giving me some more perspective on the subject.

CallMeLucky;

I lived a very unhealthy lifestyle for maybe 15 years now, and i was still fairly skinny person with my 172lbs 6ft so i just kept on drinking alot of soda drinks, ate a lot of burgers/fries/pizza/hot dogs etc, and not a lot of so called healthy foods, i partied hard almost each weekend (Not the last 3 years after i became a father) worked shifts and didnt work out a lot. I guess i was thinking, that if i didnt gain any weight, it wasnt a problem. I started playing squash maybe 1-2 times pr week 1 year before i got dx`d, maybe thats why i got CML? Jokes aside, i was always thinking that i should start leading a more healthy lifestyle 1-2 years before i got dx`d, but i never realy got around to it (except for the Squash part)

As you say, this is very much a matter of opinion, and i hope i dont start a huge debate about it ion this thread.

BUT, if anyone has read the book, let me know your thoughts

Im guessing scuba would like it, as it mentions turmeric/black pepper combination, and it also gives red wine the thumbs up. (This is just from reading reviews as i have not read the book itself yet)

[scuba]

My brother is a Veterinarian. He had the opportunity to become President of the local zoo where he volunteered to work on the big animals. Animals such as Giraffe's, Hippo's and his favorite - the big cats (lions & tigers). In his many years working with these animals, including Fefe and Fido (his main practice), he noted that they were fed and taken better care of than humans. And he noted that a similar percentage got cancer regardless of how well they were treated. His observations are not scientific,  But they are interesting nonetheless.

My brother believes that cancer is simply a genetic aberration and luck of the draw. Some people have good, long life genes and some do not. And that there is very little anyone can do to change that using diet/exercise.

That does not mean that chemicals in food are useless in the cancer fight. There is plenty of evidence that certain populations around the world have higher or lower incidence' of certain cancers than others. And that diet is the usual suggested explanation. There are certainly other explanations. What we are finding is that when certain chemicals in food are concentrated (Resveratrol, Curcumin, Vitamin C, for example), their anti-cancer properties are more pronounced. In normal diets (animals as well as humans), these chemicals (and others) are no where near the high concentrations necessary for large scale population effect. It's because we see hints of it that scientists are experimenting with them.

I take large amounts of Curcumin in order to augment the Sprycel I take. Sprycel (and the other TKI's) is man-made and is the reason I am still alive 2.5 years post diagnosis. I believe the Curcumin is enabling the 20mg. Sprycel to be more effective than if I took Sprycel by itself.

I drink red wine not to keep from getting cancer, but to enjoy life. I smoke an occasional cigar for the same reason. I eat right and exercise so I don't have to take a blue pill to chase my wife around the room and be able to do what I know how to do when I catch her.

[TeddyB]

Scuba:

Interesting story about your brother.

"My brother believes that cancer is simply a genetic aberration and luck of the draw."

Exactly the same my Onc said, and i believed him, at least in regards to my CML.

Even with my unhealthy lifestyle, ive never needed a blue pill so far. (Knock on wood)

[SunNsand]

I look to the tiny babies who are diagnosed with cancer as proof that diet, stress nor religion have anything to do with how we get cancer. I also look to the people that lived long before pizza, hot dogs and chemicals were invented. Those people worked hard, ate fresh produce and still got cancer. It's still a good idea to work at being as healthy as possible to fight anything else that may come our way.

[LivingWellWithCML]

I agree ... Just bad luck.  I was eating fine and running 48 minutes 10Ks when I started to slow down for no good reason (turned out to be CML).  I was 6"1 and 170 lb, non-smoker, etc.  Sounds like an interesting book though!

[TeddyB]

Dan: Yeah, the book seems very interesting, and the guy who wrote it also had cancer for almost 20 years, and seemed to have a very scientific background. He also says repeatedly that this book is only to help the body fight disease in a natural way, its not meant as a "alternative treatment" for the cancer one has. Either way, the author unfortunately died of his cancer which is perhaps not the greatest sales argument for the book. It does however mention ways of reducing stress, which is something i could use at this point, so i will probably give it a read since i bought it anyway.

[TeddyB]

Dear Billie:

The pill referred to starts with a V and ends with an A.

It also has something to do with activities usually performed in the bedroom

PS: Hope you and your husband are coping well given the recent not so good news.

Teddy.

[lymphomajourney]

I read it when I was diagnosed with MCL. What I like about the book is that it finds the balance between confidence in our advanced medical knowledge and experience, and only recommends lifestyle changes as complementary to getting appropriate medical care. All medical evidence that I have seen shows that the basics, eating a healthy diet (and not too much red meat), not smoking, moderate exercise, results in general improvement in health. From my own perspective, after one auto and one allo SCT, there are so few things I can control or help control my MCL that I tend to focus on the ones that can help. Again, the basics of eating well, exercise etc.

Worth reading, as it helps one exercise some degree of control over your life, but of course, no miracle cures - they don't exist.

Andrew

My Lymphoma Journey

[TeddyB]

Thank you for sharing Andrew.

Teddy.

[alexamay09]

Hi Teddy

I read this after diagnosis of breast cancer 3 years ago. I was lucky and didn't need chemo.  I cleaned up my lifestyle about a year and a half later, lost a bit of weight and ate a good healthy diet as well as taking supplements.  Last October I started jogging 3 times a week.  However, I was diagnosed just last week with CML in accelerated phase so while lifestyle changes may help with other cancers, I believe that CML is just random back luck for me.  Having said that I don't think it hurts to eat well and do what you can

[TeddyB]

Thanks for your answer Alex.

I will read it myself, and maybe take some of its advice. It cant hurt to eat a bit more healthy, even though i doubt it will do much for my cancer

[GerryL]

Hi Teddy,

Doubt it will help the CML, but a better diet could prevent other diseases such as diabetes; heart disease; obesity etc.

[TeddyB]

GerryL: Indeed, and i dont want that on top of CML.

[SB3]

I read this book in December, three months after I was diagnosed with CML, and on the recommendation of a friend. It was exactly what I needed at the time -- concrete advice, based on scientific evidence, about what I could do to become healthier and live a fuller life. I changed my diet (eliminated processed sugar and flour, including all baked goods and sodas, stopped eating junk food, and ate more fruits and vegetables), added more exercise, and will soon begin taking yoga classes on a more regular basis. I've lost weight (and maintained it), feel more energetic and am better able to handle stressful situations (like my most recent BMB). While I agree with others that some types of cancer are the luck of the draw, including CML, I do think there are other types, along with diseases such as diabetes and hypertension, that can be prevented or at least controlled through healthier living. My main goal for reading the book and following the advice is to try to prevent my body from developing other types of cancer or chronic disease. Sure, it may not work, but at least I feel as if I'm doing whatever I can to maintain my health for as long as I can. It certainly can't hurt.