Diet and cancer. Interesting idea

That was excellent. Thank you for sharing this.

Perhaps some of you follow Don Imus!?.....While "his" prostate cancer specifics are a tad scarce, as I recall his Gleason was 3+4=7 and his PSA was in the sixes and t2c......His wife is a health food nut and is having him treat his cancer holistically with a strict diet, some kind of "pepper" and other natural herbs. His PSA has returned to pre-diagnosed levels so it would seem diet does play a huge roll in cancer.

74 years old - Gleason 3+4+7 - PSA 6.7 prostate 106 grams - Vatikutti robotic prostatectomy 2/10/10 - nerves etc. spared - pad free about 4/15/10 - five week PSA undetectable

Imus started eating habanero peppers several times a day after his diagnosis.  If memory serves me, he also consulted Dean Ornish.

Carlos

Thanks for pointing out this video. I think there is a lot of potential in diet effecting PCa. But sadly it looks to only be effective if started before the cancer has established itself. For those who are taught to eat right in their youth, slam dunk. For those who try to change their diet late in life, slowing the growth would be the only positive result. That's what I got out of it anyway.

Awesome video. I am a complete believer in the changing of a diet. about a month ago my dad had a PSA of 49. Extremely high for his age at 46, and he ate horribly. The day we found out he started drinking a gallon of green tea a day and water. He has totally cut out sugars and carbs from his diet. He eats lots of salads, some chicken and streak, lots of broccoli, lots of vegetables, no sodas, and some garlic. In addition to lots of supplements and exercising, my dad, a month later is down to a 9! He just started his HT therapy about 3 days ago, so even without treatment, he has cut it off by about 80%. Awesome.

Jimm, you're probably not getting enough protein and eating alot of carbs. Carbs trigger appetite as does sugar. Protein and fat are what satisfy (good fat, of course). And protein keeps the blood sugar levels on an even keel. Non-dairy creamer is garbage - it's all chemicals. Better to have fat free or 1% milk or half & half - at least you get some nutrition from them. On your sandwiches, use some mustard, pickle slices or tomato slices - they add moisture, flavor and bulk to the sandwich. Almonds are excellent for a snack but try to refrain from the salted kind (I know, it's not as appealing). If you want to save some fat and calories, make your oatmeal with water rather than 2% milk (2% milk has as much saturated fat as a small order of fast-food french fries!).

My husband substituted "white" sugar for raw sugar (not processed) and completely gave up whole milk in his coffee (he now uses fat free half & half). He did this not because of his PCa but because his cholesterol profile was higher than he and his doctor wanted. He has a redo of his cholesterol in July so we'll see what progress he's made.

I like Sephie's advise.

Here's a variation of a power shake my wife and I have been drinking for breakfast. It's helped to keep away the mid-morning munchies. The amounts are approximate: blend together - 2/3 cup frozen blueberries, 2 scoops of soy protein, 2 tbsp ground flax, banana, 1oz of orange juice, 8 oz of pomegranate juice.

But what's really worked for me is having a small cup of walnuts (good omega 3 source), sometimes mixed with other nuts for variety (e.g., pistachios, macademias). Eat some between meals and it controls the hunger and helps level the metabolism and glucose throughout the day.

We've also started trying to go as organic as possible.

Purgatory said...
Jim, that doesnt sound like a balance diet to me, sounds like a starvation diet. A heart healthy diet is important for anyone, cancer patient or not, but these dietary changes arent going to change to course or scope of your present cancer, the horse is out of the barn.

I hope I have not given anyone the impression that I think my attempts to change my diet will make my cancer go away. I'm simply trying to do what many people here have told me to do. I am too slow on the PC to look for and quote the posts, but I remember people telling me AS is not about doing nothing... So what's your point exactly. Are you suggesting it's not worth it?

AS is all about doing something, wouldn't argue that point. My own urologist and my radiation oncologist feel that a lot of men worry too much about dietary changes after they find out they have cancer. The diet changes that may have helped would have to have begun in childhood and followed strictly all our lives. My doctors aren't against healthy eating, they all suggest the healthy heart diets just for general good health. My medical team doesnt believe that dietary changes once you have cancer are going to either slow down or stop any existing cancer, that is what I meant that the horse is out of the barn. I think with your stats, AS is a good plan at this point in your journey, you can be spared the vigors of surgery and its side effects, or the effects of radiation or seeding at this point. For your sake, I hope your cancer stays indolent and slow growing for many years to come. You are fortunate to have the stats to safely be on AS. The important part is having your other PSA tests done on whatever schedule you and your dr. have decided, and be willing to take additional biopsies if they prove to be needed. Since your biopsy was a whopper 32 cores, and only 3 cores were found with low % of cancer, it looks like a safe gamble to me to be on AS. I would do the same thing if I had your numbers originally.

This is much debate and opinion of dietary changes, vitamins, supplements. You will find good sources from reknowned experts that can argue their benefit or lack of benefit in either direction. But when its all said and done, eating healthy is never going to be a bad thing.

Purgatory said...
but these dietary changes arent going to change to course or scope of your present cancer

I think you are being silly. Even if the changes were minute they are still changes. So after I call you on it, you decide to give an overview of my situation. I know my situation better than anyone. Maybe the Low Risk PCa sufferers should have their own forum section, so their constant whining wouldn't offend the more seriously ill. I'm here to look for new information, and unfortunately, to become hardened and calloused to the very subject that afflicts me. I'm ignorant of many dietary facts and was honestly looking for others input and advise. I'm truly sorry that this disease has struck me so early and I do not handle it well. I wish to God I had never been given that freakin PSA test! I would rather live my life naturally and have it end early than go through this hell. I do wish you well.

I'm not sure what your intention was. Agree to disagree with what. That you think I think I'm going to cure my cancer with tomatoes and strawberries. Do you really think it was necessary to tell me that. I'm not stupid. Whatever...

Jim,  Dr. Myers has two interesting utube videos about diet on his web site http://askdrmyers.wordpress.com/.   One is titled "Foods Prostate Cancer Patients Should Avoid" and the other "Best Diet for Prostate Cancer?".   Just scroll down past the current topic.   He certainly believes that diet is important.  However, I don't know if I can part with my old Weber grill.

Carlos