Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 29
Rahel Offline OP
Contributing Member (25+ posts)
OP Offline
Contributing Member (25+ posts)

Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 29
Hi folks,

I have been warned that several people on this forum may be skeptical of "anti-cancer" nutrition efforts, nonetheless, I brave the skepticism, and post this question searching for others who may be working with anti-cancer nutritionist Jeanne Wallace.

I myself am somewhat of a skeptic, but she came so highly recommended from multiple sources, and she was known by the UCSF Complementary Medical Clinic, so I went ahead and took the plunge. Her packet of info was somewhat overwhelming, since she provided the specific studies and citations to back up every recommendation, and she tailored the treatment plan to my specific blood work and cancer type. So I am impressed, and am starting to follow the regimen she suggested.

I was wondering if anyone else on this forum had worked with her - maybe we can touch base and compare notes?

Thanks,

Rahel


Leukoplakia 3/07, 34y.o. non-smoker/drinker
Biopsy 3/08: clear (no monitoring suggested - grr)
Biopsy 10/18/10: SCC, Stage 2 1.
Surgery 11/15/10: glossectomy R side oral tongue & partial neck dissection. Margins, nodes & salivary gland clear!
Subsequent MRIs/CTs/PETs: All clear!
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 49
"OCF Down Under"
Contributing Member (25+ posts)
Offline
"OCF Down Under"
Contributing Member (25+ posts)

Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 49
Hi Rahel, I'm in Australia so not familiar with the the nutritionist, but just wanted to say that I firmly believe in anti cancer nutrition efforts. Have you read the book "Anti Cancer: a new way of life" by Dr David Servan-Schreiber? Its very good and fully backed up with evidence from medical and scientific journals. I like to eat healthy anyway so I figure that a diet high in antioxidant-rich food which is mainly fruit and veg, low in processed food and meat, is not only good for you but also good for the environment so no harm in eating an anti cancer diet either way!


Monica,33 Mum of 3. Former smoker
SCC right lateral tongue. Intially thought to be cell dysplasia and dx as SCC after surgical excision.
Nov 2010- partial glossectomy (1cm in width), partial neck dissection. Margins clear, nothing found in nodes- YAY! Benign tumor on saliva gland.
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 3,082
Patient Advocate (old timer, 2000 posts)
Offline
Patient Advocate (old timer, 2000 posts)

Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 3,082
Rahel

Proper nutrition is essential for cancer recovery. NCI has a very nice site on this: NCI & nutrition I've been one of the OCF's skeptics on "anti-cancer nutrition" since it does not comport with my personal experience. My wife and I had given up sugar over 20 years ago and ate healthy vegetarian with plenty of exercise. No sodas or artificially sweetened drinks for over two decades. It did not protect me from cancer. Plus most OCF members know family and friends who have atrocious diets and nary a hint of cancer. Don B has posted about the Anti-cancer book before on OCF and it's well written for its genre plus I give the author extra credit for attributing his cancer not to bad prior diet but to chemical exposure as a child. Monica is right that there is no down side to eating healthy foods. It's only when patients forgo radiation or chemo or surgery in favor of "eating their cancer away" that is dangerous. We've had posters here in the past who announced those intentions and they've never come back to say "I told you so"
Charm


65 yr Old Frack
Stage IV BOT T3N2M0 HPV 16+
2007:72GY IMRT(40) 8 ERBITUX No PEG
2008:CANCER BACK Salvage Surgery
25GY-CyberKnife(5) 3 Carboplatin
Apaghia /G button
2012: CANCER BACK -left tonsilar fossa
40GY-CyberKnife(5) 3 Carboplatin

Passed away 4-29-13
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 8,311
Senior Patient Advocate
Patient Advocate (old timer, 2000 posts)
Offline
Senior Patient Advocate
Patient Advocate (old timer, 2000 posts)

Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 8,311
My entire adult life was devoted to exercise and nutrition. If a doctor said don't eat this, I didn't. If a doctor said eat plenty of this, I ate plenty of it. I didn't smoke, never drank at home, only at parties, etc. Never was even a tad overweight or underweight for that matter. Had dental checkups 3 times a year, each and every year. Got plenty of sleep, blah, blah, blah.

I still got Stage IV cancer. Of course NO ONE EVER SAID DON'T ENGAGE IN SEX!!! lol

Point is I don't think you can ever guarantee that what you do will prevent all cancers.


David

Age 58 at Dx, HPV16+ SCC, Stage IV BOT+2 nodes, non smoker, casual drinker, exercise nut, Cisplatin x 3 & concurrent IMRT x 35,(70 Gy), no surgery, no Peg, Tx at Moffitt over Aug 06. Jun 07, back to riding my bike 100 miles a wk. Now doing 12 Spin classes and 60 outdoor miles per wk. Nov 13 completed Hilly Century ride for Cancer, 104 miles, 1st Place in my age group. Apr 2014 & 15, Spun for 9 straight hrs to raise $$ for YMCA's Livestrong Program. Certified Spin Instructor Jun 2014.
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 179
"OCF Down Under"
Senior Member (100+ posts)
Offline
"OCF Down Under"
Senior Member (100+ posts)

Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 179
I have been thinking about this topic alot since i've been diagnosed. Wondering is this food i'm eating, is it that food i'm eating, is it the microwave etc. I too led a very healthy lifestyle - excercise, eat healthy. In the end it's just too hard to try and figure out what caused it. Too hard to not microwave my food unless i give up my job and stay home and cook fresh meals all the time etc. So i agree with David. I'm going to just enjoy life (not too excessive of course!!) .

Minh


35 Yrs old
03/10 SCC T1-T2
Partial Glossectemy end March - margins not clear enough.
While waiting for resection - cancer returned,2 new cancerous lumps
Re-section End May & flap from cheek attatched. Margins clear.
Mid June - 4 teeth out
Mid July -32 Rads and 3 Cisplatin
6th Sept 10 Finished Treatment!!
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 29
Rahel Offline OP
Contributing Member (25+ posts)
OP Offline
Contributing Member (25+ posts)

Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 29
Hey all,

Thanks for the posts. Sounds like no one has worked with her. Oh well!

In response to the comments about eating healthy - I also eat a very healthy diet, minimal sugar, etc. This nutritionist supports healthy food choices in general, but more specifically, based on lab tests, she evaluated specific areas where I could use improvement, based on (western-med) studies about what does and doesn't encourage cancer growth, particularly my kind of cancer. One example for me is I have very low Vit D. She cited multiple studies showing Vit D inhibiting cancer growth, including discussion of strengths/weaknesses of various studies, and their applicability to HNSCC. She also went one step further than my doctor, in that she noticed my cholesterol is very low, which is usually "good" and didn't make the doctor's radar. But since cholesterol is needed as a building block to produce Vit D, I may need to address low cholesterol in order to successfully address low Vit D. She doesn't promise anything as a cure, just looks at what studies are out there, then works to encourage the good things and reduce the bad.

I figure if my body is prone towards cancer, it's going to have less of a chance of recurrence if I get these other things in balance.

Take care,

Rahel


Leukoplakia 3/07, 34y.o. non-smoker/drinker
Biopsy 3/08: clear (no monitoring suggested - grr)
Biopsy 10/18/10: SCC, Stage 2 1.
Surgery 11/15/10: glossectomy R side oral tongue & partial neck dissection. Margins, nodes & salivary gland clear!
Subsequent MRIs/CTs/PETs: All clear!
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 3,082
Patient Advocate (old timer, 2000 posts)
Offline
Patient Advocate (old timer, 2000 posts)

Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 3,082
Rahel

While I'm still a skeptic about nutrition therapy, the Vitamin D catch was perceptive of her. I too have very low cholesterol so both my cardiologist and my endocrinologist urged me strongly to take 4000 IU of Vitamin D every day. Neither were impressed by the recent negative study on Vitamin D but felt the ones you referenced were more valid. The results of my blood tests showed a big jump from 25 ng/ml to 44 (optimal levels on lab tests are over 30 up to 100). With just two pills a day, you can have your cake (High Vitamin D) and eat it too (keep that low cholesterol)
Thought you would want some positive reinforcement
Keep the faith
Charm


65 yr Old Frack
Stage IV BOT T3N2M0 HPV 16+
2007:72GY IMRT(40) 8 ERBITUX No PEG
2008:CANCER BACK Salvage Surgery
25GY-CyberKnife(5) 3 Carboplatin
Apaghia /G button
2012: CANCER BACK -left tonsilar fossa
40GY-CyberKnife(5) 3 Carboplatin

Passed away 4-29-13
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 29
Rahel Offline OP
Contributing Member (25+ posts)
OP Offline
Contributing Member (25+ posts)

Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 29
Thanks, Charm, for the positive perspective!

My doctor suggested (and the nutritionist supported) a once/week dose of 50,000 iu D3, for 3 months. Seemed like a lot to me, but since they both were in favor of the idea, I'm going with it. We'll test me again after 3 months and see where I'm at.

:^) Rahel


Leukoplakia 3/07, 34y.o. non-smoker/drinker
Biopsy 3/08: clear (no monitoring suggested - grr)
Biopsy 10/18/10: SCC, Stage 2 1.
Surgery 11/15/10: glossectomy R side oral tongue & partial neck dissection. Margins, nodes & salivary gland clear!
Subsequent MRIs/CTs/PETs: All clear!
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 3,082
Patient Advocate (old timer, 2000 posts)
Offline
Patient Advocate (old timer, 2000 posts)

Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 3,082
Rahel

That prescription based dosage was what my cardio doc wanted at first but it turns out that each and every drugcompany only makes that dosage in softgels. Softgels do not work with a feeding tube (and I really tried, using exacto knifes to slit it etc, but the vitamin D clings to the gel capsules and it all dissolves etc). So I was forced to do find tablets OTC. I'd really prefer the prescription strength as with insurance it was only pennies a dose unlike the OTC tablets. Good luck
Charm


65 yr Old Frack
Stage IV BOT T3N2M0 HPV 16+
2007:72GY IMRT(40) 8 ERBITUX No PEG
2008:CANCER BACK Salvage Surgery
25GY-CyberKnife(5) 3 Carboplatin
Apaghia /G button
2012: CANCER BACK -left tonsilar fossa
40GY-CyberKnife(5) 3 Carboplatin

Passed away 4-29-13

Link Copied to Clipboard
Top Posters
ChristineB 10,507
davidcpa 8,311
Cheryld 5,260
EzJim 5,260
Brian Hill 4,912
Newest Members
Jina, VintageMel, rahul320, Sean916, Megm37
13,103 Registered Users
Forum Statistics
Forums23
Topics18,166
Posts196,920
Members13,103
Most Online458
Jan 16th, 2020
OCF Awards

Great Nonprofit OCF 2023 Charity Navigator OCF Guidestar Charity OCF

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5