Hello all,
First, sorry for my English, English is only my second language.
I want to share with you our experience with breast cancer (and I truly hope it helps with most cancers). More than ever, after this experience, I know that cancer (like most disease), is the result of an imbalance in personal or family life, either at a nutritional/physical condition level or at the mental/emotional/spiritual level (or combined).
When the diagnosis of 3rd stage breast cancer came, it was a shock. But we never lost our hope. On the contrary, the whole family truly believed it's curable.
Then, in conjunction with chemotherapy and radiotherapy, we started the research. Traditionally convinced of natural remedies (we are the product of nature, and we thrive best in clean, rich natural conditions), we came up with the following daily routine:
- a large glass/mug of root vegetables juice. This is essential, it's unbelievable in healing effects and not expensive. Usually in the morning, as breakfast or with a plain toasted slice of whole wheat bread, or with dry whole cereal and seeds bread/crackers (I don't know their exact name, they are thin, crunchy, and they usually come in plastic transparent packages like biscuits). Look for all natural, no or very little added salt/sugar, organic/bio are always the best choice. To make the juice, we bought a slow masticating juicer—that's very important, because it doesn't destroy the nutrients when pressing. The list of root vegetables (again, organic/bio are the best, whenever possible, for they have none or very low content in chemicals) for the juice (do not forget to wash them well, with cold water, and only peel the portions showing too much dirt or anything, otherwise leave them unpeeled when cutting into pieces for the juicer, because there's plenty of nutrients in the peel as well):
- beetroot (the root of a medium sized red beet)
- carrots (together, the beetroot and carrots are the basis of the juice)
- celery root (the size of a normal bread slice per juice; there's not much juice coming out of it, but it's powerful)
- ginger (a small piece, enough for you to feel the spice in the juice; if you can bear more, don't hesitate—it is also very powerful in healing properties)
- whenever one of the above ingredients is missing, especially when the beetroot or carrots are missing, you can substitute with other roots: parsnip, turnip, and even green leaves. But try to hold to the carrots + beetroot recipe. Fruits can be added to the juice, but they are not as strong in their healing properties, and they provide too much sugar when squeezed (sugar must actually be avoided during cancer, except from raw fruits (not juice)).
- drink it fresh, don't leave it for later (if you must, keep it covered in the fridge)
- DO NOT add sugar or salt
- sometimes, instead of a juice you may prefer to make a salad of all these (again, look to shred/grate the roots yourself, without heat), which is just fine—you just need to eat a lot of it. With extra-virgin olive oil, some walnuts and seeds, it's another cocktail to boost your body resources and immunity. You can also have both, a vegetable juice and a salad at different times in the day.
- another very powerful dietary element: in a small cup (like those for alcohol shots), mix a teaspoon of honey (any kind of true honey, organic/bio is the best) with a few drops of propolis tincture. If you can afford, every now and then you can add/combine with a bit of raw royal jelly and Manuka honey (the amount of those depend on their strength, check the labels; usually not more than a small teaspoon or even less for the royal jelly). From this you can take breaks of 1 week every couple of weeks, or depending on how your stomach can stand honey and propolis (and for manuka it's recommended to take breaks on its intake). Regarding honey, propolis and royal jelly, we found readily organic products as vials/ampoules combining them all together, sometimes even with ginseng.
- the meals were low calorie (in cancer, it is important to boost the skills of the metabolism and keep the blood clean and 'armed', and not giving too much protein to both regular and cancer cells), very low in sugar (down to weeks with no sugar at all, because the cancer cells love sugar), also very low in animal products (we gave up on all kind of meat and animal grease, because animal meat and grease are heavy to the body and inflammatory, and studies showed that they bring unexpectedly harmful toxins; no milk or cheese, or little low-processed cheese; a little butter is okay; a boiled egg every now and then; because animal fat and proteins are also one of the favorite foods of cancer cells)
- B12 might be necessary (every now and then), on the period when the diet is low on animal products. But no B6 and no Calcium.
- whole bread, muesli cereals, cereal germs; without (or very little, if you can't find otherwise) added sugar or salt; avoid added B6 vitamin;
- boiled whole chickpea, lens/lentiles, couscous, bulgur, quinoa etc (always whole); avoid pasta, unless whole wheat (even then, pasta is not a great choice, it's inflammatory and low in nutrients)
- raw nuts, grains and seeds; walnuts and flaxseed/linseed are particularly great, but any combination is good; for the grains, small seeds and muesli, you can have them in a cold/bit warm (never hot, to not ruin the grains/seeds) bowl of chamomile/linden/mint tea, or in a low-fat natural (plain) yogurt.
- nuts, seeds and grains must be stored protected from mold and fungus. If you suspect any of it, get new ones.
- raw tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumbers; extra virgin olive oil + a bit of lemon juice salads from lettuce, cabbage, spinach, Belgian endives, basically any green leaves (such green salads are amazing detoxifiers, both in normal conditions and after a chemo session); steamed or 1-2 minutes boiled beans, peas, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini etc.; raw broccoli sprouts are believed to contain cancer-fighting ingredients ;
- apples, pears, bananas, cherries, plums, blueberries, raspberries (all berries are great) etc; not too much fruit, though, and not as juice (and citric acid must be reduced)
- soft tea infusions (chamomile/linden/mint etc), green tea is good as well, but one a day is enough
- if you find, use fresh/dry Oregano (Origanum vulgare) in your salads, food (sprinkled over, in your plate) etc, I found that it fights cancer (it is said to help even when taken with a teaspoon, kept under the tongue, 1-3 times per day, then swallowed with a bit of water; highly antioxidant, antiinflamatory etc; I read it stopped cancer cells and even killed them in a test)
- no alcohol, no cigarettes, no sodas;
- a little chocolate, from time to time, but really dark chocolate (80-90%+ cocoa), low in sugar (preferable not more than 10% sugar); the darker, the better, because cocoa is a great antioxidant
- hydrate a lot (clean, still water, avoid sparkling; plus the teas)
- not all the above are necessarily tasty, but I heard a saying that "bitter is medicine"
This diet helped both to regenerate from the side-effects of chemo and radio, and to provide the body with the best instruments to heal itself, improve its immunoresponse etc. It's like soaking your system in all the nutrients and natural cleaning agents that eventually reach all the corners of your body, not letting it fall back into fatigue, lack of resources and toxin accumulations. And that puts all your immunity back into the pilot seat, while the cancer cells are slowly deprived of their chemical and biological friends.
Exercise: 10-20 minutes of stationary bike (or treadmill), depending on the fatigue caused by chemo, on slow pace. Even when really low, still tried to go outside for some walk (though not always successful, but it's important to try).
Psychologically/emotionally: it is very important to remove stress as much as possible. Sleep. Try to get some personal comfort, and to focus on yourself, in terms of resting, tranquility and peace of mind. Your boss is not important anymore, traffic is not important anymore, nothing that used to bother you is important anymore. Stay close to your close ones, give up quarreling, make peace with anyone (or step aside/keep the distance when not possible) and kindly ask for support whenever needed. Forgiveness and love are the keys. Let other things go. Pray to God (it's not His fault for our sickness). Surround yourself with good and beautiful, be it books, paintings, music, ambient sounds or movies. Simple meditation sessions help too. You need inner balance and detoxifying your heart/mind as much as your body.
With each new medical control, the tumor got smaller and smaller, beyond expectations. And, after approx. 5 months of chemo, though the doctor didn't initially think that would be possible, the breast was saved (only a regular surgery). The tests showed no more cancer (but still followed radio, as recommended).
Of course, this is only one's experience. Consider what you think it may do you well, and do not follow any of the above advices if you feel they don't bring you any good (or adapt in any way you may think appropiate to your case).
God bless you and help us all.