My Alternative Cancer Diary : cancer treatment

Creating Healthy Habits

Sue Insole — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 10:35:00 GMT

In July 2005 I went for another scan. I was advised to stop wearing under-wired bras as it was blocking the flow of lymph fluid, by “hot-spots” around the underarm area and under breast area – which showed up clearly on the scans. Soft bras are much better and don’t restrict the flow.

The scan was fine – almost the same as the time before – and the blood test for PK had gone down to 12.7. My supplements were reviewed and I cut out some of them, and replaced some others.

I got into a routine with the supplements and apricot kernels after a while but it was difficult to remember not only to take them, but also at the right times.

Some had to be taken on an empty stomach whilst others had to be taken with food – some every two hours and some with juice – and at times I used to get into a muddle.

Going out and remembering to take them with me was something I forgot to do on a few occasions, and sometimes I used to get really fed up, thinking I was getting nowhere. However, I only had to think of what the alternative medical treatment was to feel grateful that everything was going so well and I was feeling – and looking – so well.

Eventually I got myself a small pillbox with compartments and doled all the tablets/kernels in there the night before for the next day if I was going out, and during the morning if I wasn’t. I also put labels on reminding me when to take them. It’s become second nature to me now and I no longer have to do this.

This post is part of a weekly series in which Sue Insole describes her health journey. Click here to read her earlier posts.

Click here to get an email update when Sue writes her next post.

SUSAN INSOLE, BSYA (N Th.) is a former NHS nurse and is now a nutritional therapist in the field of natural health. She worked in a health care setting for 16 years, firstly in the field of rehabilitation and then as a welfare officer and secretary within a hospital setting. She was also an advisor for weight loss in 2001 - 2003. She achieved a diploma in 2006 for nutritional therapy. She is the author of a downloadable eBook, What Works in Health. Her website is: www.naturalhealthbenefits.com.

The Obstacles to Eating Healthily

Sue Insole — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 17:26:00 GMT

I carried on with the diet and supplements. When I had been away at Christmas I ate really well and found that I could still enjoy a lot of good food without feeling that I was “depriving” myself of anything.

However, having to watch what I ate all the time did get to me at times. I’m not the kind of person that responds well to a strict diet - I remember spending a weekend in London, and planned to go to a Greek Restaurant after a show – only it was closed by the time we got there. There was nowhere else around to eat other than burger bars, fast food places and steakhouses and so we ended up back at the hotel restaurant, eating chicken kiev (there was no other realistic choice – and it wasn’t very nice) – and I was mightily ****ed off!

Another time we were in Bristol and scouted high and low looking for somewhere to have lunch and we couldn’t find anywhere to go which had the kind of food that I could – or wanted to eat. Even the sandwich bars didn’t have any wholemeal bread. So I ate some fruit and some nuts and went without.

I have learned since then to take my own food with me when going to an unfamiliar place – as you can’t always rely on restaurants serving what you can eat. It also makes you realise how many fast food places like burger bars, Kentucky Fried Chicken and Pizza huts there are around compared with cafes and restaurants that serve good wholesome food!

This post is part of a weekly series in which Sue Insole describes her health journey. Click here to read her earlier posts.

Click here to get an email update when Sue writes her next post.

Further Digestion Problems

Sue Insole — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 10:38:00 GMT

In September 2004 I visited my GP as I was suffering from bouts of diarrhoea and was worried that I was not absorbing my supplements enough. He told me to take Imodium to stop it, but the symptoms persisted along with other IBS symptoms I had not experienced for a long time.

During this time I lost a lot of weight, developed a high temperature and, worst of all, I was too ill to eat very much or take my supplements for several weeks. For a time I was convinced that my cancer had spread to my bowel and I was wasting away.

I consulted a local alternative therapist recommended by a friend, who temporarily took over my health care. I am so glad he did! He told me exactly what my health problem was – my own doctor didn’t have a clue, and the prescribed medicine was useless – and treated me with a combination of homeopathic medicine, a special diet, health supplements and fasting, until I recovered.

It was a nasty illness – a yeast infection complicated by a virus that affected my bowel – but it had nothing whatsoever to do with cancer! He also gave me emotional support when I really needed it – especially when he supported my decisions about treating breast cancer, and gave me a lot of useful advice.

If I hadn’t had this vital support, I may have given up on my treatment plan altogether. Luckily, that didn’t happen, but I can understand the pressures some people are under when they go against medical advice.

After my recovery from the infection, I gradually returned to a normal weight, and in December I went away to the Canary Islands for Christmas, where we had a fantastic time.

I came back feeling really well, and went for an appointment in London to have a thermograph. This is totally non-invasive and picks up changes in breast tissue long before mammograms can. My scan showed a slight difference in temperature between one breast and the other (less than one degree), and the consultant was very pleased with my progress.

My blood test in January was a lot better and the second tumour marker was now down to 13.7 – a lot better than the previous result of 21.00! Things were going really well.

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How My Health Regime Affected Me

Sue Insole — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 10:47:00 GMT

The new health regime I had introduced to beat my breast cancer had two particularly noticeable effects.

My reaction to B17

I was taking large doses of B17 in the form of up to 50 kernels a day plus two tablets twice a day. The nutritionist was surprised I could tolerate so many, and certainly I felt a bit nauseous from time to time, usually for about half an hour after eating breakfast.

I also had to drink several litres of water a day (and had to go to and from the loo a lot!) as my blood pressure used to drop suddenly during the day, and at times I felt quite light-headed.

As soon as the results of my blood tests improved, I gradually reduced my B17.

My blood pressure tends to be quite low anyway, so although B17 is known to reduce blood pressure, it might not affect everyone as much as it affected me.

Other illnesses gone!

Before starting my new diet, I used to suffer from back pain, acid indigestion and asthma. After a few months on the diet, I realised that I could get up in the morning without the initial pain and stiffness in my back and right leg.

What’s more, I was breathing more easily and didn’t suffer seasonal symptoms, despite the warm dry summer. I could also sleep at night without the acid indigestion I used to get.

These symptoms have not returned to this day.

This post is part of a weekly series in which Sue Insole describes her health journey. Click here to read her earlier posts.

Click here to get an email update when Sue writes her next post.

My Doctor's Advice

Sue Insole — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 12:51:00 GMT

I visited my GP on the advice of the nutritionist, as he had copies of my diagnosis from the consultant.

While I was there, I told him I was having alternative treatment, and he looked very grave. He told me I was being very foolish, as alternative treatment was still “unproven.”

The doctor asked me to at least consider taking tamoxifen, as my breast cancer was oestrogen dependent, meaning my high oestrogen levels were part of the cause. Before going to see him, I had read that tamoxifen is, in fact, a carcinogen in its own right. People taking tamoxifen often have blood clots, sight problems and cancer breaking out elsewhere, and more drugs have to be taken to counteract these symptoms. Needless to say, I was not keen on taking it!

He said that if I would not take tamoxifen, that was my decision, but he was not happy and wanted me to reconsider. He thought I was a bit crazy, I think, and that I hadn’t thought through the consequences. In my opinion, the fact that I had independently researched the drug showed that I had been thinking it through very carefully and didn’t like the thought of succumbing to other life threatening diseases whilst fighting the one I already had!

I didn’t visit that particular doctor again, as I had no confidence in him. He did ask me for a copy of my diet regime, though, and I gave it willingly. On any future visit to the surgery I saw a different doctor, who was more sympathetic. The last time I visited my GP was in November 2004.

This post is part of a weekly series in which Sue Insole describes her health journey. Click here to read her earlier posts.

Click here to get an email update when Sue writes her next post.

Why I Was Right to Refuse Surgery

Sue Insole — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 10:40:00 GMT

The results of the blood tests gave me even more conviction that surgery was the wrong route.

When doctors take a tumour away, they cannot take the cancer away completely as it is not a local disease but a symptom of a disease. If cancer is a rogue healing process, as many experts seem to think, taking healthy tissue away at the same time as some cancerous tissue will not cure it! All it will do is start off the healing process yet again: the immune system T cells flock to the operation site, along with cancer cells that are still in the blood.

Before she died, my sister in fact had three operations for her breast cancer. If they had “got it all” the first time around, then why did she need to go in for a second breast removal later, and then a removal of a tumour in her shoulder? Considering this along with the fact that she also had reconstruction surgery, it’s no wonder the cancer had spread throughout her body before she died.

I told my daughter of my diagnosis after I had seen the nutritionist, so I was able to give her encouraging news at the same time. She is a terrible worrier and I wanted to reassure her that I was going to be OK.

This post is part of a weekly series in which Sue Insole describes her health journey. Click here to read her earlier posts.

Click here to get an email update when Sue writes her next post.

My Decision

Sue Insole — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 09:50:00 GMT

Of all the advice I received at this time, I specifically remember something one lady said to me that really hit a nerve.

“They don’t know what they are messing about with,” she said. “They should sometimes just leave things alone, as all they do is spread it around more when they operate.”

I also read that mammograms can sometimes do more harm than good, and I remembered the sharp pain in my breast during the second X-ray I had, and the biopsy needle puncturing the skin straight afterwards while my poor breast was still throbbing. I wondered then whether it could have triggered something off that perhaps had been dormant up until then.

I started taking the apricot kernels anyway, and also started to improve my diet by eating more salads and fruit, and began to feel better in myself. I also read that what doctors call a “recovery” is just being alive five years later, no matter what state of health you're in.

Just a week away from the operation, we were walking around the city centre, trying to work up some positive feelings about it. We were on our way to buy some extras to go into hospital, as I had kept putting it off, when I suddenly turned to Peter and said, “I’m not going to go through with it.”

He looked at me and asked, “Are you sure?” When I said that I was, I could tell he was worried, but he could also see how determined I was. But then he just said, “Come on then – let’s go home.”

I telephoned the breast care clinic the following day and spoke to the nurse, telling her about my decision. She was sorry I felt like that, she said, but it was up to me what treatment I went for. She also told me to write to the consultant explaining that I wanted to cancel the operation indefinitely. She wished me good luck, and said I could always rearrange the operation if I changed my mind.

Once the letter was written and posted, I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders.

This post is part of a weekly series in which Sue Insole describes her health journey. Click here to read her earlier posts. Next week, Sue explains what she learned from her nutritionist.

Click here to get an email update when Sue writes her next post.

Cancer in the Family

Sue Insole — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 10:09:00 GMT

On the way back home from the clinic my husband and I were in turmoil, and all the time the whole implication of this was going through my head – but at the same time everything seemed so unreal. We ended up going for a drink and getting quite drunk, which helped at the time.

I decided that the next day I would phone up one of my sisters (I come from a large family) and tell her about the cancer: I felt I had to tell someone in my family. She was great, and very supportive, and once I’d spoken to her and another of my sisters about it, I felt much more positive.

My Mum is elderly (she’s 93), so I was dreading telling her, but I knew I had to do it sooner or later. In the end she took it quite well, but she was obviously very worried and upset. My daughter was on holiday, and luckily I didn’t have to face her yet as I knew she would be terribly worried and upset as well.

After the initial shock had worn off, I began to think a bit more positively, and we waited for the nurse to arrive in a few days. She was very nice and she went through the treatment options with me again. She showed me a picture of what the operation site would look like – it looked awful – and she also showed me some false breasts that I could wear with a special bra after the operation.

I had already decided that one operation site was enough to contend with, so I decided that I would not have reconstruction surgery.

I hadn’t put much thought into it up until then but at the back of my mind I vaguely remembered something I had read about an alternative treatment involving apricots, and apple seeds but couldn’t remember what. I decided to have a look on the Internet to see if I could find any more information about alternative treatments.

This post is part of a weekly series in which Sue Insole describes her health journey. Click here to read her earlier posts. Next week, Sue tells us how she began to learn about the alternatives to conventional cancer treatment.

Click here to get an email update when Sue writes her next post.

What the Doctor Said

Sue Insole — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 10:37:00 GMT

When my appointment with the consultant came around, I went with much trepidation, but at the same time was anxious to get it over with so I could know the worst.

My worst fears were confirmed when the consultant explained that because they had found some cancerous cells that were starting to come through from the original site in the ducts of the breast, it was no longer DCIS (or Ductal Carcinoma In Situ) but Invasive Ductal Carcinoma. It was a slow growing type and was at stage 1-2. He told me that there was a good likelihood that the cancer could be stopped by removing my left breast and some of the lymph nodes would be removed for testing at the same time. There may also be the possibility of taking Taxoxifen for a while afterwards if the cancer was oestrogen dependent.

I instinctively said “NO!” as soon as he said this, and my husband asked if there was anything else they could do besides this as it seemed such a drastic step to take for such a small area that had not been causing me any bother up until now. He sadly shook his head and repeated what he had told me.

I hadn’t put much thought into it up until then but at the back of my mind I vaguely remembered something I had read about an alternative treatment involving apricots and apple seeds, but couldn’t remember what.

I said I would go away and think about it, and would give my answer in a few days. He said that time was of the essence and it should not be left for too long.

Arrangements were made for the breast care nurse to call in a few days’ time and go over what the operation would entail. “Don’t worry,” the consultant said as we left, “We’ll look after you”. Somehow I wasn’t reassured.

This post is part of a weekly series in which Sue Insole describes her health journey. Her first post, The Letter Every Woman Dreads, describes the painful process of being diagnosed with breast cancer. Next week, Sue discusses the impact her condition had on her family, and explains how she started to think about alternative treatments.

Click here to get an email update when Sue writes her next post.

The Letter Every Woman Dreads

Sue Insole — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 12:06:00 GMT

I will never forget the day I received the letter that every woman who has been for a routine mammogram dreads. I was called back to undergo a further scan as they found something that looked suspicious. I had noticed that my left nipple was starting to go inverted slightly – but it had been this way for about a year and up until then had not paid it much attention. However, I now began to get very worried. I put a brave face on it for my husband’s sake, but I remember sitting in my garden after I received the letter, looking around at all the flowers in bloom and wondering if I would still be here to see them all again the following year.

I had good reason to feel so pessimistic. My daughter had died when she was only 20, just two months into her chemotherapy treatment for Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 1996, and this had been devastating. One of my older sisters had died after her treatment for breast cancer in 1990 and my dad had also died after he was operated on for stomach cancer in 1981. A good friend of mine had died as well after they tried to burn her breast cancer away with radiotherapy 10 years before, so I was not feeling very confident about any of the medical treatment options that were open to me.

I consoled myself with the thought that perhaps treatments had improved since then and decided to put it out of my mind until my appointment came around. On the day of the appointment, I remember very clearly that the second time my left breast was placed in the machine (they could not get a clear picture the first time), I felt a sharp pain that made me cry out when the plates squeezed together. It remained throbbing for several hours afterwards. After this, I had another scan – this time with an ultrasound – and then a needle biopsy to take some of the cells from the area.

Everyone was very caring and kind, and at the end of all these tests I was told I did indeed have breast cancer. The biopsy site was dressed and I rejoined my husband out in the waiting room. One look at me was enough to realise that the worst possible scenario had happened. We went for a walk through the park as I could not face being around people, and we talked about my appointment with the consultant in a few days’ time. I was trying to put a brave face on it and decided not to tell my daughter or anyone else until I got my head around it. I was numb at this stage, but still pinned all my hopes on cancer treatments being more advanced. After all, hadn’t I heard so many stories from the media about all the various breakthroughs?

Next week, Sue discusses her feelings as she received bad news about the treatment options for her cancer.

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