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Health See other Health Articles Title: This Prescription Can Save Your Life -- and It's Free US News "I feel 20 years younger, doctor!" Maria's face lit up with a big smile, and her expressive eyes became shinier. Maria is wearing a bright purple jacket and a matching hat. Her nose and cheeks are red from the cold outside. She stood up and gave me a hug, and I reflected on her journey... Marie had been a teacher for about 20 years. As a single mom, she raised three girls and sent all of them to college. When her daughters got married and moved away, she, too, was looking for a change. Because of her insatiable curiosity (and maybe because she likes the smell of books), she decided to become a librarian. A while later, after a routine mammogram, Maria was diagnosed with breast cancer. Her life was forever changed. Initially, she struggled -- after years of working hard, she had started to think about slowing down and enjoying a more relaxed lifestyle. But, she also realized it's never a good time to get cancer. Maria had surgery, followed by about five weeks of radiation. She did not need chemotherapy, which was a big relief for her. She started an anti-estrogen therapy pill, which can cut down the chance of breast cancer recurrence by more than 60 percent. For her, this meant improving her chance of seeing her granddaughters grow up. More than anything, she was relieved to be one of the 2.8 million breast cancer survivors in the country. Maria lived a healthy life, and the diagnosis of breast cancer made her to think about her mortality and vulnerability for the first time. Any new aches and pains, which she had normally ignored, kept her awake at night. She anxiously thought about her aunt, who many years ago had breast cancer that eventually went into her bones. Two months after she began taking the anti-estrogen therapy pills, she started experiencing severe back and joint pain. It took more than an hour for her to get moving in the morning. She was convinced the cancer was back. This is exactly what happened to her aunt. For two weeks, she tried various over-the-counter pain medicines, but they didn't help. When Maria came to see me next, she was in tears. "Tell me the truth, doc. Is it back?" Joint pain and stiffness are common side effects of ant-estrogen therapy; nearly half of women will have some form of pain, and about 20 percent of patients will discontinue the lifesaving cancer medicine due to it. "Maria, I don't think the cancer is back. I think it's a side effect of the pills." After a long discussion, we weighed how to manage this side effect. I asked her to stop taking the anti-estrogen pill for six to eight weeks. I then took a prescription pad and wrote: Walk for 15 minutes every day for five days, and increase that to 30 minutes in one to two weeks. She began the regimen and soon joined a local support group for a regular yoga class, too. This physical activity dramatically changed her life; her pain is completely gone, and she says she feels like a new person. A recent prospective study that looked at 150 minutes per week of aerobic exercise and twice-a-week supervised strength training found the activity cut down the pain by 30 percent. Other breast cancer studies have shown that exercise can increase adherence to medications, plus decrease joint pain and other side effect of cancer treatment. Exercise can also cut down the chance of recurrence, improve quality of life and help with weight loss. A study published in JAMA in 2005 showed that "physical activity after a breast cancer diagnosis may reduce the risk of death from this disease. The greatest benefit occurred in women who performed the equivalent of walking three to five hours per week at an average pace." If exercise was a pill, I'm sure doctors would write that prescription for the vast majority of patients. Unfortunately, lifestyle and behavior are not commonly discussed with our patients, who would benefit immensely from some changes. I'd encourage physicians to introduce this topic in conversations with patients. It may help identify easy lifestyle adjustments a patient can make, and encourage them to think differently about how their everyday decisions can have an impact on how they feel. After adding exercise to her regimen, Maria was able to begin taking the life-saving pill again. She's also enjoying her life -- a side effect she welcomes without hesitation. Dr. Jame Abraham is the director of the Breast Oncology Program at the Taussig Cancer Institute, and co-director of the Comprehensive Breast Cancer Program at Cleveland Clinic. At the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, Dr. Abraham is the co-principal investigator of the Lead Academic Participating Site (LAPS) grant, an essential component of the NCI's new clinical trials network (CTN). He is the National Surgical Adjuvant Bowel and Breast Project (NSABP) principal investigator for Cleveland Clinic. In addition, he is vice chair of the Research Review Committee for the NSABP Foundation and a member of the NSABP Scientific Advisory Board. Dr. Abraham is also a member of the Breast Cancer Research Committee, part of the newly formed NRG (NSABP/RTOG/GOG) Oncology group. Dr. Abraham currently holds two patents; one titled System and Device for Tumor Characterization Using Nonlinear Elastography Imaging (2014) and one on risk stratification of patients with breast cancer. He is a past member of the NSABP breast committee (2002-2014) and member of the Breast Cancer Working Committee of the NSABP (2010-2014). He also served on the Board of Directors for the American Cancer Society - South Atlantic Division (2007-2010). Poster Comment: TJ... Cesium Chloride has been known to rid a person of cancer. There have been MANY clinical studies that it works. Cesium Chloride drive your body into a very high alkaline state. Cancer can only survive in an acidic state not an alkaline state. High alkalinity kills cancer. . It is ironic that doctors will tell you to try cesium chloride AFTER they have chemoed you, radiated you, shoot you up with every so called cancer drug there is and sucked every last penny from you and your insurance company THEN they "might " suggest cesium chloride' If I were to get cancer I would do two things right off the bat. (1) I would do a heavy duty colon flush and rid my body of as many toxins as possible and (2) start taking cesium chloride immediately . If you do a Google search on cesium chloride, you will find that some studies have shown that it is 99% effective!! But only before your doctor touches you. Oh, and the reason why a doc waits to tell you last is because it is a natural mineral and the doc can't make a dime off of it. Always remember this truth. Being a cancer doctor is big business. Far bigger than all other forms of medical practice and is only rivaled by diabetes. To subscribe something that actually works would be like cutting their own throat. I watched my niece die of cancer. I tried to help however her mom worked in a hospital in where else...the cancer center. I watched her put those docs on a pedestal as if they were God and could do no wrong. Her slow agonizing death was more than I could bear. It was truly a terrible loss! 1 Marsha ... I was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer 4-1/2 years ago. I had to have the whole regimen-chemotherapy followed by surgery followed by 6 weeks of radiation. The entire thing took a full year. The treatment center had not only oncology doctors and nurses but also an education program involving dieticians, physical therapists, emotional/spiritual care, mentors who had experienced cancer, and financial aid liasons. I was able to utilize whatever I wished (still do) and basically started life over at diagnosis. To date I have had no recurrence and attribute much of my excellent outcome to diet changes and exercise. I commute by bike and engage in resistance training 4-5 times per week which gives me 1-1/2 to 2 hours of significant physical activity per day. Weight has dropped, my heart function damaged by chemo has improved, my lungs have improved and I can honestly say that I feel better today than I did before the diagnosis.2 Daniel I'm not fond of better living through chemistry, I'm dealing with Chronic Lymphocetic Leukemia and Polycythemia Vera...so far the best treatment has been watching my diet and moderate exercise along with my regular activities of gardening and other yard work...fresh air, sunshine and a little sweat might tire me, but it beats the side effects of chemicals...I'm not opposed to life saving therapy use of drugs, but supplementing when possible with diet and exercise will usually lessen effects and boost morale... 4 MargaretP Anti-estrogen drugs were nightmares for me. I even though I had always been an exerciser. I quit after 6 months and never took them. I'm still cancer free 12 years later, but still experience some of the side effects of the Arimidex and Tamioxifen. They really aren't "life saving drugs" for everyone. 5 Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest
#1. To: Tatarewicz (#0)
Exercise...what a novel concept! Shun that anti hormonal crap!! Another benefit is to increase the raw foods into the diet, which increases nutrients and helps cells repair. Cancer is an inability of cells to conduct apoptosis, both exercise and good nutrition help the body to complete cellular function. The endocrine system loves those nutrients to balance and harmonize hormone functions and production. : ) " If you cannot govern yourself, you will be governed by assholes. " Randge, Poet de Forum, 1/11/11 "Life's tough, and even tougher if you're stupid." --John Wayne
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