In this week's tip, I would like to emphasize how important it is not to do things because you just read about them on the internet, although I will be the first to admit, I sometimes (often?) do, and, by the title of my blog, I may want you to do that too.
But, as I say in the "about me" area, I'm not a medical doctor, or a nutritionist, so you do need to take everything I write here with a grain of salt and then decide for yourself. Although that seems like something totally obvious, I think it can never be emphasized enough. Not only that, I feel like we are all very different and one diet or one supplement will probably not be good for everyone.
Thus, when I was diagnosed with my recurrence, of course, I started doing lots of research about cancer, treatments and nutrition. I had already eliminated animal products from my diet (for the most part), but I felt that that had not been enough so I had to be even more strict. So I eliminated all sugar and tried to eat mostly raw. I had also read that juicing was good, so I started juicing carrots. But then, I learned that carrots are very sweet, so I stopped juicing carrots. I started reading about vitamin D, but my bones were damaged, so maybe I needed calcium. And so on. Luckily, the angels that I always have helping me, sent me through different means information about a wonderful nutritionist who specializes in cancer and how to maximize your conventional treatment. Her name is Jeanne Wallace and, in my view, she has to be the best in her field in this country. She is actually now quite famous and only deals with doctors, so I work with another nutritionist in her group, Michelle Gerencser, who is, not only extremely knowledgeable but also caring and kind and a pleasure to deal with. Their group is called Nutritional Solutions and they are located in Utah, but we meet through Skype or the phone. Once you become their client, they put together a plan specific for you, based on many blood tests and questionnaires. Then, they recommend a special diet and certain supplements, but they give you the research behind all of them. The plan for me will be very different than the plan for someone who has a brain tumor.
I have to say that I love having Michelle as my nutritionist. She is an important part of the team that is helping me on my path to wellness. I take now lots of supplements (I never took any before), but I know that each one is part of a puzzle. And I also feel like a movie star with my own nutritionist, :)
For anyone diagnosed with cancer, I highly recommend them, but for everyone else, I do think that having a naturopath or an integrative doctor is a very wise decision if you feel you need to start taking any supplements or need to tweak your diet. Leave it to the experts. The same can be said about doctors. Find one you really believe in, and work with him or her as a team.
And, if you do have cancer, I'm going to leave you with some links to talks given by Dr. Wallace about the role of nutrition in the treatment of cancer. I used to listen to these talks over and over, because they gave me so much hope. Enjoy!
- Integrative diet and nutrition to complement cancer care. Part I (37 minutes)
- Integrative diet and nutrition to complement cancer care. Part II (38 minutes)
- Dairy products and cancer (7 minutes)
- Vitamin D and cancer (6:35 minutes)
- Tests to have, plus agave controversy (5:37)
