Diet

I love to learn about people and their personal healing journeys. Everyone shares something  different about what works for them. Most people who talk about healing cancer naturally seem to place a great deal of attention on what they eat and don’t eat.
I do not believe that their is just one cancer healing diet. I believe that there are many different healing diets that help many different people.

Immediately following the secondary breast cancer diagnosis in 2017, I went on the Ketogenic for Cancer Diet for 6 months. This diet cuts of the cancer’s first main food supply which is glucose. Going full ‘Keto’ was a great way to increase my sense of mental clarity and physical energy. Focusing so much attention on learning about and practicing the keto for cancer diet was also a great way for me to deal with the initial trauma of hearing such dis-empowering words from my oncologist.

I found that making such a dramatic change in my eating habits allowed me to exercise my “need to control’ a situation that felt totally out of control. I was able to poor all that ‘need to control’ into weighing and recording my macro nutrients and micro nutrients, taking and recording blood samples and shopping for new ingredients for my new fat burning fuel system.

Below are links to the apps that helped me get into and stay in a state of ketosis.

I used the Keto Diet app to get me started, and after a couple of months I moved over to the cronometer in order to get a better understanding of my micro-nutrient levels.

https://ketodietapp.com/

https://cronometer.com/

One year in, I am no longer strictly Keto and I enjoy a little fruit, and more vegetables than I did at first. I now steer clear of all bread, grains, white potatoes, sugars and processed foods.

These videos below are great resources to support understanding re. the correct ratios of protein, carbs and fats. The one on the different types of fasting and feasting is worth a watch too, For many people ketosis is the first step but fasting needs to be included to remain healthy.

Removing Lactic Acid : Healing Cancer

Fasting: Heals Cancer

Many Fasting Options : Healing Cancer

I make an effort to eat plenty of healthy fats, fresh vegetables… and I still eat meat.
Since I switched to keto, and then to super low carb, my brain is sharper all day, and my body feels much leaner and free from inflammation, aches and pains. I also consume loads of ginger and turmeric both wonderful in their fresh or supplement form for reducing inflammation and pain throughout the body.

I’ll share more about my diet later, but for now I recommend anyone interested in cutting off the first main fuel source feeding many types of cancer cells to read this book. I believe it is the current number one resource, for all things ketogenic for cancer. I recommend this book to people who do not have cancer but are interested in finding the best resources to support them in making the change from a primarily glucose to a primarily fat burning body. The author has listed so many resources within this book. It’s gold! It was not written when I first went Keto; it would have made my life so much easier if it was.

Update April 2019:
I am no longer doing anything Ketogenic,  and now have a deeper understanding about how cancer feeds thanks to Jane McLelland’s book ‘How to Starve Cancer without Starving Yourself’.  I now believe that many cancer’s can start off preferring glucose over fats or proteins but over time their feeding patterns will shift.

Here’s a link to an interview that Jane the author of “How to starve Cancer…” did recently with Chris Wark, which I hope helps you understand this book:

I now run a private FB support group dedicated to better understanding this book.
We are are friendly group and already over 600 strong.
Message me if you would like to join in and have trouble finding it; I will invite you in.

More on this metabolic flexibility in relation to my breast cancer sub-type here..

https://breast-cancer-research.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13058-018-1041-8

Curcumin in the liposomal form but in capsules

We eat as much fresh, dried and cooked turmeric as we do ginger (loads), but that hasn’t stopped me from supplementing with one of these highly bio-available curcumin supplements.

In early 2023 I did a deep dive into comparing the strength, price and bioavailability of the different liposomal curcumin supplements that I had been using over the past 5 years.
Read my blog post on comparing curcumin supplements here

Ginger

MY GINGER UPDATE:
It is approx 18 months since my secondary cancer diagnosis and I’m now taking a teaspoon of organic ginger powder with each meal instead of the Bio Hawk product.
I digest everything so well. 

What I am doing 18mths in.
I simply buy organic ginger powder by the kilo, and stir a teaspoon of the powder in a small glass of water to dissolve it…and then add a little of this ginger water to my plain soda water with a little squeeze of our own fresh picked or frozen lime juice or lemon juice in it. It makes the plain soda lime/lemon drink fizz up – creating a big head on top and tasted a little like kombucha once it’s settled down. I make sure to leave plenty of room room at the top of the large glass and I add the ginger water slowly a little at a time to be sure not to over fizz. I also add the powder to make a warm/hot tea when the fresh stuff isn’t at hand.
This is a link to the Australian online store where I purchase my organic ginger powder & organic turmeric powder. This is new approach is MUCH more affordable for me (long term) then the Biohawk Product I mention below and was happy to pay for in the early days. I will be taking ginger for the rest of my life so I had to explore the most sustainable options for me and after a couple of months of taking just the organic powder – I am very happy with the powder.
https://www.australherbs.com.au/shop/item/ginger-powder-organic

For 12 months after my secondary breast cancer diagnosis I took these highly concentrated ginger enzymes with every meal. They are from an Australian bio-chemist, Cliff Hawkins, who heads up an organisation called Bio Hawk Foundation. Feel free to contact Cliff directly to discuss your diagnosis in relation to his enzymes. He is a very knowledgeable octogenarian and can recommend dosage and explain more.

My husband now grows plenty of ginger on our property, so as well as the powder with each meal , I also enjoy loads of fresh ginger tea and juice every day.

Links to research on ginger and cancer will be continually updated in the space below. 
For now here’s a few articles that inspire me to have my ginger enzymes, three times a day, every day.

About 6-Shogaol: The Extract from Ginger
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3866747/

6-Shogaol Inhibits Breast Cancer Cells and Stem Cell-Like Spheroids
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26355461

6-Shogaol induces apoptosis in human leukemia cells
https://molecular-cancer.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1476-4598-12-135Have you

MY GINGER UPDATE:
It is approx 18 months since my secondary cancer diagnosis and I’m now taking a teaspoon of organic ginger powder with each meal instead of the Bio Hawk product.
I digest everything so well. 

What I do now. I simply buy organic ginger powder by the kilo, and stir a teaspoon of the powder in a small glass of water to dissolve it…and then add a little of this ginger water to my plain soda water with a little squeeze of our own fresh picked or frozen lime juice or lemon juice in it. It makes the plain soda lime/lemon drink fizz up – creating a big head on top and tasted a little like kombucha once it’s settled down. I make sure to leave plenty of room room at the top of the large glass and I add the ginger water slowly a little at a time to be sure not to over fizz. I also add the powder to make a warm/hot tea when the fresh stuff isn’t at hand.
This is a link to the Australian online store where I purchase my organic ginger powder & organic turmeric powder..
https://www.australherbs.com.au/shop/item/ginger-powder-organic

 

 

High Dose Vitamin C

The internet has made it so easy to learn more about high dose vitamin C and how it can support our efforts with regaining our health, enhancing cancer treatments both conventional and non-conventional.

These are just a few of the wonderful YOUTUBE lectures and interviews I’ve enjoyed listening to. Click here to find a short list of some of my favorite high dose vitamin C talks and interviews.

I had 5 weeks of intravenous vitamin C. I had 30g and 60g infusions at my GP’s clinic in Coffs Harbour) . I had the IV Vitamin C therapy very shortly after targeted radiation therapy to a tumor on my vertebrae. I also began taking high dose liposomal vitamin C around the same time. I still take liposomal vitamin C in high doses each day. (10g minimum).

You can learn more here https://myhealingcommunity.com/vitamin-c-targets-the-tumor-microenvironment-tme/

AND I believe in the healing power of  high dose liposomal vitamin C so much I even created my own website to support others learning about just how wonderful it is:

https://highdosevitaminc.com.au/

My own journey with high dose vitamin C can be found on the above website.

I am so passionate about high quality, high dose vitamin C that I now have a small business making small batches of high quality liposomal vitamin C product for others here in Australia.

My Liposomal vitamin C is called “Life Energy C“.

It’s so easy to learn more about high dose vitamin C via these wonderful YOUTUBE lectures and interviews. Just go here to listen to some wonderful high dose vitamin C talks and interviews.

Integrative Oncology

I’ve met with my oncologist about 10 times and each time I do, it gets easier to walk my own path, with her there at my side. In the beginning I was very afraid that the cancer on my spine would lead to a life of much loss and pain and underwent 10 days of targeted radiation therapy. I even took their bone cement medicine for one month. That was before I woke up and realised it was for people she had convinced that there was no hope of healing their bones.
My courage developed over time and so has my healing power and energy. My hope is that one day the ideas of conventional oncology will align more with my own ideas about healing. When I read these two news stories recently I began to think that they are looking in the right direction.

Good News for Women With Breast Cancer: Many Don’t Need Chemo

Doctors hail world first as woman’s advanced breast cancer is eradicated

What conventional treatments I have agreed to continue for now?
I am 47 and I was still menstruating at the time of my secondary breast cancer diagnosis. My estrogen receptor signalling status was checked and found to be very high on the cancer cells they had biopsied. This told us that my secondary breast cancer was very easily able to access my estrogen hormone in order to grow. The majority of estrogen is produced by the ovaries and Zolodex, is used to prevent estrogen production by the ovaries.
I found the Zolodex and overnight menopause challenging at first. After a few months things improved for me and I think my meditation. Qi gong, ketogenic diet, curcumin supplements, vitamin C all helped with this part of the journey.

My oncologist originally suggested I do chemotherapy and I told her I did not want to. Nine months ago she wrote me a script for another hormone treatment Letrozole and I have not taken it. I told her that ‘as long as the cancer appears stable , (which it still was when we last checked), or even better ..’in remission’ or ‘no longer seen on the scans’ (which I foresee) then I’m not going to take any more conventional drugs or treatments’ they offer me.

Integrative Oncology is the term to describe the therapies, diets and supplements that will support you in avoiding the sickening effects of conventional cancer treatments such as hormone therapy, chemotherapy and radiation.

The latest and very well researched book to support you on this leg of the journey is this one:

Outside the Box Cancer Therapies

https://www.amazon.com.au/Outside-Box-Cancer-Therapies-Alternative/dp/1401954588

All the recommendations in this book are well referenced so you can show your GP or oncologist what you are considering adding to your treatment. It’s available on Kindle and paperback.

At the time of my targeted radiation therapy to my spine, I took and still take:

The wonderful integrative oncology book I mentioned above was not released at the time so I was doing my own research online.

 

Mind-Body

Underlying my capacity to access and utelise all the energy and information I need to heal my secondary breast cancer is a firm belief that

I am open to receiving
all the energy and information
I need to fully heal. 

  •  I did not begin this journey holding the belief that I could fully heal.
  • The moment I realised that the above belief wasn’t true for me, was a priceless moment.
  • In the moment I realised it wasn’t true for me, I became conscious of how very limited my beliefs about fully healing secondary breast actually were.
  • The first big step forward with my healing, was recognising and transforming any and all beliefs and habits of relating to myself that stood between me and my capacity to fully heal.

I found it helpful to listen and learn about the ‘biology of belief’.

Bruce Lipton

The Biology of Belief

https://youtu.be/jjj0xVM4x1I

I have understood, practiced and integrated the teachings of Dr. Joe Dispenza

You are the Placebo – Making your Mind Matter

https://youtu.be/FJFtQrn6zkY

Dr. Joe Dispenza has a website and many books, audio books and meditations.  I have enjoyed engaging with his knowledge and practicing with his resources and integrating his offerings into my own healing practices. “I listened to the Dr. Joe Dispenza audio book and meditations from ‘You are the Placebo’ whilst I was getting my high dose vitamin C infusion”.

There are many inspiring talks and interviews with and by Dr. Joe on YouTube too.

http://www.drjoedispenza.com/index.php

More reading matter for creating strong mind-body foundations

Australian authors and cancer conquerors, Ian Gawler and Petrea King have written some wonderful books too.

I have enjoyed, the ‘Mind that Changes Everything’ and ‘You Can Conquer Cancer’.

Movement Meditations

I love integrating  gentle and very powerful movement meditations into my life.
I live on the Mid North Coast of NSW and am so grateful to have  teachers running classes and private sessions in both ‘Medical Qi Gong’ and ‘The Form Reality Practice’.

I find that movement meditations such as ‘Qi Gong’ and ‘The Form’ to be so therapeutic and allow me a chance to deeply quite my mind and nourish my body, mind and spirit. Both these practices have also supported me greatly in the regular release of excess or draining emotions and or beliefs/thoughts.

If you’re like me, and would like to learn a practice that allows for more ease and accessibility to a more open and relaxed state of being ( yep, the one that is needed to fully heal), please feel free to get in contact with my teacher of  ‘The Form’, Lea.
She is currently offering one-on-one 45min video calls that allow you to experience an extremely gentle, yet incredibly powerful, meditative movement practice called ‘Cosmo Form’ with her for only a $50 donation (via Paypal) . This donation also includes a 15 min follow up video call to discuss how the practice is moving through your life.  Her name is Lea and contact page is within her website. is:https://www.dressesinthedeep.com/in-the-deep


more to come…

Welcome

I meant to say mg not gram when referring to how much curcumin I was taking in this interview.

This blog was started August 17th 2018

Hi I’m Abbey and I have been actively healing secondary breast cancer to the bones since June 2017. After barely a year since the diagnosis, I am looking and feeling better than I have in my entire life.

In August 2018, I got an ultrasound  that proved that the cancerous lesions on my chest wall and breast tissue have now gone away; yes, the ultrasound confirmed that there is no sign of them at all. I knew this to be the truth myself as I could feel them dissolving slowly just three months into my healing journey.

Because I now value my own state of well-being so highly, and have come so far in such a short time, I’m often asked to share what’s working best for me.

I have created this simple website as a way of supporting my current ‘need for ease’, as I’ve found, that I’m repeatedly sharing the same information, with different people each week.

This site will be where I post information that has helped me during my secondary breast cancer healing journey so readers can learn more and or have ideas to discuss with their doctor or oncologist.

I will begin by listing all the key resources, supplements and therapies that I believe have helped me most. Over time I will continue to update the information about each of these resources, supplements or therapies but for now I will just get the basic information down so you have something to get you started.

Spoiler alert:
As of Feb 25th 2023 I have just had  blood and ct/bone and am still seeing my CA15.3 markers in the normal range and there is no evidence of active disease.

These latest reports noted evidence of inflammation in a couple of places and I’m aware that I’ve been a bit too relaxed with my diet and movement and had some stress that is now gone (thankfully). I had COVID late December and a long time ear/throat infection that I’ve just healed (I hope so- it’s been a tough one to shake post-COVID).  The 

Research data shows that a sense of community and support can radically change our immunity, our happiness, and our cancer outcomes. Radiant Healing Together the new international online breast cancer support community is going to make a huge difference to the lives of breast cancer patients everywhere. Offering support in all aspects healing and learning with both a LIVE weekly schedule and ON DEMAND library for replays. Using the super easy Circle platform (and iPhone and Android Apps). Learn more about the Radiant Healing Together Community platform here.