Testimonials

Recovery from inflammatory breast cancer

thanks to chemo/radiation and macrobiotic diet

The following breast cancer healing account was reported in the fall of 1995 by a woman who was grateful to God for the macrobiotic food that was such an important tool in her healing. She enjoyed letting others know there is always hope in every situation. In her case, a malignancy typically fatal within two to five years after diagnosis showed no evidence of disease at the time of reporting.

While this patient chose to undergo a full series of conventional treatment (except surgery), there are other cancer victors who did not, see Cancer Healed Naturally/Holistically: Cures & Remission Testimonies.

(Text slightly adapted from the original text no longer available online.)

I first became concerned about my health in May, 1991. There was an odd feeling of heaviness in my left breast. Could it be cancer? It must be something else. Surely I couldn't have cancer. I had always taken good care of myself — kept my weight under control, never smoked, had regular check-ups^[1], took vitamins. There was no history of cancer in my family and my mother was 86 at the time. True, I had undergone major surgery less than three years before — a complete hysterectomy; but I was taking estrogen, and except for an occasional migraine, I felt fine.

The heavy feeling in my breast persisted and I decided to schedule a mammogram. The mammogram, which I had in June, showed that my breast was normal. Apparently, I had worried about nothing. Then, in July, the breast began to redden. In spite of the mammogram results, something was not normal.

We had been planning a family vacation at the beach. My daughter, who lives in Kansas, had not been home in a year. She would be visiting us on the first of August; and my husband had made arrangements for the three of us to go to Hilton Head, along with our older daughter and her husband and two children. We all love the beach, and I was looking forward to this time of family togetherness. I decided to try to forget my worries about my health for a few days.

We had a wonderful time and returned to Columbia in early August on my 52nd birthday. My husband and daughters had planned a surprise party for me. His family, as well as mine, and my co-workers at the ... Medical Center were all there to help me celebrate. It was great fun.

After our older daughter flew back home, I decided to see my gynecologist as soon as possible. I stopped by his office after work on August 6, and he told me that he did not think my problem was serious, but he suggested that I consult a surgeon to relieve my anxiety.

The surgeon also didn't think I had anything to worry about, but recommended a biopsy to be sure. The day after the biopsy I was alarmed to see him in my office at the [] Medical Center. He had just received the pathologist's report and the news was bad. I had been diagnosed as having a disease called "infiltrating duct carcinoma of the breast with involvement of skin lymphatics," or inflammatory breast cancer.

Did that mean my cancer was more serious than a lump, which could easily be removed with surgery? Apparently so. The cancer might, in fact have already spread from my breast into some other part of my body.

I was devastated. When I went home, my husband and I cried together, called our daughters and my mother and sister, all of whom very loving and supportive.

A few days later I had a bone scan with chest x-rays and blood to discover the extent of the cancer. Thank God it was confined to my breast. My surgeon and oncologist both told me to stop taking Estrogen at this time. Strangely enough, my migraines disappeared when I discontinued Estrogen. I have often wondered if the Estrogen both caused the headaches and accelerated the cancer.^[2]

The oncologist told me that the medical treatment for my type of cancer is six months of chemotherapy every three weeks, followed by six weeks of radiation, and then a mastectomy. My translation of this treatment was, "first they put poison into my system, then they burn me, then they cut me." I knew I did not wish to deal with my cancer in such a radical way.

Nutrition had been an interest of mine for about ten years, and I ate well. I included lots of salads in my diet, and I took vitamins regularly. But two of my favorite foods were pizza and ice cream with a topping of peanut butter. Now I realized I needed to learn more about nutrition.

I knew some people who had recovered from cancer by eating a macrobiotic diet. One of them had been diagnosed with melanoma given only months to live. He had not only recovered from his cancer by eating macrobiotically, but was still cancer-free several years later. I called him and he suggested I have a consultation with the Director of the South Carolina Macrobiotic Center.

She helped me to get started on the diet and also advised me to make an appointment with a medical doctor who would be at a macrobiotic camp in Brevard, North Carolina. This doctor recommended that I stay on the diet, but that I also have the medical treatment.

My oncologist and I planned my chemotherapy for Friday afternoons at the Medical Center, which enabled me to work half a day, have the chemo, and then go home. I could recover over the weekend and be ready to go back to work on Monday. My treatments left me nauseated and I lost my hair, but I still managed to work every day.

I remained on the macrobiotic diet until late November, when I lost all taste for food so I quit eating macrobiotically until I completed the chemo. In March I resumed the diet and on May 4, I began the first of 40 radiation treatments. I still continued to work every day and was never hospitalized.^[3]

By the time I had completed the radiation treatments, the redness on my breast was gone and all other tests were normal. I told my oncologist that I did not want to have the surgery and she agreed. My ordeal was over.

In October 1992 I spent the week at the Kushi Institute in Beckett, Massachusetts where I had a consultation with Michio Kushi. He pronounced me 95% cured.

I still see my oncologist for periodic check-ups. She was skeptical of the macrobiotic approach to curing cancer when I first discussed it with her early in my treatment, but was open to learning more about the diet.

Inflammatory breast cancer is usually fatal within two to five years after diagnosis even with treatment, and I think my oncologist was ready to agree to anything that gave me hope.

My improvement has amazed her, however, and she has now read several books on macrobiotics. When my last check-up (which included a bone scan and blood tests) showed no evidence of cancer, my oncologist told me she planned to write up my case history for publication in a medical journal when I reach the five year anniversary of my diagnosis.

In addition to the diet and medical check-ups, I'm also exploring other areas of healing such as visualization, meditation, and shiatsu massage.^[4] I'm concentrating on making this cancer a part of my past.

Footnotes

1 Actually, mammograms can contribute to cancer. Compare Ionizing Radiation (Fluoroscopy/ Mammography/Medical X-Rays) Proven Causes of Breast Cancer, On Mammograms & Mammography, Thermograms: superior painless alternative to mammograms, On Health Effects (Cancer Risk) of Small Doses of Ionizing Radiation. Also see On the risks vs. benefits of cancer screening in healthy (asymptomatic) people.

2 This is indeed somewhat likely.

3 There is a strong likelihood that the macrobiotic diet helped her to sail so relatively unscathed through radiation, it is known to help against radiation sickness (see Combatting radiation poisoning tips). Still, as with chemo"therapy", it should never be undertaken lightly, see Potential Serious Side Effects Doctors Might Not Have Told You About.

4 Compare Mind and Energetics.

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Testimonials

Recovery from inflammatory breast cancer

thanks to chemo/radiation and macrobiotic diet

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