Hi everyone, I’m new to these forums but not to keto. My internist strongly suggested keto in late January 2015 as an alternative to diabetes meds (I was borderline diabetic). I started keto right away but made a ton of mistakes. I did lose about 30 lbs in 6 months though. Within the first month my blood sugar was normalized, my left hip that used to wake me up was no longer inflamed, and within 3 months my c-reactive protein, an inflammation marker, was coming way down. Also I became a lot less anxious, something those who love me noticed.
Fast forward to March 2016, I was diagnosed with lobular carcinoma, a rarer breast cancer. My oncologist told me the tumor had been growing for 8.2 years. And it was the same cancer that killed my mother at 53, my age at the time. I started working with both my oncologist and Dr. Nasha Winters (who is now author of The Metabolic Approach to Cancer, a book I encourage everyone to buy and I give away), and was stricter on keto. I had a double mastectomy in July 2016 and have been cancer free ever since (YAY!). Because my cancer was estrogen driven and I had NO signs of menopause, both Dr. Winters and my oncologist agreed I should get a full hysterectomy to “shut off the estrogen faucet.” Especially because, after having my genetics done and SNPS analyzed through geneticgenie.org per Dr. Winters, I was not a candidate for either tamoxifen or aromatase inhibitors. So in December 2016 I had a full hysterectomy at the same time as my breast reconstruction surgery. When they biopsied my ovaries, the PCOS I’d had since my 20s was non-existent. Not ONE cyst. Keto cured that too.
I had been stalled in my weight loss for 8-9 months and also started working with keto coach and brain cancer survivor (and all-around badass World Extreme Ski Champion from my hometown of Crested Butte, Colorado) Allison Gannett. I started testing my blood ketones and blood glucose and got out of denial about all the keto treats I was having. Thanks Allison! Then I discovered Dr. Jason Fung, read his books and followed the Fasting Talk podcast. I had been fasting 16:8 for 2 months and 20:4 for a month but nothing happened and I suspect I simply slowed down my metabolism. Then I became an long-distance Intensive Dietary Management patient in March 2017. I started fasting 5 days per week most weeks and now I’m down a total of 47 lbs since January 2017! I had a DEXA scan in February 2017 and then one in June 2017 and lost 10.5 lbs of pure body fat and also gained a half a pound of lean muscle! My c-reactive protein plummeted from 14 to 1.0! My HbAC1 went to 5.0. My fasting glucose is still in the 90s but coming down. My fasting insulin was 8.5 in June 2017 down from 14 or 16, I can’t remember, and my goal is to get it below 3.0. Also, I’m now down 47 lbs since January 2015.
I have one last reconstructive surgery in December 2017 and I am hoping to be below 30% body fat by then, a fairly aggressive goal. I just started working with a trainer this week and remain an IDM long distance patient (I love Megan Ramos and of course Dr. Fung). I do walk 1-2 hours per day and also do Pilates 1-2 times per week and sometimes yoga. After all the surgery last year, I am still coming back but determined to always be heading towards optimal health. I have not been perfect with my ketogenic eating and was a little off the rails on several occasions in July 2017 but I’m getting better and better and haven’t been out of ketosis in a long time. I’m a 6’1" Amazon, currently at 214 lbs but I have a 33" waist and easily fit into size 14 talls. I sure don’t look like I weigh north of 200 lbs. So I try not to weigh myself much and will just get occasional DEXA scans to see that body fat percentage shrink. Currently I am fasting 5 days per week every other week and 3 days per week on the “off” weeks. I’m in the fasting groove. I still use “fasting training wheels” like a splash of cream in my coffee and salty bone broth if I feel weak. I’ll get to water fasts at some point.
I am also a trial attorney and of course one of the pieces of the cancer puzzle is stress. What I do every day for my well-being is take a walk with my dog early in the morning, take photos of wildlife or the landscape and then post a photo on Facebook with a small list of what I am grateful for that day. I feel strongly that it’s important for me to recognize that I exist in a big bowl of privilege. So even the simple things like the privilege of being keto to help prevent a cancer recurrence and the privilege of meaningful work are important for me to recognize often. I am so grateful for great food, awesome relationships, deep sleep, having a clear head so I can tackle my caseload, and even hot coffee on a cool morning while the sun rises. And I am definitely grateful for all the people who helped me get through a very tough 2016. Nice to have that year in the rear view mirror. I’m also grateful for occasionally having the time to write my personal stories on my blog (I was raised by a Vietnam War protesting hippie mother and a full colonel/squadron commander then CIA father). I hope I never take any of this stuff for granted again and although it is a cliche, cancer was a wake up call and guess what, I’m even grateful for that. Cheers everyone and have a great weekend!
Quite a post you began with. 
to you - and welcome o this forum.