Keto during breast cancer

(Erica Ramirez) #1

Hey everyone! Been awhile since I’ve been on here but I am doing strict keto/IF again after gaining quite a bit during chemo. Strange right? I thought the concern would be weight LOSS but they drugged me up good - including lots of steroids and some pill that increased my appetite so I wouldn’t lose weight.
Now I am post- chemo and post surgery, cancer free (!!!) about to start radiation and then have a reconstruction surgery.

I have been on keto for almost 8 weeks. I’ve lost a 1/3 of what I want to lose, and my hair is growing back! I was worried the weight loss may stall hair growth but it seems to be growing fast!
Anyone else in the same situation?

(Alec) #2

Erica
I have no experience of what you’ve been through and still going through. However, you have done brilliantly to start the fat loss process: keto clearly suits you! Well done! :clap::clap::clap:

Congrats on your cancer remission (I hope that’s the right word!)… keep using keto: cancer does not like a low sugar environment, so fuel up with fat and protein… fatty red meat is ideal!

(Robin) #3

@KetoMom7 Good for you! I had not yet heard of keto when I had my BC surgery/chemo/radiation etc. I do remember them telling me that it was NOT a good idea to lose any weight at that time…

1/3 of your goal in that time frame is fabulous. Congrats all the way around.
You got this!

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #4

Most diets promote loss of muscle as well as fat, so that’s probably what they were concerned about. A keto diet maintains muscle (and can even increase it, under the right conditions), while allowing excess fat to be shed. For that reason, the scale should not be the arbiter of progress, rather the fit of one’s clothing should be.

(Erica Ramirez) #5

Thanks everyone for the support and tips!

Yes my drs did not want me losing weight while on chemo. I didn’t feel great and my mindset was like, what does it matter anyway, so I ate what I wanted to make myself feel better. And I had no stomach issues (because I was on about 10 different meds to prevent them) so I ATE.
I didn’t ask the reason but I’m guessing it’s just harder on your body and they had to keep an eye on my blood work, most people feel sick anyway, so they advised me to just eat a lot of protein. I ate a lot of everything lol and gained 40+ pounds :cry: I was stage 3, grade 3 and had 16 weeks of strong chemo infusions (“red devil” and taxol).

But my bloodwork and numbers actually improved during chemo lol and I’m sure it’s bc I was eating so much.
Now that nightmare is over, thankfully, and my drs have told me getting into a healthy weight range instead of the overweight range, combined with 3 hrs of exercise a week is a MUST. That it will prevent my cancer reoccurring as much as medicine and ignoring it would be the same as refusing chemo. So I got serious, for my 7 kids, my husband, our future. This weight is going and as soon as I’m cleared to exercise after my double mastectomy, I will be using my elliptical daily.

And with the keto, end of my medicinal brain fog and fatigue, the new year, less pain from surgery, I feel better than I have in sooooo long! Motivated!
And get this…I am getting a “deep flap” reconstruction which means they use tissue from my stomach to make my new breasts - with a tummy tuck! So a boob job and tummy tuck paid for mostly by my insurance (I would never pay for this cosmetically)…after 6 pregnancies this is like a dream come true haha! I wouldn’t want to waste it by having to lose a lot of weight afterwards.

(Robin) #6

Oh girl, what an unexpected bonus!
I should offer to be a tummy boob donor for someone!

(Shawn Patrick Malone) #7

My wife has had breast cancer twice in the last three years. During a visit with her breast cancer doctor he asked about her diet and recommended that she got on a low carb/keto diet. Cancer cells require glucose in mid to high levels to grow. If you don’t give them fuel, they can’t grow as quickly.

(Erica Ramirez) #8

I’m so sorry to hear that, I couldn’t imagine having to do this again.
That’s great that her dr is so on board!
My cancer was using/feeding on estrogen at 100% so of course i have to get rid of estrogen. I didn’t realize how estrogen dominate I was until all this. It took 3 shots and oral medications just to lower my estrogen levels. I’ll also have to have a hysterectomy.
But apparently fat can store estrogen so being overweight is a big concern for me. My Dr advised me to eat healthier and low sugar but no “fad diet” or major restrictions, It has to last the rest of my life.
I am most comfortable with Keto. I don’t have to be hungry all the time or count calories etc. they are pleased with my progress and all my numbers look good so my Dr isn’t telling me to change anything!

(Edith) #9

Congratulations on being cancer free and restarting your keto journey!!!

Please get some strength training in, as well. Building muscle is very important, especially since your body has been through the wringer with chemo and will again with all the upcoming surgery and hormonal changes.

There is a book called “You are Your Own Gym” by Mark Lauren with all kinds of body weight exercises you can do without going to the gym.

(Bob M) #10

That’s a good book, I have it.

(Erica Ramirez) #11

Thank you so much! I will definitely get that book, I am a huge reader (thats an understatement) I am always looking for good books

#12

Great stuff KetoMom. Keep getting better.

This is difficult to discuss in a forum. But I would dig deeper and talk to medical specialists (more-so than laypeople) when looking into blood ketones and breast cancer.

During chemotherapy for a wide range of conditions from cancer to immune-mediated diseases there have been anecdotal reports of people having less side effects when following a ketogenic way of eating.

However, there is a bell ringing about keto and breast cancer of a particular type. This is a guess, that it may be the BRCA2 susceptible tumour types in tissue culture experiments. There may be an anomalous cancer type that use ketones for fuel and growth.

(Erica Ramirez) #13

Thank you so much! I am normally a huge researcher and book worm. However with this cancer it’s almost like a way of my brain pretending it isn’t happening I guess, but I cannot get into my research. But from the little research I did - it’s epithelial cancer cells that can use ketones for fuel. Maybe (probably) more…right now it seems like everything causes some type of cancer :frowning: the only facts that I got from my actual pathology reports were that mine were fueled by estrogen at a 100% (progesterone at like 9% and HER 2-)
Excess fat = excess estrogen. So here I am, losing weight
I know that bc of the BRCA2 I’ll take a medicine for at least 10 years that prevents “clumping” bc the brca2 mutation makes certain cells clump without the body noticing.
Down 34 pounds as of this morning!