Bladder Cancer : nutritian, Vitamins etc

[Stu]

Hi, I am new here. I was diagnosed 5 weeks ago with high grade, non-invasive BC. I had my TURBT a month ago where one tunmor was removed. Tomorrow will have my second of 6 BCG treatments. I live in Toronto and was hoping to find a reputable MD/nutritionist who can advised me on what I can do to help prevent my cancer from returning. Anyone here know where I can find such an expert in this area ?

I have an excellent urologist, and expect to get good medical treatment, but am looking for what else I can do to try and ensure I stay tumor / cancer free in the years to come.

Thanks

[Greg]

Good book on foods: “Foods That Fight Cancer, Preventing Cancer through Diet” by Richard Beliveau and Denis Gingras that my uro referred me to. Might be a start.
Greg

[marysue]

I suggest contacting the Wellspring Cancer center in Toronto. I go to Wellspring Calgary for various things and was able to connect with their dietician/nutritionist for my bladder cancer support group. I’m sure that Toronto would haave the same. I found a good book at Wellspring called “The Complete Cancer Cleanse” by John and Cherie Calabolm and Michael Mahaffey. It deals with diet and alot more. Vitamin D is reputed to help in cancer prevention and I did hear somewhere that it is supposed to enhance the effectiveness of BCG. 1000IU is the recommended dosage for cancer patients but I would check with an expert first for your situation. Other general diet tips are increase veggie consumption especially the cruciferous ones ie brocolli, cabbage etc. Eliminating or reducing as much as possible processed foods, preservtives, sugar. Don’t consume junk food ie pop, candy etc. or at least reduce the amount. Snack on fruit, nuts, Greek yogurt. If you are interested I could email you the handouts from our support group meeting. Just email me to let me know. I hope this helps.

[Kari Rud]

Hello, Stu:

I sent you a “private message” with some ideas, but now I can’t see it in my “sent” directory and do not know if you received it.

Kindly advise,

All the best,

Claire
claire.mcmordie@gmail.com

[Val]

Stu

There’s lots of good information for you to stay healthy. I loved “Anti-Cancer: A New Way of Life” by Dr. David Servan-Schreiber. He’s a Canadian that had brain cancer twice.

I also met a young urologist at the Canadian Urology Association (CUA) conference who had just written a chapter about urology & nutrition in a book that the CUA is publishing soon. He gave me an advanced copy of the chapter. I have sent a copy into the webmaster to get it added to our website – not sure when that’s happening.

Highlights of the chapter include:
– your plate should be 1/2 vegetables, 1/4 protein, 1/4 carbohydrates
– Dietary antioxidants include vitamin C, vitamin E, betacarotene (a form of vitamin A), selenium, copper,manganese, and zinc.
– cranberry juice doesn’t lower urinary infections
– if you have inflammation; painful bladder syndrome or interstitial cystitis (PBS/IC); chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CPPS); or prostatitis try a low inflammatory or elimination diet
– you do not need to drink 8 glasses of water per day. Drink moderate amounts of fluids to keep your body and kidneys healthy. A good rule of thumb is to make sure
that you drink enough fluids to keep your urine light yellow to clear.
– Avoid large amounts of animal protein in your diet. One large study suggested that diets high in animal protein increased stones inmen, but not in women. Another trial suggested that reducing animal protein in your diet can reduce the risk of kidney stones.
– Lower your intake of salt (or sodium)
– Avoid foods that are high in sugar (sucrose and fructose).
– Although no high quality studies have been completed to link diet to bladder cancer, a number of associations have been identified. Decreased risk of bladder cancer has been suggested by eating carrots, cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts), and fruits.
– Increased risk of bladder cancer has been suggested in diets high in pork, barbecuedmeat, fat, soy, and coffee intake.

At the same conference they discussed studies that show exercise and staying cancer free are linked.

Hope this is helpful.

[Stu]

Thanks you all for your replies. All my urologist told me to do was to stop smoking, which of course I did immediately and easily … I was not a regular or a heavy smoker anyway.

I began a complete diet adjustment based on this information combined with the readings I have done. I have never been on any diet before, so this is quite new ground for me. I’m reading whats on the labels of the food I buy ! I also read it a good thing to be slightly underweight while eating lots of the “right stuff” and oddly my weight is already down 10 pounds. I am back exercising again after my TURBT and cut back my hours at work.

I am going to focus my efforts on eating only good and healthy food. I am still unsure about what bread I should be eating, and what to eat to decrease the acidity of my urine, but I’ll get those answers eventually.

Right now this place has been very helpful, and I wish you all well in your battle with BC – and thanks again for your replies

[Jack Moon]

Hi Stu
I have been cancer free since Nov 2007. Had several BCG treatments after 2 recurrences. Changes I made in 2006 were as follows:
Raw broccoli and cauliflower every day.
No fast food.
Reduced beef and replaced with fish.
Vit D 1,000 units per day, 2,000 units in winter.
Changed beer fav to Alexander Keith’s (lol)
Not sure if any of the above have helped, but since I am still cancer free, I will continue on this routine.
I did lose over 20 lbs so I feel much better.
All the best,
Jack

[Stu]

Hi Jack

Does the broccoli and cauliflower need to be raw ?
The rest of the stuff I do

Val, very comprehensive info, thanks. I am waiting for the book to arrive, I reserved it at the public libraty.

Dietary antioxidants: vitamin C, vitamin E, betacarotene (a form of vitamin A), selenium, copper, manganese, and zinc.
I am taking D now, and will consider expanding to include the ones you mentioned. I am stopping eating porkand barbecued meat ( i will miss it ), NEVER ate fatty meat or soy, and gave up coffee too.

What about drinking milk and eating cheese, any consensus about these produces and BC ?

[marysue]

I haven’t heard any opinions on milk and cheese but I would think in moderation they’d be ok. I severely limit dairy because I’m lactose intolerant. I do eat eggs and use almond or soy milk instead of cow’s. I also personally believe in keeping regular so that waste toxins don’t build up in your body. I had severe constipation problems for years and it took a lot of trial and error with diet and fibre supplements plus a good probiotic to rectify (sorry for the pun) the problem. I also drink filtered or bottled water to keep chlorine exposure to a minimum. I’ve read reports that there is some possiblity of chlorine causing bladder cancer. Calgary has a lot of chlorine in its water. You can actually smell it some days when you turn on the tap and leet the water run.

[Stu]

Well I tried and just cant eat raw brocoli, so I steam it for 5 minutes. I know overcooking it will cause some of the nutrients to be lost.

I too drink lactose free milk due to lactose intolerance, and spoke to a doctor who is a major heath nut who called most cheese “white death” due to its high fat content.

Did you know feta cheese has absolutely no milk in it … so its an option for lactose intolerant folks.

I am about to pick up 2 books..
Foods that fight cancer : preventing cancer through diet by Richard Béliveau, and
The essential cancer treatment nutrition guide & cookbook : includes 150 healthy & delicious recipes by Jean LaMantia.

I am convinced that it will be mainly diet and exercise combined with BCG treatments, and close follow up by my urologist – and a little luck – will be the route I follow in my BC fight.

[Jack Moon]

Hi Stu

Great to see how pro-active you are. You will win the battle. The key to change is moderation.
All the best,
BCG = Bladder Cancer Gone
Jack

[SueG]

some more articles re: dairy

http://www.dairynutrition.ca/scientific-evidence/cancer/milk-products-and-bladder-cancer

Interesting to note though, that it’s presented by the Dairy Farmers

Also since I have BCG this month, I was looking for and found a list of alkaline foods to load up on, since the BCG is going to throw off the balance of things. Here’s a link to save time for anyone looking;

http://www.rense.com/1.mpicons/acidalka.htm

(right click and open in a new tab or window)

All of the books listed .. has my library growing. Thanks everyone

[Author]

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