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Pancreatic Cancer - Has anyone had experience with Metabolic Oncology?
Pancreatic Cancer | Last Active: Jun 5 7:00pm | Replies (30)Comment receiving replies
hi- I too am researching how a healthy diet can "starve cancer." I have ordered Jane McCLellan's book. I also read "Eat to Live" by dr. Fuhrman which encourages a plant based diet.
Question: you say metformin helps. Could you elaborate? Does he have diabetes?
The drs. told my husband he was diabetic when he went to the hospital w itching and Jaundice, and found the tumor. His glucose was 430. He's been on insulin for 4 months, not metformin. He has a continuous glucose meter on his arm. With a changed diet and loss of 55 pounds (a healthy loss as he was overweight), his blood sugar is much better now. I think his insulin dosing was too high, and I asked twice about reducing insulin, and dr agreed. Doseage has been reduced by 35%.
He just finished cycle 7 of folfirinox. I too tried to find evidence about what a change in diet could accomplish to "starve the cancer." The drs don't seem to want to pursue that path! Few focus on nutrition. At best, most have said 4 words: "Eat Fruits and Vegetables" (Or Eat Mediterranean diet). Some drs have told others I know with pan can to "eat whatever they want." I feel like diet is the one thing we can control, so he (and I) gave up all alcohol and red meat, and try not to have sugar, desserts and processed foods/carbs. The sugars appear to be the worst in "feeding the cancer." He still eats dairy, although I've read that's bad too. His overall health has improved--lower cholesterol, lower blood pressure, lower glucose, lower LDL, lower triglycerides. Minimal belly fat. I want to believe the new diet makes him better able to handle the chemo, and hopefully not encourage growth on the tumor.
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Hi k13,
We were prescribed metformin due to an elevated A1C and elevated glucose (diabetic range) level, however, insulin was still in the normal range. This was not an issue until we started the diagnosis of PC which is common. We did not get to the jaundice point. Our metformin was prescribed by our GP.
I have been reading much about diet (keto, plant based, supplements, IV's, starving cancer). I had a stack of 3 x 3 sticky notes with information provided to me by others, research I had done, info from support group PC folks, YouTube, TikTok on a lot of topics and reported cures. It was pretty overwhelming. Not wanting to miss something, I decided to make a comprehensive word document with all the questions and approaches I thought seemed reasonable. I brought that into our Oncologist to talk through them (yesterday). I suspected since he had practiced at John Hopkins, University of Chicago and his current hospital; even if he may not want to go against the standard of care he must have seen the results of patients who went down different paths. Surprisingly, he was very open and thoroughly explained his view on each and every one. On the diet topic he said a balanced diet is all you need to do but focus on protein #1. Starving cancer is not the answer according to him. You can risk putting your loved in a weekend state that he may not be able receive treatment. We spent 9 days in the hospital just from the cumulative effects of chemo and luckily, we did get back, but I could clearly see what he was saying here.
Anyway, I would put all your questions in writing and go over this with your doctors. It will make you feel better, and you will get a comprehensive opinion of your husband with his current health conditions. Lots of people try to help. Lots of info on the internet, but those people are not walking in your shoes. Let the experts help you and feel good about the decisions.
Best,
Kathy