[kristenmi123]

I am in shock.......

it hasn't sunk in yet ~ not sure when it will? The kind of shock that you know you need to have that strong cry but it's buried somewhere still deep inside you.

A very very close friend of mine has found out that he has a tumor that is cancerous.

My question is do any of you know anyone that has had cancer that has opted out of chemo and tried something else that was sucessful?

At this point I'm just gathering information. He is against chemo right now.

I appreciate any links or articles or anything that you could share.

[gillianna]

I am sorry to hear about your friend, yes it is a shock and it really does take time to sink in. My mother had cancer and my best friend who is really a second mother to me has cancer. Just be there for your friend.
I don't know what alternatives there are if you want to turn down chemo.
I just started eating "raw" meaning, no meats, no dairy, no cooked or processed foods and I really feel great. I am reading a ton of books and there seems to be so much talk about healing your bodies through eating raw. Some people do claim they have been cured of some diseases. Maybe you can get some books on this. It might be something to think of. A few of us have a thread on the Health & fitness on "carol Alt raw food cookbooks" heading. There are also some great raw food websites/chats.

[sarah2808]

(((((HUGS))))), I am going through the same thing myself. My closest friend is fighting breast cancer. She has had a full mastectomy and has now begun her chemo. It is such a hard thing to go through. She is sick all of the time and is constantly in and out of hospital. I fell totally useless but besides giving an ear to listen and running errands there is not much I can do. She seriously considered not going with the chemo. Her family is very into natural healing and she felt if she could boost her immune system enough she would be able to fight it on her own. I am not sure. I know that chemo may end up costing her life anyway. She has dehydrated on several occasions, has constant infections and sores in her mouth and she is week and feverish. They say you can rebuild after, but it is hard to believe at this moment. Still, what options are there really out there? She has only had two treatments, and she has four more to go. She looks horrible! Then she has radiation to deal with. I have heard that some people tolerate chemo very well and that many people have very few symptoms. It is a scary thing. I do believe in preventative medicine and I do know that many of the illnesses we have today are a result of poor eating and lack of nutrition. But once you have cancer I am not sure that natural foods are enough to battle this disease and survive.

[stacmck]

Sorry to hear about your friend, kristen

It's awful when someone close to you has cancer. My mother had breast cancer and went through a lumpectomy, radiation treatment, and will be on tamoxifen for 5 years. (Luckily no chemo.) My grandmother also has had colon cancer and had chemo...and she was miserable during her chemo treatments. I can see why your friend would be against it.

Didn't Suzanne Somers do an all-natural treatment for her breast cancer? I think she wrote a book - maybe that can give some ideas?

But I agree that all-natural is probably not enough to fight cancer.

[moi et mes sacs]

Sorry to hear about your friend. My dad has cancer and has had chemo and is ready for the next round. I would say it is optimistic if the doctors offer chemo, it means they are optimistic. I think a healthy lifestyle would be helpful but I would encourage chemo against this awful disease

[echo_23]

I am SO sorry to hear about your friend. I have been fortunate that my only close encounter with cancer has been with my childhood dog. That continues to elicit buckets full of tears and is close enough for me. However, the grandmothr of one of my best friends was diagnosed with cancer a few years ago. She was told it was aggressive and was given a very short time frame for living. She had always been the most joyful optimistic woman I had known. While you could tell physically that something was wrong, mentally she was just as head strong as ever that she would not let Cancer take her spirit from her. She did a little bit of chemo but it made her sick and she didn't want to go miserably. So she stopped chemo and started seeing a homeopathic doctor, eating special foods in certain combinations and continued walking around her neighborhood when she could. She lived years longer than predicted and when she finally passed, everyone's memories were happy, knowing that she had lived her last few years the way she had wanted to. I have no doubt that her positive outlook and homeopathic choices helped her live longer and would recommend them whether someone decides on chemo or not.

Best wishes to you, your friend and their family, you will all be in my prayers.

[Bubble Girl]

So sorry to hear about this. It's such numbing news when this happens to someone close to you. It seems cancer touches so many families, my Uncle also had cancer.

I agree with echo_23 that a positive outlook and a strong will works wonders with cancer.

[abbygirl]

caringbridgenews@caringbridge.org

info@education.nexcura.com

Here are two links provided for cancer patients and family.

Hope this helps and i wish your friend faith and guidance through this.

[BagAngel]

Hi so sorry that you are going through this, I am at the moment also with my friends husband!
My SIL had breast cancer 6 years ago, at first she was very anti chemotherapy but she had it & radiotherapy combined with a raw food diet, no dairy products or red meat, loads of fruit & juices & she is fine today, thank God!
There is a very good book called "Your life in your hands" by Jane Plant
{{Hugs}}