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Vegan diet and my fight against prostate cancer!


IronSmith
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I’m a 66 year old Masters Level Powerlifter, simi-retired, but hoping to get back on the lifting platform within the next year or two. There is still fire in the belly and I want to fight my way back to the fun of drug free competition I have experienced over 40 some years. Last February I was diagnosis with Fourth State Prostate Cancer. It was a real shock to me and I have to admit I was at first floored and thought my life was over. I really trusted my Urologist and agree to his medical model treatment of eight and half weeks of radiation treatment and to start two years of hormone depletion shots to wipe out my testosterone. The goal was for the radiation to “kill” the cancer and for the hormone depletion treatment to shrink my prostate and stop feeding the cancer. I completed the radiation treatment this past July and I will continue the hormone depletion therapy until this coming November but will it will continue to have an effect on my testosterone levels for at least six more months after that. So realistically I will not be back to “normal” until May 2013.

 

As I was surfing the web looking for natural ways to fight my cancer, I came across information about Dr. Cambell’s The China Study. It made a lot of sense to me so I decided to become a vegetarian. I read his book and then a lot of other related books on the subject and decided to go all the way and become a vegan. I must admit that I carried a lot of misunderstanding about the vegan diet and I had to open my mind to new ideas and a new way of conceptualizing about nutrition and health. So I have now been a vegan for nine months. I have lost about 60 pounds down to 300. I plan on losing about 80 more. I have always competed as a Super Heavy Weight and was comfortable at that weight but no more. But the most important change is that my PSA level have gone from a 47.2 down to a .2. Anything below a 4.0 is good! And the results of my contrast CT scan is that my prostate and my swollen lymph nodes are back to normal size. Was it the medical treatment or my vegan diet that caused my progress? I don’t know for sure but I do know that the diet was a major factor! And I am going to stay the course.

 

I have my wife, my grown sons, my daughter-in-laws, my grandchildren and loads of friends to live for and I want to be around a long time for them. I know that my new diet and my exercise program will be the main avenue to achieve that goal. That in remaining positive and celebrating every day to the max!

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Yes. Truly amazing. Finally more and more people are starting to realize that food and exorcise are just as important, if not more important that western medicine. Seems like a lot of the medicines these days have more side-effects and less effective cure rates. We need more strong examples like yourself to help lead the fight. A friend of mine is only 27 and she is fighting RA and I have been trying to help her with her diet so that she can get off some of the medications she is on. Some of the medications she is on are actually known to cause cancer. Unbelievable to me that these are doctor prescribed and there isn't better alternatives. Hey how about treat your body better with better food and exorcise?

Glad you found this forum, great to have you join us!

 

-Dylan

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I hope you get back on the platform, and I am sure when you do you will do fantastic. I am also sure that your reduction in your PSA levels & lymph nodes would have been heavily influenced by your nutrition.

 

I compete with a couple of guys in their 60's, one of them is benching in the 350 range which I find amazing !! Good luck, I'll definately be following your progress. Regards from New Zealand MF.

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Welcome and kudos in your campaiign to gain control of your health! A la Vie!

 

My best friend, mentor and advice giver is a 67 year old man that last year had to give up running marathons due to a bad ankle and now walks them in under 6 hrs and trains 2 - 5 hrs /day (plus he has a hot 63 yr old GF and I am sure they hubba hubba a few times a week)....you older men are the bomb diggity...show the young pups how it's really done, by getting out there.

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Thanks everyone for your comments and support. I am determined to get my health back! And I know my vegan diet is most of the reason that I'm currently doing so well. I also take several natural supplements like B Complex, D-3, Full Spectrum E w/tocotrienols, Garlic, CoQ-10, Asparagus Extract, Pomegranate Complex, Wild Blueberry Extract, Turmeric, Resveratral, Sulforaphsne, Saw Palmetto Complex, etc. I drink lots of green tea with lemon. While I am strictly vegan in my diet I do admit taking the best quality fish oil I can buy. I only drink filtered water and most of the vegetables and fruit I eat are organic. I eat about 80% raw and 20% cooked most of the time but even on bad day at least 50% raw. I avoid simple sugar as much as possible. I supplement my protein intake with both soy protein power and RAW Protein Power (made from organic raw sprouts). And I try to keep my PH in the alkaline range as close to 7.4 as I can get. I'm trying to drink green smoothies every day but haven't found a recipe that I really enjoy as of yet. So most of the time I just drink it whether I like it or not.

 

For exercise, it is mostly long walks right now. I'm still fairly weak from my radiation treatment and hormone depletion shots. But I'm am getting stronger every day. I have added riding my stationary bike about three times a week and want to work up to 5-6 times a week to help accelerate my weight loss. With the very low testosterone levels currently I have lost a lot of muscle mass which I know had deceased my metabolism rate. I have to fight the conversion to fat the best I can. That is why I need to get back to weight training ASAP but I have to make haste slowly as my recovery rate is very poor right now. The current weights I use used to be my warm up weight when I was heavy into powerlifting competition. Over the years I have held State and National records in the squat, bench, and deadlift,in NASA, AAPF, ADFPA, and even a Worlds Squat Record in the Amateur IPA Division. Those days may be behind me but then again I dream of coming back and being competitive in the 65-70 year old class. I won't know unless I give it my best shot! But even if I don't, just getting back in the gym to train with and coach my old team mates will do me a lot of good and I can try to pay back the sport that has given so much to me over the years.

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Great to see your post! I also am someone that head about the China study as well as a lot of other significant research in the "Forks over Knives" flick. Great to hear about your amazing weight lose. Continue to be relentless!

 

Fallbrook, are you in the marines?

 

Nope, but I used to work on Camp Pendleton at the Federal Firefighter for a number of years.

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I received a voice mail from my Cancer Doctor and she want to move my appointment up to this coming Tuesday (1/31). I'm happy about the sooner appointment but also a little anxious. I have been doing everything according to my plan but also know there is also always room for improvement, example more RAW food in my diet. We will see soon. Wish me luck!

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Well, I had my medical appointment with my cancer Doctor today and I received good news. The physical exam indicates that my prostate is down to normal size. That is the size of a walnut instead of almost the size of a softball about a year ago. I had a blood draw for another PSA reading which I will receive back in 4-7 days. If it comes back about the same level as it was last September, i.e. a .2, my Doctor said she would consider me "disease free"! I couldn't believe it. This is wonderful news.

 

But this is not the time to get complacent. Being over weight greatly increases the chance of a relapse. So I need to keep losing weight and get down to 210 or maybe even lower. It will depend on how much muscle mass I can retain or even gain back as my weight training program keeps improving over the next several months. I also am still learning this vegan diet thing. I want to be sure I'm eating the freshest, cleanest organic vegetables and fruits as I can as close to the vine I can. Unprocessed and little or no cooking. Trying to have at least 80% raw.

 

Right now I'm pumped! I'm so excited about the possibilities for the future. I'm 66 but right now I feel like I'm in my 20's. Now I just need to actualize that feeling with health weight loss, intelligent exercise, and celebrating my life every day with my loved ones!

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Thanks again for the support! It helps.

 

I think this thread as an "Introduction" has run its course. I'm going to switch over to the bodybuilding/strength forum. There I will post my on going progress with my vegan diet and my strength building program. After all my prostate cancer treatment (Radiation Treatment and my hormone depletion therapy), I am weaker than any time other time in my adult life. I also suffered a concussion the first Friday of this past December which made me very inactive foe several weeks. I was life flighted by helicopter from my hometown to the Ohio State University hospital for treatment. That set me back for awhile! My head fracture went from the back of my head, along the right side, and stopped right over my right eye. I couldn't even do my walking due to the hypersensitive to light, noise, and motion. My Neurologist finally gave me the go ahead to gradually break in to my exercise program once again. I will be slow progress for awhile from both my cancer treatment effects and the concussion. I just need to be reasonable, and make haste slowly. However I do know how to effectually weight train from my many successful years powerlifting. I have to train intelligently rather than try to bull my way through. I also plan on cross training and include swimming, walking, biking, and yoga. This all starts a new chapter in my life and I want to get the most out of it that can.

 

Life is to be celebrated and I plan on doing just that in the most healthy and fun filled manner I can!

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  • 1 month later...

I would love to hear from other people who either themselves or loved ones who are recovering from cancer with the help of a vegan diet. I mostly post on the training log forum so please direct your comments and suggestions there! Thanks so much!

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  • 11 years later...

Hey! Prostate cancer treatment options depend on the stage and aggressiveness of the cancer. Localized prostate cancer may be managed with active surveillance, surgery (prostatectomy), radiation therapy (external beam or brachytherapy), or focal therapy. Advanced prostate cancer can be treated with hormone therapy, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, targeted therapy, or bone-targeted therapy to control the disease and relieve symptoms.

Also, you should visit this sodium dichloroacteta resource if you want to learn about a marvelous drug that can help treat prostate cancer. I hope my answer will help you!

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