Any other breast cancer survivors?

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  • slimtastesbetter
    slimtastesbetter Posts: 8,118 Member
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    I've been a breast cancer survivor for 14 years now. I was 39 when diagnosed. I had just lost 25 lbs before being diagnosed but put 20 lbs back on with the low-dose chemo. After radiation therapy I worked on losing weight again. (also took tamoxifen for 5 yrs) Got the 20 lbs back off and wanted to lose about 10 lbs more. Joined Weight Watchers in 2003 and lost an additional 20 lbs. Got to 128 lbs but had a hard time staying there. Found myself at 138-142 range and when WW switched from calorie-based Points to non-calorie based PointsPlus in Dec 2010 I could not drop the weight. So finally in August I decided to try My Fitness Pal and it has really helped. I'm now at 135.2. Not only do I want to lose the weight for vanity reasons, but also like you, because extra fat can increase estrogen which in turn can fuel breast cancer cell growth. I definitely do not want to have a recurrence!
  • oranje_mama
    oranje_mama Posts: 20
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    Hi, I see this is an old topic, but looking for advice from those who have BTDT.

    I'm 42 and just diagnosed with infiltrating ductal carcinoma. I'm still in the diagnosis stage, haven't had surgery yet (only biopsy).

    I started the 5:2 fasting diet about 3 months ago, and have had success with that (down 10 lbs in 3 months). 5:2 feels like it will work for me in the long run, and I hope/plan to keep going with it during treatment. For those who aren't familiar, on the 5:2 plan, you eat as normal 5 days per week, and then do two 24+hr modified fasts - not consecutive - of about 500-600 calories. For me, this typically means that on Mondays and Thursdays, I eat a normal breakfast, skip lunch, have a small dinner (400-500 cal) and a small breakfast (100-200) the following day. No snacking.

    I was diagnosed with plantar fasciitis in June (unfortunately after suffering/hoping it would go away since February). I have been doing PT (which has helped a lot) and was just about to start with a personal trainer when I got this BC diagnosis. My fitness goal more than anything is to build strength.

    Since I already needed to lose weight, I'm really scared of gaining weight during treatment. I wonder if there are BC survivors who managed to keep weight off during treatment, successfully started or continued a fitness/strength training regiment - or am I biting off too much right now?

    The "irony" is that I made a major decision to focus on my health this spring. I have always been very healthy, and am guilty of neglecting my own health, preventative care, etc. This spring I set out to make some changes, which included finally getting the mammo that my primary care physician had referred me to one year prior. That mammo came back with a rec to keep a close watch, and it was on my follow-up mammo that the BC was found. Starting 5:2 and doing the PT - working toward a personal trainer - was all part of my plan to "optimize" my health. Now I find myself unexpectedly fighting a life-threatening disease.

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