Deb’s Journey

My journey with breast cancer began in November, 2019 with a routine mammogram.  The results came back unclear, which was not an unusual result because I always had very dense breast tissue that made imaging difficult to read.  An ultrasound came next with the shocking results of very suspicious/probable cancer.  Quickly a biopsy was scheduled and performed.  Those results confirmed the presence of cancer in the right breast and lymph nodes.  A series of scans were done over the course of the next 6 weeks to determine the full scope of disease progression.

During the time of testing and waiting, I was not content to just sit back and anxiously wait.  I have always been fairly proactive about my health, so I spent that time researching my options.  I was drawn to information about using the ketogenic lifestyle because I had been eating in a ketogenic-way for several years.  My research lead me to a trove of information about the metabolic nature of cancer.  This opened a wide door of possibility for me.

The final diagnosis came on January 22, 2020: metastatic hormone receptor positive breast cancer.  This is news that no one wants to hear.  It’s scary and disorienting!  When we met with the Oncologist she explained that the cancer had spread beyond my breast and lymph nodes into my bones.  The way she described the metastasis in my bones was as “diffuse areas,” which didn’t sound too bad.  Then said she was recommending a course of treatment that included 3 different drugs; she wrote them down on a scrap piece of paper and told me to look them up online.  She said this course of treatment would “buy” me “years.”  When pressed about what she meant by that, she said the average survival was 2 years.  This was shocking news for me because I didn’t have much in the way of symptoms.  

I came to learn later that 24 months is an average life expectancy for all women, regardless of age.  When my age of 60+ years is factored into the equation the statistics say my life span following diagnosis is 19-30 months.  

We attempted to discuss some of the information we had found about the metabolic nature of cancer and how using the ketogenic lifestyle (Please note that I say lifestyle instead of diet. This is intentional because to be truly effective it must be a shift in lifestyle rather than a short term diet) could be helpful for the management of the disease process.  She replied that none of that was “proven” and she would not recommend that, even as an adjunct.  My wife and I both were left with a negative impression and did not feel supported in anyway by this doctor.

So, we found a Naturopathic Physician (ND) who specialized in the treatment of cancer using a metabolic approach incorporating the ketogenic diet.  This ND gave us a very aggressive course of treatment to follow that included a very strict nutritional approach, along with a large quantity of supplements, the use of infrared sauna, emotional support and regular bloodwork to monitor my progress.

To give you an idea of the plan she had me on:  

I took 30 different supplements throughout the day, with self-administered injections.  

I was required to monitor my body temperature throughout the day in order to determine the effects of the homeopathic treatments she had me on.  

As for my nutrition, she had me on a highly restricted diet that only allowed for 12 net carbs a day.  

In addition, one of the supplements she had me taking contained no other nutritional value aside from carbohydrate (5 grams of net carbs), so in reality I was only allotted 7 grams of total net carbs from my food.  

Furthermore, she did not want me consuming any animal protein (aside from the occasional chicken) or saturated animal fat.  This was a departure from the version of keto we were accustomed to.  

Other components of her plan included infrared sauna sessions at least 5 days a week for 2 hour stretches, which is a long time to sit in a hot sauna!  And the only activity she wanted me doing was light stretching and yoga.  

To address the emotional component of my treatment she wanted me to work with a friend who had created a unique way of addressing body-held trauma.  I did these sessions as well as working with my Psychologist.

I worked diligently on this plan and was very compliant with everything she recommended.  None of that would have been possible without the support of my wife, Rae.  She did most of the “heavy lifting” with my nutrition by cooking my meals within the parameters (my macros) set out by the Naturopath.  I know it created a great deal of stress for both of us as there were very strict limits on some of my macronutrients.  As the monthly bloodwork results came back, they showed my cancering process to be worsening.  Along with the worsening numbers, I had started feeling worse with more fatigue and the beginning of daily nausea.

After several months of worsening bloodwork numbers, the Naturopath suggested I go back to the Oncologist to get some of the medications initially recommended.  But the Naturopath didn’t want me to take the medications as prescribed but to only take them for a couple of months.  I could not imagine any Oncologist going along with this plan and I did not feel comfortable deceiving the doctor.  I also was not keen on the idea of working with the Oncologist who was so dismissive of me.  A friend suggested I seek out a second opinion from The James Cancer Center at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center/Stephanie Spielman Comprehensive Breast Cancer Center.  

I took that suggestion and immediately had a different experience than the one I had with the Oncologist in January at a different hospital system.  The intake person spent about 45 minutes on the phone with me learning about me and what I wanted from my treatment.  After that conversation, she recommended an Oncologist that she thought would be a good fit for me and my approach.  That’s when we met Dr. Jeffery VanDeusen, MD.  He and his entire team have been a godsend.  They have been very supportive and always willing to answer our questions (and promptly!) as well as to make referrals as I have requested.

One of the referrals that was integral to helping us navigate the ins and outs of therapeutic keto for women with metastatic breast cancer was to a group of researchers who conducted a clinical trial at The Ohio State University.  The focus of this clinical trial was using a ketogenic nutritional approach with women diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer.  This was called the KETO-CARE clinical trial.  This group of researchers helped us to understand and sift through information about how ketosis works in women with breast cancer.  This helped us understand how it is different than for someone who say has brain cancer, which is where the majority of the research has been to date.  

Since beginning my collaboration with Dr. VanDeusen and his team, my disease burden has significantly decreased and I am feeling much better.  I am able to physically do everything I want without modification or impairment.  I feel healthier and stronger  than I have in many years.  And I attribute that to the combination of standard of care treatments alongside a ketogenic lifestyle.  This approach, for me, has enhanced the effectiveness of the conventional treatments and mitigated the normal side effects people typically experience with those treatments.

In future posts, I will examine the metabolic nature of cancer and the mechanisms that make a ketogenic lifestyle a promising approach to cancer.