[Update: I wrote this in October of 2014. It’s been 3 years, and I’m still doing great. Thanks to all of you who continue to check up on me and wish me well!]
It was February 5th, my mother’s birthday and a month before the 20th anniversary of my becoming vegan. I was sitting in a breast surgeon’s office in a paper gown, cradling my biopsied breast and waiting. After about an hour and a half, my surgeon finally appeared, apologizing for keeping me waiting because the results had only just come in. He took a deep breath and said, “You don’t have cancer.” I thought, “I didn’t think I did.” Unfortunately, as I would later find out, we both were wrong.
He went on to explain that the biopsy found abnormal cells, officially called ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), but often referred to as Stage 0 or pre-cancer. While I was still reeling from the word “carcinoma,” he explained that these cells might become cancer, so they had to be treated like cancer. My options were a lumpectomy with radiation or a mastectomy. I asked whether there was any chance that the pathology report could be wrong, and my doctor said no.
I was stunned. I left in a daze and went over to my husband’s office nearby to give him the news.
Three months before, a routine mammogram had spotted a place that looked different from my last mammogram. I was sent to the Breast Health Center for another mam and then an ultrasound to get a closer look. The spot was so small and deep inside the breast that the ultrasound technician couldn’t find it at all, so I was given an appointment to return in three months. At that three month mammogram, the “spot” was clearly visible even to me as a glowing white circle in a sea of black and gray. A ultrasound-guided biopsy was scheduled for early the next week.
I’d had one of these biopsies four years ago, and that spot had turned out to be nothing but a harmless cyst, so I had been expecting the same results this time. Like most women, I didn’t think “The Big C” could happen to me. But because I was a vegan, I think I was even more positive that I couldn’t have cancer. After all, wasn’t I doing everything the vegan doctors tell us to do to protect ourselves from heart disease and cancer? Low-fat, lots of green and cruciferous vegetables and brightly colored fruit? No animal products? Moreover, no one in my family had ever had cancer. I naively thought I was immune.
So I didn’t really believe the pathology report, and I became even more skeptical when I read an article that said that DCIS is sometimes misdiagnosed. I decided to get a second opinion from one of the doctors mentioned in that article, a pathologist specializing in breast cancer in San Francisco. I had the hospital send him my biopsy slides, and a week later, I had a consultation with him on the phone. He was unable to confirm DCIS or rule out actual cancer because the radiologist who had performed the biopsy had noted that he had actually missed the “mass.” The biopsy needle had gone in front of the suspected tumor and gathered cells from there, just a few that looked abnormal. But until the actual mass was tested, the pathology specialist couldn’t rule out either DCIS or invasive cancer. He suggested I get another, more accurate, biopsy called a stereotactic biopsy, and I asked my doctor to schedule it.
I had high hopes that this second biopsy would show no DCIS and no cancer. Those hopes were shot down when my new medical oncologist called to give me the results: I had a small invasive cancer, Stage 1, that showed signs of being aggressive. She recommended surgery within the next 3-4 weeks. Just to be sure, I had the slides sent to the pathologist in San Francisco, who agreed with her diagnosis.
So I did what any logical person would do: I took a vacation. It was Spring Break, and my husband and I had planned a 5-day trip to take our high school junior (now senior) to visit 6 colleges in the Midwest. We wanted to do it while we could because we knew that after the surgery, I would need 6 ½ weeks of daily radiation treatments and might not be able to get away during the summer. The trip was a great distraction, but as soon as we got home, I made an appointment with the surgeon and scheduled my lumpectomy for the following week.
The surgery went perfectly. The surgeon removed the tumor and the area around it, as well as three lymph nodes which tested negative: the cancer had not spread to them. A week later, I returned to the surgeon’s office for more good news: The final pathology report showed that the “margins” or edges of the material he had removed were clean, meaning that all of the targeted cancer cells had probably been removed. The only worrisome thing to my husband and me were some figures in the report that seemed a little scary, particularly a “grade” of 3, meaning the cancer was aggressive. My surgeon was unconcerned, and my oncologist said that she would order a genetic test called Oncotype DX to more conclusively determine my chances of having the cancer recur.
A few weeks went by as I recovered from the surgery and waited for the results of the Oncotype test. I was expecting to start radiation soon when my medical oncologist called with the test results. They indicated that I was at a moderately high risk of recurrence. She was recommending that I have chemo.
This was the first time the other Big C word had been mentioned, and for some reason, “chemotherapy” scared me more than “cancer.” The oncologist explained that the type of chemo she was recommending was “well-tolerated” and without all of the serious long-term consequences of other treatments. I wasn’t convinced, and I began frantically researching the chemo itself and alternatives to it.
I was in a panic. On the one hand, I’ve always believed in fighting disease with nutrition and had always been opposed to taking any medication if it could be avoided. On the other hand, hadn’t I been doing just that for the past 20 years? My oncologist was telling me that chemo could reduce my risk of having the cancer recur and spread, that preventing it now would be much easier than trying to stop if it spread to my other organs. I went back and forth, one day deciding that chemo was just too dangerous and the next deciding that I didn’t want to take the risk of the cancer coming back. I was, frankly, a mess. I couldn’t sleep or eat for worrying about the chemo. I finally decided to get a second opinion from a highly recommended breast cancer oncologist at the University Medical Center.
My second opinion doctor came back with the same recommendation as the first: Have the chemo. She assured me that I was young (me!) and healthy and I could handle it. And it would cut my chance of recurrence in half.
My husband was very careful to stand back and let me make the decision for myself, but I knew that he hoped that I would have the chemo. And I was afraid that if I didn’t have it, I would be anxious for the rest of my life, afraid that I hadn’t done everything I possibly could to prevent a recurrence. I’d read the stories of people who had fought their cancer with diet and lifestyle choices, but those people weren’t already eating a whole foods, plant-based diet like I was.
So I decided to do the chemo, four rounds, three weeks apart. I read everything I could find about the treatments and armed myself with supplements that could help prevent side effects. And I found out my oncologist was right: the treatments, though no fun, we’re not as bad as I’d feared. My side effects were minimal, the most annoying being a bad taste in my mouth that would come and go and made it difficult to create new recipes.
Just after my initial diagnosis, I’d begun getting up at 5:30 every morning and walking with my husband and our dog. During chemo, and later radiation, I considered it a point of honor that I never missed a walk. On the weekends, my family and I tried to get out of the house and do a little hiking or local sightseeing so that I wouldn’t feel like the treatment was making me isolated. I ate lots of fruits and vegetables to support my immune system and was careful to avoid coming into contact with people who were sick, and I sailed through my summer of chemo without so much as a sniffle.
When chemo ended, I was determined to take a family vacation before I had to start radiation therapy, so at the beginning of August, we spent a week in the mountains of North Carolina and a few days in Nashville, seeing my newest niece for the first time (and, of course, my brother and sister-in-law).
I got back home and jumped right into daily radiation treatments–33 of them. Again, the treatments weren’t nearly as bad as I expected, but I was thrilled when they ended last week. I couldn’t wait to put all of this cancer stuff behind me.
I didn’t write about this while it was going on mainly because I was afraid that people would offer suggestions and criticisms of my decision to go through with chemo and radiation, and I just couldn’t risk the additional stress that would have put on me. So why am I telling you now? Even though this blog is recipe-oriented and not usually very personal, I wasn’t sure if I could go on writing it if I had to pretend like something this big hadn’t happened to me, something that has consumed the last eight months of my life and has changed the way I see myself and the way I think about diet, veganism, and health.
My first month post-diagnosis, before I had the specter of chemo to worry me, all I could think about was “why” and “how”: Why did I, a vegan who tries to eat healthy, get cancer when no one else in my Standard American Diet-eating family has ever had cancer? What had I done wrong? Had I eaten too few nuts? Too little cilantro? Not enough flax seeds? BPA? Soy?! I worried that I had caused my cancer by never being able to get to my goal weight and stay there, that I didn’t exercise consistently, that I had had only one child late in life and that I hadn’t breastfed her long enough.
I was blaming myself, and I had a lot of help from the Internet. I couldn’t visit Facebook without seeing posts about how eating X (broccoli, nuts, soy, orange) would help prevent cancer. Or people posting about their frustration that a friend or family member had breast cancer and refused to treat it by adopting a plant-based diet. If I, someone who had been eating all the right things (and not eating all the wrong ones), got the message that I was to blame for my cancer, how must other cancer patients feel, the ones who hadn’t been stuffing themselves with kale and mushrooms? Is there a way to promote a plant-based diet that doesn’t point the finger of blame, that doesn’t make grand promises of health, and that doesn’t make people like me feel so confident in the invincibility of our diets that we put off mammograms or other screening tests?
I don’t know. But for me, it’s been helpful to think of the vegan diet as promoting health, but not providing a “Get out of Disease Free” card. My friend Maria made me see that even if my diet didn’t prevent me from getting cancer, perhaps the cancer would have grown much more quickly if I hadn’t been vegan. Perhaps I wouldn’t have sailed through chemo without ever needing nausea meds if I hadn’t been nourishing my body with fruits and vegetables. Perhaps my immune system wouldn’t have stayed as strong as it did or my energy as high if I had been consuming animal products.
It’s also been helpful to me to remember my real reason for being vegan. Though I’ve followed a McDougall-type diet ever since I became vegan, my ultimate reason for becoming vegan was not to improve my own health but to decrease the suffering of animals. So if you’re reading this and worrying that I’m going to be another vegan blogger who goes back to eating animals for her own health, don’t. No diagnosis in the world could convince me to eat another animal or animal product.
As for my current health, I feel great, and I’m confident that I caught this cancer early and have done and am doing everything medically and nutritionally possible to make sure I never have to worry about it again. I’ve tweaked my diet to reduce or eliminate foods I don’t need (sugar, soy, wine, and coffee) and to increase those I wasn’t eating enough of before (broccoli sprouts, flax seeds, organics). I walk at least once and sometimes twice a day, and soon I’ll be starting a workout routine at the gym. I plan to lose the extra weight I’ve been carrying around, which is the biggest threat to my health.
I think the hardest struggle I’ve faced isn’t physical but emotional. My image of myself as a healthy person who never took pills and was confident her vegan diet would protect her from anything–that image took a pretty big hit. I’ve been worried about “coming out” as a vegan with cancer for fear that non-vegans would see it as proof that a vegan diet “doesn’t work” and that some vegans would skewer me for resorting to traditional medicine. In the end, I decided that I had to put my truth out there so that I can get past it and get back to blogging as usual. Next post, you can expect a recipe. Cancer isn’t on the menu.
Thank you to all my family, friends, and friends of friends who offered love and support. And to my church, the Unitarian-Universalist Church of Jackson, and my parents’ church, The First Presbyterian Church of Hammond, LA (love the shawl and cap, y’all!) And to Maria Maggi, Nava Atlas, Dreena Burton, and Stephanie Weaver–wise women all, whose words of advice and offers of support helped me more than they probably know.
Brenda
October 23, 2014 at 10:17 pmPraying for you and your recovery. I believe your diet has and will make a difference in your healing.
Vivienne S
October 23, 2014 at 11:10 pmSusan
I only found your blog at the start of this year so I’m a newbie to you and veganism. And I can only say I have no idea whether your diet would have helped or hindered your cancer, and probably you’ll never know either, so don’t dwell on it, just get on with healing. The one thing I can be sure of is a cuddle from a furry friend like your beautiful Loki is always the best medicine if your feeling down. Take care and love to you and your family.
Vivienne
VeganD
October 24, 2014 at 1:29 amAs others have mentioned, Fuhrman claims that breast cancer seems to be caused by girls eating a diet high in animal foods, primarily before age 5, which leads to early puberty, a major risk factor for breast cancer. Also, young women who are fat are more likely to get breast cancer when they get older. Occupational exposures to carcinogens are the single most important cause of cancer in the U.S. Consumer products (toiletries, household products, pesticides), medical drugs, and petrochemical pollution are also carcinogenic. Two films of a breast in a pre-menopausal woman gives that woman about 500 times the dose of a chest x-ray. Radiation from routine pre-menopausal mammography reaches reasonably close to the kind of dosage that women got in Hiroshima and Nagasaki outside of the major epicenter where the atom bomb was exploded. Women who consume the most soy products cut their risk of cancer recurrence or mortality in half. Being vegan definitely is part of the solution, not the problem.
Barbara Olson
October 25, 2014 at 5:28 pmThank you for that explanation. That makes sense. I suspected that woman that were not breast fed and instead were given dairy from cows during their early years were still at risk for developing cancers and other diet related diseases despite a switch to plant based diets later. In my own case, I have swollen, painful joints from osteoarthritis in my hands and feet causing deformities even though I have been eating healthy, plant based meals for 8 years now. I am thinking that children never exposed to animal flesh or products from birth will have an easier time of it as they age than we do who were not given that opportunity.
VeganD
October 26, 2014 at 4:34 pmI’m not specifically a fan of Furhman’s as he’s not totally pro-vegan, but to quote him again, he says that the most recent scientific evidence shows that apparently what parents choose to feed or not feed their children during childhood has a greater effect on the cause of certain cancers than dietary intake over the next 50 years. Very depressing.
Commenter #150 above does confirm your suspicions, stating, “The association between dairy intake and breast cancer has been shown in study after study. And I don’t think anyone is quite sure how much the dairy we consume as children might contribute to breast cancer in adulthood, even after we’ve stopped consuming it.”
I’ve heard that people in their 50’s (the reference may have been to boomers but I don’t remember) are actually at higher risk for cancer than their parents’ generation. I’m guessing it’s at least in part because the older folks grew up before pesticides and other pollutants and carcinogens were in common use.
I am sorry that Susan has had to go through with this and appreciate her honesty and courage in telling us about it.
Joan
October 24, 2014 at 12:11 pmSusan,
All praises to God for your recovery and the means that He used to get you there both traditional and natural. We only know what we know. What I do know for sure is that whether we do everything right or not, we live in a world tainted by evil. It is here, whether we like it or not. God is not the author of this but the enemy is. We know God is love and one day we will see His love in all of its fullness. We see only a part of the picture, He sees the whole thing. We think of you and your family and how terrible this is. He thinks of you, your family, your neighbor that you just casually say hello to, and people that we would never imagine would be in any way affected by this experience and works it for good so that more people will get to understand His incredible love. I hope you are confident of this one truth that God loves you! Continue growing in your wholistic health journey with nutritious food, exercise, water, sunshine, self-control, rest, and most importantly trusting in God. I love you though I don’t know you 🙂
J
Myra
October 24, 2014 at 1:15 pmI am so sorry for all that has happened. Thank you so much for sharing your story.
Ayelet Hines
October 24, 2014 at 1:32 pmAs a daily user of your recipes, this is by far your best blog post yet! Thanks for sharing your journey with us.
bikehikenc
October 24, 2014 at 2:46 pmSusan,
Thanks you for sharing what you have been through. Hopefully it will encourage us all no matter how healthy we eat to know htat we are not invicible and we still need to have regular exams etc… You are truly a blessing to so many of us and I really appreciate all your wonderful recipes and ideas. Still hoping a cookbook will be in your future! You rock!
Lisa
Dianne Lippman
October 25, 2014 at 10:48 amI received a breast cancer diagnosis in late August. This after 10 years of vegan, low fat diet. I understand exactly the feelings and concerns you expressed. I had a lumpectomy, and am now halfway through chemo, then on to radiation. I truly feel my diet has helped me to have fewer side effects. I will never go back to consuming animal products. So far, none of my SAD eating friends and relatives have suggested my diet doesn’t work. Thank you for sharing your story. It helped me to hear about someone else whose story is similar to mine. Hugs and health to you.
Barbara Olson
October 25, 2014 at 5:12 pmSusan,
Your story was very much appreciated and inspiring. Thank you for sharing. I know I am a little more humble after reading about your journey. I was guilty from also thinking that it (cancer) could not happen to me by virtue of my healthy, vegan diet. But I know we are all in this together and must support each other and keep striving for a better, more compassionate world regardless of the setbacks we encounter. I wish you good health the rest of your time here and thank you for your courage.
Anne H.
October 25, 2014 at 6:06 pmThank you, thank you, for being so transparent with your journey in life – which has included dealing with breast cancer. The way you wrote this brought tears to my eyes. You just hit the nail on the head and expressed everything I’ve thought about with regard to adopting a vegan lifestyle… The questions, hopes, fears, even doubts. I’ve had a false hope that eating this way is a “cancer free guarantee”… And this is false. It may well help, but I believe my time on this earth is ultimately determined by God, and my job is to live in the healthiest way I can.
I guess in the end, you are showing that all we can do is our personal best for our health and vitality. And each one has their own personal best! Yours is not mine is not hers…. We are each unique, as is our life journey.
What I glean from your experience is that honesty is powerful. And inspiring. I just want to be healthy and I think embracing a vegan diet/lifestyle is what works for me. And… It’s a journey. I am far from perfect, and as life teaches us, that’s okay.
Thank you again for sharing! I wish you the very best, and continued health!!
Maria Rosa Serafim
October 26, 2014 at 12:30 amDear Susan
Since I became vegan in October 2013, I have been following your blog and I really enjoy your recipes. So sorry that you went through so much pain, especially emotionally.
Thank you for letting us know, that unforseen occurrences can happen to all of us , even if we try our best to avoid sicknesses or any other problems, unfortunnatelly that is what this world has to offer to us.
Soon we don’t have to worry with sickness anymore as Revelation 21:3,4 promises.
I wish you all the best and may the true God help you to continue with your recovery.
Rosa
Kristin Eggen
October 26, 2014 at 9:36 amDear Susan
Thank you for sharing. Just this for enouragement; even though being vegan did not give you the inpenetrable disease-shield we could hope for, what we do do, vegans, is to protect the planet and our children (and grandchildren) from overuse of antibiotics, hormones and cancer-inducing cemistry given to livestock. We also do our bit to reduce CO2 emissions by not eating meat. We will all die of something some day, but I would like to leave this earth a little better place as it was when I first came because of choices I’ve made. And so it is for you. Your recepies are wonderful, your courage beautiful!
Kemi
October 26, 2014 at 11:57 amThoughts and prayers with you x
Annette
October 26, 2014 at 12:32 pmI wish you well with continued good health.
Mary Coffey
October 26, 2014 at 2:31 pmHi Susan,
Your post is great & I think I would have reacted the same way. Thank you for all the wonderful work you do with food.
There is a book that just came out this year which I found very interesting & informative. You might want to check it out. “Radical Remission ” by Kelly A. Turner, PhD . Some great success stories in this book.
Mary
Karen
October 26, 2014 at 8:23 pmThank you for sharing your story with us, I am so glad to hear you are clear of your cancer now, it must of been such a hard time for you.
In the last year I have lost both my parents to cancer and have been doing a lot of research on anti-cancer diets, I have recently read “The PH Miracle ” by Dr Robert O. Young and I am now eating an alkaline diet which is very much like a vegan diet without any sugar, coffee, alcohol, wheat, vegetable oils, pasta and all highly acidic forming foods, I have so much more energy and have lost heaps of weight, I just thought I would mention it as it’s working really well for me.
I bought a Fitbit about a month ago also and it has really helped to motivate me to get my daily exercise, it was just what I needed 🙂
Thank you for all your great recipes and sharing this page with us.
Crissie
October 27, 2014 at 6:48 amThanks for sharing your story, and with such honesty. Our veganism may not be an impenetrable shield, but I believe you’re recovery had much to do with your healthy lifestyle. No one can escape the toxins of the world we live in completely. The fact that you walked, kept up good habits, and had such support is a testament to how much you mean to people. Be well, my friend.
Mary
October 27, 2014 at 10:11 amDear Susan,
Thank you for your recipes and thank you above all else for sharing your journey of this past year. You have helped me in my own struggle with illness even though I have adopted the plant based diet.
Everyday is a gift.
Mary
Natasha
October 27, 2014 at 3:33 pmI’m transitioning to a vegan diet, and this is my first time to your blog. I just wanted to say you are an inspiration. I worry so much about my health, and have I waited to long to go vegan? (I have been vegetarian for 8yrs). I, like you, am first and foremost wanting to do it for compassion reasons, but for my health as well. As much as you may want a reason why, especially as you take such good care with your food, maybe it was environmental? I believe there are many factors outside our control and that your being vegan probably made it easier for your body to face this. Maybe it was to be able to share your story & remind us all that no matter how careful we are, we are not always in control and never to take a day for granted. Thank you for sharing your story. I wish you the best health possible and look forward to reading through your blog. <3
Laura B
October 27, 2014 at 9:47 pmThanks for candidly sharing your story.
Chichadee323
October 28, 2014 at 10:38 amThanks for sharing. I am not vegan, and not judgmental, but I can see where this would be hard to share. I find most people who are judgmental, are not worth listening to.
For other health reasons (CPT2 disorder) I am restricted to a Very LowFat diet. I also prefer to eat healthy, and hate GMOs and processed foods, so I avoid them as much as possible . I’m not opposed to animals or their byproducts but I do dislike how they are treated, and worse what is done to the “food” before it gets to us . I find myself eating less and less. Funny, because I just rescued 4 chickens, But I just can’t see them ever making it to my table!
I have just found your recipes any many work for me! Thanks!
Mary S
October 28, 2014 at 11:07 amAlmost in tears each time I’ve read this–you’ve lived a life of doing what you believe is best for you and your loved ones and passing your expertise out here to us in CyberLand. I can certainly agree w/ putting off dealing w/the trolls–fanaticism is ugly, ugly, ugly, no matter the subject.
My prayers–stay the course and by all means keep us in your loop.
Sue Bair
October 28, 2014 at 1:47 pmYou are a very brave woman. Thank you so much for sharing your story. You’re also very smart. When I had a tumor last year I got LOTS of “sure cures” that made the emotional ride very hard. Blessings and prayers.
Kate Amunrud
October 28, 2014 at 2:10 pmWow. Thank you very much for taking the time to bare your soul and share this with me. I really like how you said you “think of the vegan diet as promoting health, but not providing a ‘Get out of Disease Free’ card.” I’m very inspired by this post.
Liz
October 28, 2014 at 4:26 pmDear Susan,
I’ve been following your blog for a few years but never commented. I’m glad that you got treatment, have gained a positive outlook after treatment, and feel renewed in your health commitments to yourself. Personally, I feel strongly that lifestyle and diet are a hedge, and not a guarantee of any particular outcome. We still don’t understand exactly *everything* that contributes to a cancer risk profile, and it’s important to keep in mind that that’s all it is; a risk profile. There is nothing that anyone can do to give themselves a guarantee that they will never face X health crisis, but there are things that help us take care of ourselves in both illness and wellness, and plant-based eating is certainly one of them!
I admire your bravery in speaking about your diagnosis given your status as a plant-based blogger. My warmest thoughts and prayers are with you for continued wellness!
Esther J
October 28, 2014 at 7:16 pmDear Susan,
Thanks very much for sharing these recent turn of events in your journey with us. I wish you full healing and much peace, love, and support (which it seems you have in abundance already) as you continue along this road.
As always, thanks for generously sharing your amazing talent with us. Truly, I am grateful.
Be well friend,
E
Dayna
October 28, 2014 at 11:23 pmSusan, I’ve been meaning to comment and wish you well since you’d first posted.
Ironically, sadly I’ve also been just diagnosed with breast cancer these past two weeks.
I wanted to thank you so much for sharing your experience. I first read it while I was waiting for the results of my biopsy. I have to say beyond the shock itself, having a healthy lifestyle and no family history of any cancers, it left my ears ringing with the news. I’m only starting my journey with surgery next week, but your words have resonated; there isn’t blame. We did the right things; colourful & crucifer foods, no plastics or pesticides. It still finds you. As one nurse put it, it’s winning an unlucky lottery.
I’ve just turned 40, I carry no predicting genes or have history. Ive had my two lovely children before the age of 30. I breastfed, I eat well and avoid environmental hazards, plastic and unnecessary hormones. I can only implore to other women, at all ages, to check yourself & get tested early. It’s not anything you want to find out about yourself but early detection is the best cure.
I wish you love and good health, Susan. Thank you again for sharing your story!
East Meets West Veg
October 29, 2014 at 11:32 amWhat a difficult time you have been going through. I’m glad you were able to make the right decisions for you and you had people to support you. It’s good that you were able to make positive changes to your life due to this experience, but do not blame yourself. Thank you for sharing your story. I’m sure it will impact many people. Sending lots of love, prayers, and positive energy your way. 🙂
Suzi
October 29, 2014 at 3:15 pmThank God you and your family are okay now. In this chemical filled world I don’t think anyone can escape sickness even with the perfect diet, you still have to breath the air and lord knows whats in our oceans if your a swimmer, hiker, biker, basically anything outside. Please don’t think that this is in anyway your fault. Somethings can’t be helped no matter what. I love your recipes, pictures, and the wonderful blogs you write. Thank you for staying with us and for sharing your story. I feel closer to you now. You and yours are in my prayers.
Briana
October 30, 2014 at 11:40 amSusan,
I was 34 when I was diagnosed and am 36 now. I’m not obese. I breastfed both of my kids until they were around 1. I don’t fit the mold of what they say could cause it. I had chemo and radiation, double mastectomy, ovaries removed and reconstruction.
The emotional piece is also hardest for me. I honestly think you suffer PTSD from it and I see a therapist for it.
Feel free to reach out to me if you’d like to talk. There isn’t that many younger woman to connect to that have experienced this. Losing my hair was also harder than I anticipated. Hugs. It’s been quite a journey!
Kel Coleman
October 30, 2014 at 1:12 pmBeing a healthy eater (vegetarian for over 30 years) will not keep you from the Big C. We all have the fluke chromosome that can make it appear. I am a 6 year survivor after Stage 4 tonsular that metastasized to my glands. I was so scared that my taste buds and salavaries would be shot, read horror stories about head and neck cancers, felt it was probably my time and wanted to go to Italy, max out my cards and have one last wonderful fling. They said I wouldn’t have time so hop up on the table and let’s get zapping. Well, here I am, telling everyone to stay mentally strong, laugh when you are not too tired from the chemo, our chemo nurses were a couple of stand up comedians, and even though I’m a lapsed Catholic, saying the decades kept me at peace, like zen only with a stronger director. You are strong, Susan, and we are legion. (A fantastic book: “The Emperor of All Maladies”. The history of cancer.)
Kel Coleman
October 30, 2014 at 1:12 pmBeing a healthy eater (vegetarian for over 30 years) will not keep you from the Big C. We all have the fluke chromosome that can make it appear. I am a 6 year survivor after Stage 4 tonsular that metastasized to my glands. I was so scared that my taste buds and salavaries would be shot, read horror stories about head and neck cancers, felt it was probably my time and wanted to go to Italy, max out my cards and have one last wonderful fling. They said I wouldn’t have time so hop up on the table and let’s get zapping. Well, here I am, telling everyone to stay mentally strong, laugh when you are not too tired from the chemo, our chemo nurses were a couple of stand up comedians, and even though I’m a lapsed Catholic, saying the decades kept me at peace, like zen only with a stronger director. You are strong, Susan, and we are legion. (A fantastic book: “The Emperor of All Maladies”. The history of cancer.)
Audrey
October 30, 2014 at 7:28 pmYou are the only one who can make the right decision for you. It sounds like it was well thought-out, and I wish you the best of luck. My aunt is a vegetarian, 5-year ovarian cancer survivor, and she had a similar experience with chemo – her doctors called her the poster child for chemo! They put her relatively easy experience and quick recovery from major surgery down to the fact that she was basically healthy to begin with — I’m sure the same is true for you.
Candice
October 31, 2014 at 2:33 amHi Susan,
Thanks so much for sharing your story. I just wanted to commend you for sticking to your guns and facing this thing head-on. I’m very glad you’re doing well.
As a new vegan, I want to thank you for all your wonderful recipes and for sharing this honest, inspiring story of yours. Although I became vegan for the same reason as you did, the health benefits of the diet are a draw and one of the points I use to justify my choice (I’m from South Africa and although veganism is gaining favour, most of my friends still think I’m a bit of an alien and am apt to succumb to some or other dreadful illness ‘cos of a lack of protein ;-D). I just wanted to thank you for not letting being diagnosed with cancer cause you to doubt you way of life as a number of factors contribute to your risk of developing cancer, as you well know. I find your sticking to your vegan diet very encouraging indeed, it makes me feel more confident about telling people about my decision to become vegan and staying vegan no matter the outside pressures!
I wish you and your family all the best for the future, keep you head up and those recipes coming ;-D
God Speed
Sheree @ Seaweed & Raine
October 31, 2014 at 5:30 amPhew. Thank you for sharing your journey. Finger pointing at what could have/should have been done to avoid it doesn’t help at all – does it?! It doesn’t change what you are going through. It doesn’t make you stronger. Let’s face it – we live in a sinful world. Cancer is just another symptom of sin (no, I’m not saying that you are an evil sinner! 😉 You believe in Jesus – you’re covered by His grace). Earlier this year I had my first ever mamogram. And they found some calcification. Too small to pick up on the ultrasound. I was 36 at the time. And I did NOT expect it at all. Although I’m not vegan, I do tend to stick to a vegetarian diet. They don’t know how long the calcification has been there, so in about 9 months, I will go back for another mamogram to check on it.
The thing is, fear started to eat me from the inside out. So I asked someone to pray for me – and even though I don’t know what the outcome will be, the fear has left. Satan loves fear and intimidation. Whatever happens – God’s got this. And I’m going to leave it in His capable hands (because I’d likely make a mess of it if I tried to take over!)
Be blessed in your journey. And I look forward to more delish recipes! 🙂
Sheree
Michele
October 31, 2014 at 7:19 amThank you for sharing your story. Sending thoughts and prayers for your continued recovery and good health. <3
michele
November 1, 2014 at 6:21 pmSusan, I am SO sorry you had to go through all of this 🙁 Not only the horror of the diagnosis and treatment, but the temporary loss of confidence in the choices made. What occurred to me as I read your story, though – who is eating the greatest quantity of pesticides, herbicides, and genetically modified food? No matter how much we try not to? I do believe it is your diet that helped you through your treatment, but I also believe it could have been byproducts of the diet that caused the cancer. We are being poisoned in so many ways – I think we have the right answers, but we are still being faced with a scarcity of quality food, clean water/rain/air, and confidence in labeling and trustworthy information where labeling does not exist (and is being fought vehemently against).
Peace, friend.
XOXO
Ruthie
November 2, 2014 at 8:16 amUnfortunately our bodies where never designed to last forever. My husband of almost 40 years has been gravely ill for about 10 years and I feel that we are going into his last years. It was very hard in the beginning, we got it from two fronts Vegan and the Church. Our pastor, who lead us to become vegan, saw what we were going through and came to visit one day to talk to us. One of the first things he asked me was did I know any one who had lived forever? Well of course not. He then said no matter how well you eat or how much you believe in divine healing our bodies where never designed to last forever. They wear out no matter what we do and we all get sick and die. He said that we have polluted our world and no matter how we eat we can not escape this fact. We live in an imperfect world and all we can do is do our level best to eat right and serve our God. There are lots of non food things that can make you sick and some times it takes lots of non food things to get us well. I am very happy that you are better and pray that your good health continues. Please remember IT IS NOT YOUR FAULT. God bless you.
Suzanne Brady
November 2, 2014 at 8:52 amThank you for sharing your experience. I had breast cancer in 2008 in spite of what I thought of as a very healthy lifestyle: no family history, nursed 3 babies, vegetarian diet, exercise …all that good stuff. My doctor kindly pointed out the same thing-that it probably could have been worse if I hadn’t already been committed to good health. I came out of the experience convinced that the toxins in our environment that we’ve been subjected to all our lives (remember the mosquito spraying trucks in the ’50s) bear a huge responsibility for the cancer rates today. We must keep doing what we can to preserve our health and try to avoid what threatens it. Thank you again for your openness.
Mary Harris
November 2, 2014 at 11:59 amHi! I’m a Breast Cancer Warrior as well! 8 1/2 years ago I was diagnosed with Stage 3 cancer, one type in each breast, and some skin involvement. I took an aggressive approach, because I was a 30+ years vegetarian who was extremely health-conscious and had no breast cancer on either side of my family. WTH?? Why and how did this happen? They say 1 in 3 or 4 women gets breast cancer. So the only answer I found was that I got it for me and I took one for some other woman, may she live and be well! I will never know exactly why or how. But now I know that’s not important. I’m still here. I’m still eating well. I’m enjoying every moment! I hope in 40+ years you too are still here, still eating well, and still blogging! Hugs, Mary