[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.
Snowball Fight with Daughter E at Oberlin College
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.
Walking and thinking in a cypress swamp
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.
A Visit to “My” Lake at Montreat, NC
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.
Loki has become an excellent therapy cat–when he isn’t destroying the house.
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.
Kevin in the UK
Wow just read your blog on your breast cancer story, I wondered why you had made various comments that this had not been the best year for you. I have been a vegan for 2 years I have just turned 60 OMG and have been a serious carnivore for most of my life but being a vegan for a comparatively short time has given me some amazing improvements. I am not sick but putting on weight over the years etc etc. I had to do something. From McDougall to Colin T Campbell to Esselstyne and beyond, the notion is that vegans are invulnerable. All I can say is that f you wasn’t vegan what could have happened. All the best Kevin
Mary Jurmain
Susan,
I was so sorry to hear of your diagnosis. I am a 13-year cancer survivor. When I was diagnosed, I had been on a high-protein, low-carb diet for more than two years, and I believe this contributed to my cancer. I had also been working long hours in a very high-stress job. I did my research and concluded I needed to go vegan. Like you, I thought I had found the “get-out-of-jail-free card”. I preached the virtues of my diet to all who would listen. And I was even more convinced that I was right when a dear friend was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer and told she had only a few weeks to live. She listened to me, changed to a whole-foods plant-based diet, and her cancer went into remission. Three years later, she’s still kicking and is in better health than before.
BUT…having said all that, I am no longer sure of anything. My cancer has come back twice. I had a lumpectomy, not a mastectomy, and refused chemo and radiation. Was that the right choice? I THINK so…but I don’t know. Maybe if I’d done more drastic treatment, I’d be well. Maybe I’d be dead. Who knows?
Oh, and my friend with the Stage 4 cancer? She’s currently trying a low-carb diet with limited meat and swears she feels better than she’s felt in years. She says she can’t stick to the vegan diet. She’s always hungry and has lots of cravings. With the new diet, she says she has none. Plus she feels better.
So, I’m thoroughly confused. I thought I knew what was right, and now I don’t. So I have tons of sympathy for your situation. We’re all just doing the best we can and trying to sort through mountains of contradictory data about cancer and diet. I’m sticking to my vegan diet for now. I SO appreciate the wonderful recipes you post. You are truly an artist in the kitchen. With such recipes, no one could ever feel deprived. Your admirer, Mary Jurmain
Kimberly Brown
Susan, Your friend Maria is very wise! I am a brain cancer patient, and vegan for almost 4 years now. My mother died from brain cancer 10 years ago. Although my tumor was removed, I did not require radiation or chemo, my cancer will return. It’s a matter of when, not “If”. Usually my type of cancer returns within 12-18 months. I’ve gone almost four years with clear MRI’s. My UCLA oncologist says he wishes all his patients would follow a plant based vegan diet because it strengthens our immune systems, reduces inflammation, is fiber and protein rich, and promotes healthy weight balance, ALL of which greatly add to easier symptoms from cancer treatment, healing, and a grater sense of well-being while being kind to our bodies. I’ll be 50 next year. I have a new granddaughter. I have two beautiful daughters and a loving husband. I am surrounded by wonderful friends. I have cancer. I am blessed, as are YOU! Thank you for your candidness and honesty. Best wishes for a long and healthy life. ~ Kimberly
The Vegan 8
Susan, I can’t thank you enough for sharing your story. It was eye opening to say the least, but you know what I loved the most? The statement where you said for us to not worry that you would be “another” vegan blogger to go back to animal products for “health reasons”! I completely agree! It is so bothersome to me that it has happened so many times, when I, just like you will always remain vegan, even if it is solely for the animals.
I think you are so brave and absolutely amazing. I agree too, that it must have been so hard to question yourself when you were doing all of the right things, but like you said, it could have been A LOT worse if you weren’t vegan. It is all in our perception. There are no guarantees in life. I totally believe in the vegan diet for health and ethical reasons, but I’m not invincible, none of us are. Thanks again for sharing and I will pray that nasty cancer never comes back again!!
Melissa K
Susan,
Thank you for sharing your experience. It’s a humbling reminder that we can do everything as “right” on a healthy scale as we feel possible and still be struck with such an invasive disease. Most everyone in the healthy vegan community wants to do everything in our power to remain healthy and add longevity to our lives. The reminder that we really do not have complete control over our health can come as quite a shock. Sometimes this leads people to offer their own two cents on the situation in hopes that the myth that we have complete control over our own bodies can be substantiated.
Cheers to you for putting your truth out there. I wish you all the best in your recovery: emotionally, spiritually, and physically.
Also, your latest recipe (Mushroom Seitan Roast) looks absolutely delicious. I wish I had checked your blog before I made my Seitan Rollade in the crockpot for Thanksgiving. My Rollade didn’t turn out as I had hoped. I can’t wait to make the Mushroom Seitan Roast soon!!
Sincerely,
Melissa
A lurking recipe lover for the past 6 years.
Sandra
Thank you Susan for sharing and being very transparent. You have given me power to speak to people about a health challenge that keeps coming up and I too, have wondered what people would say about a plant-based diet not being what it’s chalked up to be. I, too, will continue to stand firm in my belief.
Blessings to you and your complete healing. It is done in Jesus name.
Todd
Susan I am convinced that WFPB is the way to eat to be healthy but no matter a persons diet genetics come into play. My triglycerides are at 1500 and have been as long as I can remember no matter what my diet was and I’ve tries many, I am 52 now. I have been on the diet for 6 months now with no change to them. Unfortunately I have very low confidence in doctors, at least the doctors that I have had access too. Their practice of only treating symptoms with more and more drugs finally pushed me to research nutrition as the way to fix my problems and it is working for the most part. I plan on giving the triglycerides some more time before thinking about trying any type of drug as Cholesterol drugs are really bad for you. With all the information I read about these cholesterol medications I think I’m better off doing without them. I know I feel much better than I have in years on the whole food plant-based diet so I’m going to continue as it is.
My low confidence in doctors was compounded recently with a diagnosis of skin cancer that I have been asking about for four years. Two different doctors I’ve been telling me that this spot was nothing to worry about and look like ringworm. I finally insisted on a appointment with a dermatologist who I mediatly upon seeing it told me it was skin cancer, did a biopsy and cut out a 1 inch cube on my forearm.
I don’t believe there is any be-all end-all way to avoid cancers and other diseases but the right diet helps tremendously. If you end up having to deal with one of these diseases your decision is yours and whatever way you feel is right for you is that way you should go.
I’m glad you are well and hope you have continued success with it,
Regards
Jill
It is hard to avoid all the crush of well-meaning ( and sometimes not!) advice givers who are not in another person’s shoes. As if we have any idea what is really going on the human body?
The best thing is always to surround yourself with support, with love and kindness, and TLC. The fact that you have come through so well tells us you have, indeed, surrounded yourself with the support and love you need. May that never ever change.
Cynthia
Thank you so much for sharing this message. I heard about your cancer elsewhere and was so glad to come here and read that you are doing okay. You shouldn’t feel badly or question yourself. We don’t live in a perfect world with no carcinogens. We haven’t eaten a super clean health promoting diet all our lives, and for some of us, it’s not easy to get to that ideal body weight, but it certainly must have helped that you were eating as well as you were. Who knows what you have saved yourself from! I read so much about the risks or limited value of chemo, but probably would end up doing the same as you if I ended up in that situation. It’s so hard to know!
I love your blog and am so happy you are well and can continue to share wonderful inspiration for health promoting food with us!
Almiel aka bc@29
Hi Susan, I only just now saw your article. I’m glad you shared your story. I also always think I’m now nearly immune to horrible diseases most people get, but I know deep down it isn’t true. Less likely, yes, but life is imperfect and things happen to us.
I was diagnosed when I was only 29 with stage 3B (it had gone to my lymph nodes). I had been mostly vegetarian for a couple years and I also had someone ask me if I was going to stop being vegetarian, but I did it for my love of animals, not health. Now I do it for both.
You did the right thing with the chemo and radiation. It seemed everyone I met (support groups etc) who had only a lumpectomy, had a recurrence (they usually did not have chemo). Mine being 3B and my young age meant a full blown course of therapy, from a MRM to more aggressive chemo drugs. I also did Tamoxifen for 5 years to suppress my estrogen. The only thing I chose not to do was a stem cell transplant. There wasn’t enough evidence of it’s usefulness to out-weight the harshness of it.
I’m now 14 years out and doing great, so I expect to read your blog for years to come! 🙂
katie
Thank you for your honest and inspiring post Susan. There is no golden carrot. We eat vegan but not as low fat as I would like. I’ve often wondered what I would do if I got cancer or something else. I think I would be flying to California to see Dr. Mcdougall or spending some time at True North. Did you ever get any feedback from these doctors? Dr. Mcdougall, Dr. Klaper, etc…
Nia
Thank you so much for being real! We need more of that in this world – AND that is the best way to spread the word/message (just being real – be yourself)! Susan, you are an amazing woman all around! Hugs <3
Simpri
Thank you so so much for sharing this. Even if finding out that eating vegan isn’t going to prevent us to from cancer was quite a shock for me, it’s great to be aware of it. Again, thank you for your honesty about the matter. I wish you all the best in the future.
Becky Mowat
Thank you Susan for sharing! You faced your battle with such great courage. My heart goes out to you. Sending you positive energy for the best of health in the future. You are an inspiration!
P.S. I love your recipes and the dedication and time you’ve taken in sharing them!
Elizabeth
So, you’re pretty awesome. Just thought I’d let you know : ) (long-time reader, first-time commenter). All the best to you and your family!
SellyJ
Thank you for sharing your story and experience. I was diagnosed at 23 with breast cancer. That was 15 years ago but still feels like yesterday. I could completely relate to your confusion, disbelief and the overwhelming need for a second opinion.
My experience taught me a great deal about life, myself, and mainly, how little I actually know! It also taught me compassion for others- we all are just doing our best, with the info we have onhand, at the time.
You’ve done your best and have done remarkably well Sister! You will continue to do so. I am sorry you had to deal with this, but so glad that you had support throughout! May you continue to thrive and grow into the Wise Woman you are and are becoming. Blessings to you and yours.
Bethany
Susan,
What a powerful, honest message this is. I am so glad your treatment was successful and you are healthy and well. Thank you for being honest. I’ve read “The China Study”, “Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease”, and “The Pleasure Trap” over the last few years. I think your realization that a vegan diet promotes health, but is not a “Get-Out-of-Disease-Free” card is really important. I know I have always thought if I could just follow a vegan diet perfectly I would remain disease and cancer free. I’m sure your healthy lifestyle did indeed play a part in tempering the cancer cells and keeping your system strong during treatment. Thank you again for sharing this – it’s an important message.
Carolyn
I came for the Creamy Country Gravy and left inspired by your story. I believe that your story would have started and ended differently had you been following a diet centered around animal and processed products. Stay strong with your choices and thanks for your courage to share.
C.G.
Wonderfully written article, thank you for your insights. Wishing you all the best!!
Carole
Oh…I just LOVE that you wrote this post about your cancer treatment. I am about to go in for my first mammogram since being diagnosed with a rotary scar in my right breast. (Rotary scars aren’t cancerous, but having one places me at higher risk of developing cancer. Plus, I’m the daughter of a breast cancer survivor, so….) I didn’t take the tamoxifen-like drug that my surgeon prescribed with such gusto because I was afraid of blood clots and stroke. (My family has quite a history of those things.) I did try very hard to stick to a starch-based diet, but I must admit to falling off the wagon and eating vegan junk food a bit, so my weight is still a struggle. I have also done all the readings about vegan super-heroes who have beaten back cancer with just some romaine lettuce. I have to admit these stories have worried me: Will I be as brave if I develop cancer? Should I just amp-up the ol’ vegan diet? Or, should I “cave” and take those nasty drugs? Your post has put me more at ease. Your decision was/is so reasonable: “Amp-up” the greens and other good foods, for sure–but also take your (modern) medicine to be sure you’ve covered your bases.
Life is never certain. The best we can do is the best we can do. It sounds to me that you have done just that: Your best. Thank you so very much for sharing your wisdom with the rest of us 🙂
Suasn
Thank you for sharing what you went through. I love your website and blog.
Best wishes for a healthy and happy new year!
kerry lucks
My Naturopath told me that women get breast cancer because they are short of Iodine. (read up on Lugol’s Iodine).
A vegan diet is the best. I have never been so healthy. What you are dealing with is mineral deficient soil, pesticides, gmo’s (and some organic veges are gmo), poisoned water with fluoride and chlorine etc. You must research it all.
Remember Charlotte Gerson said (daughter of Dr Max Gerson) all cancers are because of toxicity or mineral deficiency (or both). Don’t take synthetic vitamins and minerals. You have a lot of courage. It is my first time to this site.
Dana
You are such an encouragement! I became a vegan after my uncle died from cancer and I had read all the health benefits of a plant based diet. My mother and grandmother (not vegan) are both breast cancer survivors. I too worry that some day I will be struck down with a dreaded disease and then all the nay-Sayers will tell me how much I missed not eating the typical American diet. However, I would argue the same points that you make, I’m giving my body the best chance to fight disease and prolonge disease and should I ever have to make the choices you have made i will continue to do so with a plant based diet that will support healing and health rather than negate it! Be strong and encouraged in your personal choices and know that the blog you share has and will continue to improve lives. Thanks for being a part of my kitchen and a true inspiration!
BARBARA BRYAN
Thank you so much for sharing your story. I had a similar surprise diagnosis resulting in a double mastectomy 9 years ago. I had been a fat-free vegan for many years and was totally blind-sided by my diagnosis. My friends were there for me, but I heard a lot about how there’s no reason to give up meat and cheese because it didn’t help prevent cancer at all! But I persevere, WFPB and oil-free, exercise, and enjoy every day. My quality of life is excellent; I’m the same weight as I was in high school (and I’m 68 now) and appreciate and live every day for today. BTW, I LOVE your recipes!
Sally
Hi Susan! Congrats on your clean bill of health. I admire your courage and honesty. I will pray for your continued healing. Love and hugs, Sally
Melanie
I’m so sorry to hear of your struggle, but glad you are now doing well. Great post on veganism and cancer. As a vegan, it can be scary to “come out” about any illness, particularly an important one like cancer. Fear of judgment, I totally get it. Good for you for coming out. I am sure you are not alone. Great food for thought in this post 🙂
Jill
Good morning Sue,
Just want to wish you well and to say thank you for blog I have given up eating meat I feel so much better for it as well.
Kim
This is great. I’ve never believed that a vegan diet would prevent cancer. There are too many examples where this just wasn’t the case, but I do believe it can prevent most heart disease. People should focus on overall good health. The rest is out of our hands and tomorrow is promised to none.
Marissa
Wow, I don’t know how I missed such an important post until now! Thank you for sharing your story. Your recipes have been invaluable in my family’s journey toward a WFPB diet. It would have looked a lot different without excellent recipes like yours. xoxo
Vicki
Susan,
I think you are so brave to share your story. Each person has their own personal journey and choices. I try to be vegan (not always) and not use pharma, but I admire that you made the choice that was right for you and it turned out for the best. I am sure your lifestyle, attitude and continued good nutrition were very important in your recovery.
You have given me new inspiration to stick to the Vegan delicious recipes on your site. Going Vegan/GF and taking my daughter off all her meds resulted in a cure for her epilepsy. She was on 3 meds, 40-50 seizures per day and multiple side-effects. Now she has less than 1 every 3 months (diet slip ups) and takes no medication.
Thank you so much for sharing.
dee
Thank you so much for sharing, your lifestyle is an inspiration. Just remember that even if we have the “perfect” diet we still don’t live in a perfect world. There are so many external factors that we deal with on a daily basis that are carcinogenic. I’m so happy that you were about to share your experiences with us. Good is good all the time, and all the time God is good. Keep on Keeping on.
Martina Mathis
Thank you so much for this post. I’m am so happy that you are on the road to recovery. I am convinced that your healthy diet had a major role in your recovery. I am a newbie at being vegan. Your recipes have made the transition to ditch toxic foods so much easier. Thank you so much for sharing them with us. Oh and kitty hugs and kisses heal too!
Sherry
What a lovely balanced person you are. Thank you for sharing this personal event in your life. It is so helpful to understand how one can go to the doctor and still find a way to decide for themselves what their best path might be. I am a senior (69) woman. I have refused osteoporosis medications in order to treat myself with weight bearing exercise and plant based diet. So far the health benefits have been many and I hope I can add to my bone density by this regime. The best of luck to you and thank you again for discussing this with your readers.
Arun Mukherjee
I have visited your site from time to time to read your blog and get recipe ideas. I hadn’t visited for a while, as I hadn’t had the time for proper cooking. As I came today, I read your story. What an ordeal to go through. Your introspective comments speak the truth: no matter how healthy we eat, we don’t live in a healthy environment and cannot control every thing. My best wishes for your health.
Glorya
Thank you for sharing your story. I understand what mean about being of people say. I have been predominately a life long vegetarian. I’ve had years where I was vegan. So imagine my surprise when I had a heart attack shortly after turning 50. All of the doctors were shocked andit actually took them three days to figure out what was going on…all the while I was having horribly painful non-heart attacks… only me!!! Lol. Every test I had came back fine. So when I woke up after exploratory surgery I found I had a 95% blockage in my LAD (left anterior descending) – the Widow Maker!!!! My cardiologist said it would be in my best interest to go strictly vegan and walk even More than my usual 5 miles a day. I was sure I was going hear a lot of “I told you so’s” from my meat eating friends…but I decided I really didn’t care what they said about me anyhow, why should I start now. Lol
I pray that you have continued great health. We can only do what we can do… and there are so many other things out in.the world th n can be harmful to our health… just keep on keepin on!!! Blessings to you!!
Axa
Thanks for sharing this. I am proud of you! 🙂
Arlette
Thank you so much for sharing this, I am touched.
cdr2013
Susan, I just read this blog for the first time, and I really thank you for your openness and honesty and courage! Your words make a great deal of sense and will certainly help others who face similar issues.
I have been vegan for 7 years, but before becoming vegan I had been vegetarian for about 35 years–so for 42 of my 66 years I have tried to follow a compassionate diet. My reason for doing so has always been to not harm any other living beings.
This type of diet, as you point out, does not guarantee immunity from disease. (By the way, I am male, and my brother, who is not vegetarian or vegan, has just been diagnosed with prostate cancer. This makes me concerned about the hereditary possibility).
As you, yourself, decided, I also will continue following a vegan/compassionate diet for the rest of my life, regardless of what health issues may/will surface. I cannot safeguard myself completely from illness, but I can certainly safeguard many innocent living beings from being harmed by my diet.
Good luck to you, and please keep up this great vegan site!
Sarah
Dear Susan,
Thanks so much for your honest, from-the-heart story. And thank you for your great recipes. I am new to the vegan/plant-based lifestyle. It helps tremendously to have such tasty recipes to look forward to. Keep on keeping on!
Eric
I haven’t been to the site in quite a while, but have been an avid follower of this diet for over 8 years, and I was very sad to see what you’ve been going through. I enjoy your recipes and find your commitment to this way of eating an inspiration.
I can’t imagine what it would be like to get a diagnosis like this. I certainly am hoping that this way of eating can lessen the chances of cancer, but I don’t think I’ve ever believed that it would reduce the chance to zero. Like many, I ate SAD through to middle age, so I hold no delusions that eating plant based from middle age on can magically wipe out the effects of those years. Nor would I believe my chances of getting cancer would be zero if I had eaten this way from birth, although I believe the probability would be much lower if I had. I don’t think any plant based doc would say there is a 100% guarantee, and I don’t recall ever seeing any of them say that.
I believe that what someone does with their own treatment post diagnosis is entirely their business. I have no idea if I would choose chemo or what, but I would try and understand the true risks and rewards of any course of action based on the best available analysis, including mortality figures, not just survival figures. You are the only one who can make that decision and I’m sure you made the right decision for your situation. Nobody can question that.
I am concerned though when I see some of the lessons that people are taking from this one instance. It’s a good thing that people realize there is no 100% guarantee. That’s a given in pretty much anything isn’t it. But there is a central issue that is raised here about whether early detection, and specifically mammograms, matter. In my case the corollary would be some other diagnostic for cancer more common to males, but the issue is the same. Does early detection matter?
I see some here saying they will start mammograms again now that they see they are not immune. I don’t know that this single case, or even any case of a plant eater getting cancer should be the basis for that kind of decision. I am not an expert by any means, but I’ve read the Cochrane recommendations and many other texts on the subject, and I would think that all of the cautions about early detection still stand. There is still an equal chance of harm from over diagnosis, and more importantly, there appears to be little benefit to mortality from early treatment vs. later treatment. The belief that catching cancer early matters appears to be the one central, unfortunate myth that has permeated our society now. Unless I’m reading some of these studies incorrectly, there actually is little benefit if any from early treatment vs. later treatment except in certain cancers. Early detection of course lengthens survival rates simply by catching things earlier–I think we all know that now–but mortality hasn’t really budged despite all of this earlier treatment–again except in certain cancers. The net result seems to be that you aren’t much better off at all if you catch it early, so there’s little benefit from taking the risks of something like a mammogram which seems to also carry so many negatives in terms of over treatment, radiation, etc. Traditional ways of discovering cancer appear to result in the same mortality figures.
The corollary to this is that anyone who has stopped doing things like mammograms because they are a plant eater is probably operating on a mistaken assumption. To my mind, the reason to not do a mammogram should be based entirely on the effectiveness of early treatment vs. later treatment. If there is no difference, then there is no reason to do a mammogram. The decision should have nothing to do with any false hope that plant eating will make you immune. Even if plant eating significantly reduces the chance of getting cancer, which I believe it does, there is a big difference between a reduced chance, and no chance.
Again, I hope nobody takes this wrong way. I completely understand, and if it matters, support whatever treatment scenario someone chooses after diagnosis. What I don’t agree with is the notion that plant eaters getting cancer in any way changes the argument for early detection technologies when those same technologies also carry so much risk.
I wish you continued health and hope that your plant based diet does indeed lessen the chances of a return of the disease.