I have always eaten reasonably healthily. However I learned about nutrition related to cancer and made some significant changes to the way I eat. Some were suggestions from naturopaths, some were from researching online and others were from talking to other people who were going through or had been through cancer.

I think it’s good to consider options and then decide what will work best for anyone as an individual. My approach was to give my body the best chance at fighting cancer through enhanced immunity. I did this by eating an anti-inflammatory / alkaline diet. Reduced inflammation and acidity is thought to enhance immunity and therefore the body’s ability to heal itself and deal with treatments. I attempted to eat food as medicine, so taking in plenty of nutrients, vitamins and good stuff, rather than taking huge amounts of supplements.

I’ve maintained most of the nutritional changes at this stage. It feels right.

Here’s my list of things that I decided upon and I feel assisted me.

• Low refined / added sugar: This was the biggest change for me. I have always been known for my baking of sweet slices and other goodies. I cut down refined /added sugar by eating less processed and packaged foods, changing my breaky cereal to  homemade oats based or green smoothies and and not eating sweet things, lollies or chocolate. I ate more nuts and snacks with no sugar.
• Low sweet stuff: I also minimised sweet foods like dates, honey and some fruits. I’m now eating small amounts of honey again and loving it.
• Vegetarian and fish/seafood: I did not eat any red meat or poultry. I ate vegetarian and fish/seafood. I increased my intake of legumes and really enjoy having more of them.
• Vitamin D: My blood test results from my IVF tests showed that I was low in vitamin D, so I took a supplement for this.
• Multi-vitamin and zinc: I took a supplement for this, as a temporary backup to the food I ate.
• Omega 3: I took a supplement for this, as backup when I did not eat fish or other foods with good omega 3 levels.
• Cruciferous vegetables: As these are viewed as beneficial in fighting cancer (because they contain indole-3 carbinol), I increased my intake of foods including kale, cauliflower, spinach, broccoli and cabbage.
• Apricot kernels: These are for B17. I chewed up to 30 apricot kernels a day then swallowed them and also added a B17 supplement. This is controversial because small amounts of cyanide are produced when we eat them. The theory is that this damages cancer cells, rather than regular cells. I purchased them online as they are not approved for sale for human consumption. I did not take them whilst having NGPDT treatment or going through my IVF cycle as I didn’t want them to interfere with these other treatments.
• Reishi mushrooms: I took these in a capsule form. They are viewed to assist the body’s immunity and help the body get rid of radiation (to which I was exposed through 3 PET CT scans).
• Kefir green smoothies: I started every morning with a smoothie. Peter and Oscar joined me and loved them too. I culture the yoghurty kefir myself from seeds using milk, which has becoming a bit of a therapeutic ritual. It has loads of benefits and I believe it has helped the balance in my body. I alternate, having kale every second day (so I don’t get bloated). My recipe is something like: kefir, kale, cucumber, frozen banana, ginger, mint, turmeric and cinnamon. Since my clear results, I now also add raw honey. Yum!