DISCLAIMER: The success stories on this website reflect individual client experiences and do not guarantee similar outcomes for everyone. Heather Cooan and the Soil to Soul Nutrition Team are not licensed medical professionals, and our services are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, manage, or prevent any medical condition. These services provide general wellness guidance for optimizing the overall internal environment of the body and its systems and are not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult a qualified healthcare provider for any medical concerns before significantly changing your diet or lifestyle.
Melissa came to see me after she was alerted to the progression of metastatic breast cancer after years of a stable case and required nutritional support while undergoing ongoing treatment.
Melissa's Main Complaint
Melissa had been dealing with metastatic breast cancer for several years and had recently been alerted to a small progression on a scan. She needed nutritional support while she was going through treatments, had lost an excessive amount of weight, and her oncologist was concerned about cachexia.
Cachexia (pronounced kuh-KEK-see-uh) is a "wasting" disorder that causes extreme weight loss and muscle wasting and can include loss of body fat. This syndrome affects people who are in the late stages of serious diseases like cancer, HIV or AIDS, COPD, kidney disease, and congestive heart failure (CHF). Cachexia is very dangerous and kills almost half of cancer patients.
Once a cancer patient has entered a cachexic state, it's difficult to recover from. So difficult that conventional doctors don't believe it can be recovered hence, the very common advice is to eat anything you want and not to lose weight.
Melissa's case was even more dire as she was also suffering malnutrition from years of low-fat and plant-based eating as well as many rounds of chemotherapy over the years.
Our Approach
We focused on deep and frequent nutrition for Melissa. To overcome malnourishment and cachexia, she needed a consistent increase in fat and protein.
Melissa's genetic profile indicated a need for more omega-3 fats, and she was vulnerable to poor handling of saturated fat. So we focused on lots of good monounsaturated fat sources, including olive oil, olives, fatty fish (salmon, mackerel, sardines), avocados, macadamia nuts, macadamia nut oil, and avocado oil.
We also focused heavily on low-glycemic, high-antioxidant foods, including dark berries, dark greens, cruciferous veggies like broccoli sprouts and purple cabbage, alliums like garlic, onions, and leeks, and lots of eggs.
Melissa's Outcome
Melissa's treatment was successful. She was able to stabilize her case and halt further disease progression. Melissa also experienced a reduced burden of side effects compared to similar treatments she had undergone previously.
Melissa's labs improved, and she successfully reversed cachexia and began to gain muscle mass and strength. She could be active and enjoy vacations and outings with her family again.
Become a Success Story!
Melissa stabilized metastatic breast cancer and beat cachexia by utilizing a therapeutic ketogenic diet and optimizing her terrain. If you'd like to work with me, I'd love to chat and learn more about your health goals.
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