[rhondalea]

Andi, I wish your oncologist were my oncologist. I had to figure it all out on my own. I subscribe to two professional databases (Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database and Natural Standard), but I don't really have the necessary background to understand the science, so it's a lot of work.

Idelle, I am happy to tell you anything you want to know. ("More than you want to know" is more likely--the one symptom that hasn't abated is the babbling. Mostly I'm quiet, but as soon as I get started, I.just.can't.shut.up.) Although I haven't finished your book (I'm really behind, but I now believe that I can get caught up), just the bits I was able to read when I was truly addled were a huge help to me.

I started out using only a couple of trusted brands; specifically, Jarrow, Doctor's Best and Source Naturals. (For herbs, my brand of choice is Nature's Way.) I've also tried some of the ridiculously expensive specialty brands just to see if they lived up to the hype implied in their cost. All that was a while ago. More recently, I decided to give Swanson Vitamins and Vitacost a whirl. (My husband doesn't complain--I don't shop for much else--but I was spending an exorbitant sum on supplements.)

If results are the standard, the quality of both Swanson and Vitacost are comparable to the name brand supplement manufacturers. Currently, most of the "brain supplements" I use come from Vitacost.

My oncologist has never recommended a supplement to me. Not her thing, but it's possible that may change--her nurse called me a few weeks ago to ask what supplement I took during chemo to prevent neuropathy (because I never had a single tingle). Perhaps it's the beginning of a trend.