Helen~ Tom's very impressive list is very similiar to the regimen that my Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)doc has had me follow for the past 2 1/2 years. Most all of those ingredients can be bought at a regular health food store-I've found the Vitamin Shoppe to have the best prices. In addition, my TCM has a very specific schedule re: how & when to take the different supps...for example, no supplements AT ALL the day before, the day of & the day after chemo so that you aren't doing anything to bolster cell health, good or bad, while you're trying to kill them w/chemo. The supplement schedule in the following days is designed to help your body rid itself of all the dead cells & toxins, and then encourage cell rejuvenation-rbc's, platelets, etc.
As for our allopathic docs discouraging supplementation, keep in mind, they fear what they do not know, so ofcourse they can't support or recommend something they have little knowledge- the average doc knows almost nothing about simple nutrition, even for the healthiest person. 2 years ago, I went to Sloan Kettering & met w/the head of breast oncology, Larry Norton, MD. He almost choked when I disclosed the full list of supps I was taking. They told me, STOP EVERYTHING!! Well, ofcourse I didn't...but now 2 yrs later, MSK has devoted a whole department to research & explore complimentary alternative medicine ie:TCM, accupuncture, nutrition/supplementation, massage, etc. Go figure...
I believe that the supplements have really helped my keep my body healthy & strong, so that I can endure the treatment & not have to stop chemo prematurely b/c the toxicity was so great. I've done 73weeks of tx in the past 3 yrs, maintaining a very active lifestyle, teaching pilates, traveling, even doing a 40km/5hr cycle thru the mtns of Guatemala 5 days after tx#67!
Good luck to you. please let me know if you'd be interested in contacting my TCM (michael broffman@ the pinestreet clinic-
www.pinest.org). He's in the Bay area & I'm on the east coast so we corresopond via email & phone when needed.
Keep the faith!
J