trends that weight management is going to be important in treating HER2-positive brea

[schoolteacher]

AlaskaAngle and Hopeful,

Thank you for all the things you do to contribute to this board. I enjoy reading all of your post.

Amelia

[AlaskaAngel]

I appreciate all the comments very much. I am very thankful that others share the interest in giving thoughtful consideration of the underlying reasons for what to do or not do, to improve our own care.

My older sister has her health care through a major reputable institution. I accompanied her to see her surgeon once I was aware of the damage she had as part of her surgery. To me the complete failure to track her weight at every visit and counsel her about weight management was a strong indicator of the failure to recognize and actively deal with a definite issue involved directly with her breast cancer.

It is hard for her personally to be evaluated about her weight, and it is difficult to be someone who discusses it with her. It isn't about looks. She very much wants to live longer, and that is what it is about for me. I want her doctor to have the intelligence and concern to participate actively in that part of her care.

A.A.

[MJo]

I don't have answers. In fact, when I read this thread, I wanted to post "HELP!!" in case anyone does have answers. I'd be afraid of a skinny pill -- side effects.

I go to the gym three-four times a week for an hour, which does not help me control my weight because I eat more. I am very strong, though. Strong and 35 pounds over my top normal weight range.

Sigh....

[AlaskaAngel]

MJo,

To begin with I was a healthy food eater, not a junk food addict. I then got rid of every bit of anything that was not healthy food. No sugar, no flour, no corn products, etc.

Initially I did 30 minutes of jumping rope per day 7 days a week, and counted every calorie in everything (right down to the 20 calories in my daily fish oil pill). It took 6 years to lose 20 of the 25 pounds I gained during treatment. That worked.... but with the lower testosterone levels of postmenopause my ratio of muscle to fat was less muscle than prior to treatment, and in addition, my knee and ankle joints just couldn't take that on a continuing basis.

So I substituted some resistance/weight training but continued some aerobics. That helped, but the problem you are having with the constant hunger from the added exercise was intolerable for the long run. The weight all came back, even with the exercise and completely healthy food diet.

One especially disappointing learning for me was that although walking helps digestion and balance and is genuinely a good health practice and better than no exercise, it along with healthy food eating was completely inadequate in preventing slow weight gain. I think that is due to the lower testosterone level with aging. I was rapid-walking 3 miles 7 days a week using the highway markers, 1 hour a day. Using that hour of lost precious time every day for exercise, staying hungry, and continuing to lose ground by slowly continuing to gain weight was depressing.

The only thing that I have done in addition to healthy food diet and daily hour of combination exercising is the addition of 500 mg per day of metformin. The endocrinologist I saw tested me and I have no diabetes. I have no other chronic diseases. The metformin has helped. I know that the clinical trials they are doing that use the metformin to lessen recurrence are using a much higher dose per day.

AlaskaAngel

[AlaskaAngel]

P.S. I was hoping to add the notation for my metformin use to my profile, but I am not seeing the category for accessing my profile on the top of the screen to be able to do that. Am I blind, or is it missing entirely?

A.A.

[pilgrim37]

This thread is hitting me right where I live. After treatment I went on arimidex and have been on for about 2 years. In that time, my blood pressure and my weight went up despite eating healthily and walking. I went on a beta blocker for the blood pressure only to find I gained scary amounts of weight -- 20 pounds in a couple of months without changing my eating -- and also depression for the first time in my life. So I went off it and am now trying to drop the weight -- it's VERY tough. I think that arimidex may have fueled the blood pressure and the combo of arimidex and the beta blocker put on a lot of weight. I now need to lose 40-50 pounds. I won't go off arimidex but I wish I could figure out the "magic diet" that would help with the weight! I'm living on fruit, salads, quinoa, a little chicken and fish, legumes, and green juice! In the old days, I'd have been dropping weight at least 2 pounds a week, but now -- nada. Oh well, just glad to be alive. The extra weight makes me nervous though with studies like these...

diagnosed Sept 2009 with stage 3 her2+
treated at Dana Farber
3 months taxol/herceptin
bilateral mastectomy w/ node dissection Jan 2010
3 months A/C chemo
5 weeks radiation
herceptin till December 2010
now on arimidex and synthroid