Breast Cancer Stories Part 1
Claire Stokes was initially diagnosed with breast cancer just over two weeks after the birth of her son, Ethan in 2011. Claire shares her inspirational story with courage and dignity, discussing her diagnosis, her treatment and why she chose to radically change her diet in order to give herself the best chance of fighting the disease.
Many women across this country are familiar with breast cancer either through a personal or family experience. However many women may not be familiar with what the real story is of someone who has had to go through a breast cancer diagnosis and the toll that treatment can take on the mind, body, soul and family. There are a lot of topics that we could talk about during breast cancer awareness month however our goal for this month is to really just give a voice to this disease. We want to share the stories of women who have had this diagnosis, gone through treatment and come out on the other side. We will also share some public tribute stories also as not every woman does come out of the other side of this disease and we want these stories to underscore the importance of health, wellness, and prevention.
In part 2 of Claire's story we find out more about what her next steps in treatment were like. We also learn more about her disease progression and how she dealt with the medical system throughout this process.
Our first story is from Claire who first found out about her breast cancer diagnosis when pregnant. These excerpts show Claire telling her diagnosis and treatment story.
If you have not yet scheduled your mammogram for this year and you are over 40 or have a high risk of breast cancer and under 40 please schedule your appointment for evaluation and mammogram order here with one of our doctor partners.
ARE YOU AT RISK?
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
In this third and final installation of this series Claire covers the changes that she has made in her diet in order to help her through her diagnosis. Her experience with nutrition during her treatments point to the importance of whole health treatments now matter what the diagnosis for the maintenance of the body even whilst undergoing treatment.
Women with the following characteristics have been found to have an increased risk of developing breast cancer.
Increasing age (especially older than 55)
Genetic factors (think about your family history)
Personal history of benign breast disease
Previous chest irradiation
Lifestyle factors (diet & amount of exercise along with weight along with other factors)
If you are interested in scheduling an appointment about what you can do to lower your risk factors for breast cancer please schedule here.
Our experience with patients is that a whole health plant based diet is essential to overall health including during and after cancer treatments.
You don't have to wait until you receive a cancer diagnosis to recognize the benefits of a whole food plant based diet. For ideas and recipes centered around this type of diet please stay tuned to our blog and follow us on Instagram for inspiration for how you can transition to incorporating more plant based foods in your daily diet.