A while ago I [F36] was diagnosed with a very rare and very aggressive form of thyroid cancer called Hurthle Cell Carcinoma. I’ve had two surgeries since, and am waiting for the holidays to blow over so I can get tests done to see where we’re at.
In the meantime, I’ve been doing all the reading I can, and it turns out that this cancer, in particular, is very sensitive to being glucose starved and autophagy through fasting and ketogenic diets, so of course, I’m interested in learning more!
Now part of my issue is that my thyroid was fully removed, and I’m currently artificially kept on a hyperthyroidism level of thyroid hormones as part of the cancer therapy. This is done because my cancer is super susceptible to Thyroid Stimulating Hormones, and we thus need to keep the levels as low as possible. A downside (I can’t believe I’m saying this after years of struggling to lose weight) of this is that my metabolism is through the roof and I’ve been losing weight extremely fast (85 lbs so far). I’m not even sure how many calories I currently need to maintain my body weight, but it’s a lot. I’ve been eating a ton of chocolate and stuff, and have even resorted to drinking soda (first time in decades) in order to get enough calories in me to stop losing weight.
Of course, this is incompatible with keto and fasting, so I need to find a way to switch from forking carbs in to being keto/fasting mode without losing any more weight in the process.
So does anybody have good sources for books/podcasts/videos/etc for fasting diets without the aim of weight loss? Ideally specifically for managing cancer?
Thanks a lot!
Sorry to hear about your diagnosis. Check out Dr. Valter Longo and his research about fasting and cancer. His website: https://www.valterlongo.com/biography/ and one of his talks on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6PyyatqJSE&ab_channel=FoundMyFitness
Lots of strength your way and hope you will be all cleared soon!
I have read about doctors putting people in chemo on mild fasts as to help reduce some of the side effects of aggressive cancer treatments.
You need to speak to your endocrinologist and whomever is handling your cancer treatment before you start fasting though. They need to know what you’re doing with your body.
So sorry you are going through this. You may want to ask on r/zerocarb and r/ carnivore too. You can actually live, thrive and heal without carbs and the fattier the meat you eat the more calories (pork belly, 80/20 mince/ground beef even salmon with skin on). Check at r/zerocarb though there are a lot of variables with histamines and the like and they are very knowledgeable as that way of eating is researched for healing.
Check out the r/carnivore subreddit. A good way to keep weight on or even gain weight on very low carb is to consume dairy, because consuming it releases hormones in your body that trigger weight gain. Amount and your mileage may vary.