Wednesday, May 07, 2003
This is the email that I sent out on April 10, ten days ater my husband's brain cancer diagnosis. I sent it to my local Breastfeeding Action Committee of Edmonton group, and to Parent-L, which is a parenting list that supports attachment parenting and breastfeeding. I've been a member of Parent-L for years and years.
>>>>>>>>>>
To: BACE, Parent-L
Date: April 10, 2003
Subject: Inducing Lactation (long)
OK, this is going to sound pretty far out to some of you, but I have not
been able to stop thinking about it and so have decided to act instead of
just obsessing.
As you know my husband has been diagnosed with a brain tumour - it's a Stage
IV astrocytoma, otherwise known as glioblastoma multiforme. That's an
aggressive tumour with a poor prognosis.
For years now when I heard about somebody close to me who has cancer I would
think "I wonder if breastmilk would help with that?" But I've never said
anything, or done anything. So it wasn't a surprise to me that my mind went
madly off in this direction.
My enthusiasm for the wonderous properties of breastmilk must have rubbed
off on Ron after all these years, because when I said, "you might think I'm
crazy, but did you know that researchers have found that in a test tube,
breastmilk triggers cancer cells to kill themselves, but leaves healthy
cells alone" he didn't shrug or even raise an eyebrow. He said, "how can I
get some."
And when I said I was thinking of relactating, he didn't say, "you can do
that?" he just said, "ok!" He thinks it can't hurt and wouldn't it be
amazing if it helped.
I have no idea if breastmilk will actually have any impact on the cancer
cells in his brain - I'm still trying to find research about how breastmilk
crosses the blood/brain barrier in order to nourish an infant's brain.
But I know there is research that points to a lower rate of childhood
cancers in children who have been breastfed.
And I know there is tonnes of evidence that breastmilk can help with the
many side-effects of standard cancer therapy. It was just a few weeks ago
that I was talking to Arie and she mentioned she has a nephew who had
lymphoma and was given breastmilk as part of his treatment.
So anyway, I'm busy researching lactation induction protocols and retrieving
my breastpump - this along with the gruelling task of learning everything
there is to know about Ron's brain tumour.
I need help - to start, I need your brains to tell me what you think of what
I'm doing - do you know of research that would help validate our choice? Be
devil's advocates too, tell me why this won't work!
I've already gathered as much information as there is out there on the
research done by Svanborg, the professor whose team accidentally discovered
the impact breastmilk has on cancer. This team has identified the protein
that induces the cells to kill themselves (HAMLET) and of course is working
on patenting the cofactors in breastmilk that make the mechanism work.
Here's a Discover magazine article that describes it. I'm sure it was this
information discussed on Lactnet over the years got me thinking this way.
http://www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m1511/6_20/55926784/p1/article.jhtml?term=
I've found the web site of a man who uses breastmilk to keep his prostate
cancer in line and I've been in correspondence with him to get the names and
contact info from various human milk banks who are supporting him.
http://www.cohensw.com/mvpcsg_nov99_text.html
So, what do you all think? Have I lost my mind?! (I mean more than usual...)
-- Jodine
>>>>>>>>>>
To: BACE, Parent-L
Date: April 10, 2003
Subject: Inducing Lactation (long)
OK, this is going to sound pretty far out to some of you, but I have not
been able to stop thinking about it and so have decided to act instead of
just obsessing.
As you know my husband has been diagnosed with a brain tumour - it's a Stage
IV astrocytoma, otherwise known as glioblastoma multiforme. That's an
aggressive tumour with a poor prognosis.
For years now when I heard about somebody close to me who has cancer I would
think "I wonder if breastmilk would help with that?" But I've never said
anything, or done anything. So it wasn't a surprise to me that my mind went
madly off in this direction.
My enthusiasm for the wonderous properties of breastmilk must have rubbed
off on Ron after all these years, because when I said, "you might think I'm
crazy, but did you know that researchers have found that in a test tube,
breastmilk triggers cancer cells to kill themselves, but leaves healthy
cells alone" he didn't shrug or even raise an eyebrow. He said, "how can I
get some."
And when I said I was thinking of relactating, he didn't say, "you can do
that?" he just said, "ok!" He thinks it can't hurt and wouldn't it be
amazing if it helped.
I have no idea if breastmilk will actually have any impact on the cancer
cells in his brain - I'm still trying to find research about how breastmilk
crosses the blood/brain barrier in order to nourish an infant's brain.
But I know there is research that points to a lower rate of childhood
cancers in children who have been breastfed.
And I know there is tonnes of evidence that breastmilk can help with the
many side-effects of standard cancer therapy. It was just a few weeks ago
that I was talking to Arie and she mentioned she has a nephew who had
lymphoma and was given breastmilk as part of his treatment.
So anyway, I'm busy researching lactation induction protocols and retrieving
my breastpump - this along with the gruelling task of learning everything
there is to know about Ron's brain tumour.
I need help - to start, I need your brains to tell me what you think of what
I'm doing - do you know of research that would help validate our choice? Be
devil's advocates too, tell me why this won't work!
I've already gathered as much information as there is out there on the
research done by Svanborg, the professor whose team accidentally discovered
the impact breastmilk has on cancer. This team has identified the protein
that induces the cells to kill themselves (HAMLET) and of course is working
on patenting the cofactors in breastmilk that make the mechanism work.
Here's a Discover magazine article that describes it. I'm sure it was this
information discussed on Lactnet over the years got me thinking this way.
http://www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m1511/6_20/55926784/p1/article.jhtml?term=
I've found the web site of a man who uses breastmilk to keep his prostate
cancer in line and I've been in correspondence with him to get the names and
contact info from various human milk banks who are supporting him.
http://www.cohensw.com/mvpcsg_nov99_text.html
So, what do you all think? Have I lost my mind?! (I mean more than usual...)
-- Jodine
Sunday, May 04, 2003
I have decided to blog my efforts to relactate in order to provide breastmilk as a therapy for my husband, who has a brain tumour - the most aggressive kind, known as glioblastoma multiforme.
He was diagnosed at the beginning of April and had surgery to remove most of the tumour, located in his right temporal lobe. He has recovered from the surgery remarkably well and we are currently exploring further treatment options. Standard treatment for this type of tumour, known as gbm, is surgery to remove as much of the tumour as possible, followed by radiation treatment (typically 30 consecutive treatments up to your lifetime dose, 60 gy) and then sometimes chemotherapy. Some GBM patients live for years, but the majority die within a year of treatment.
We plan for Ron to be in the minority, in the special, select group that lives for years.
He was diagnosed at the beginning of April and had surgery to remove most of the tumour, located in his right temporal lobe. He has recovered from the surgery remarkably well and we are currently exploring further treatment options. Standard treatment for this type of tumour, known as gbm, is surgery to remove as much of the tumour as possible, followed by radiation treatment (typically 30 consecutive treatments up to your lifetime dose, 60 gy) and then sometimes chemotherapy. Some GBM patients live for years, but the majority die within a year of treatment.
We plan for Ron to be in the minority, in the special, select group that lives for years.
