Vitamin D, Breast Cancer & Me

Laboratory studies have shown that vitamin D stops cancer cells from dividing and actually makes the cancer cells die out. Previous research has shown that enough vitamin D and exposure to sunlight has been shown to reduce the risk of developing breast cancer. Vitamin D is made in several ways. The body produces its own vitamin D in the skin when it is exposed to sunlight. Vitamin D is also found in certain foods, including eggs and fatty fish.

In mid -March of this year I had my vitamin D level tested and found it was low – 20. Soon after I went to a conference and heard Dr. Michael Holick, one of the world’ s leading vitamin D experts, and began taking 50,000 units of D once per week for 8 weeks and will continue with 50,000 units every other week for the rest of my life once I get my level up to 50.

I live in Phoenix with sunshine most days of the year and eat a healthy diet as well as take a supplement. It seems ridiculous that I could have a low vitamin D level, in fact, a level that is lower than many of my patients with Cystic Fibrosis who are at risk for low vitamin D. The Linus Pauling Institute recommends aiming for a serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level of at least 32 ng/mL and more recently 50 seems to be the number to aim for.

What I did not know is that almost everyone diagnosed with breast cancer has a low serum vitamin D level. And researchers do not yet know is if the low D level is a cause or a symptom of breast cancer.

Dr. Chistakos, a professor of biochemistry, has researched and published extensively on the multiple roles of vitamin D, including inhibition of the growth of malignant cells found in breast cancer. Her current findings on the vitamin D induced protein that inhibits breast cancer growth are published in a 2009 issue of The Journal of Biological Chemistry. Previous research had determined that increased serum levels of vitamin D are associated with an improved diagnosis in patients with breast cancer.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090204172437.htm

I wonder if a serum vitamin D level should be a regular test for women.

Ups and downs for May 26th

My next procedure is Thursday at noon - an MRI guided biopsy of both breasts. I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow and one on Thursday morning. Some of the tests are in but I have to wait to get results until someone calls me. ( I'll know instantly if it is good or bad news... the doctor's always call me themselves with bad news.)

I had a great weekend with Corey, my girls and my family.

My cousin Wendy, who is just six months younger than I, is recovering from her double mastectomy and had her first chemo treatment. Her hair is gone but my cousin Tracy reports that her spirit is bright.

A favorite patient died on Sunday, I went to see her on Saturday and am glad that I did. She was very sweet and so brave throughout her illness that I know she will live on as an inspiration to me and to those knew her.

On the flip side I had an article published with a group of colleagues from the CF community.
You can find it at:
http://respiratory-care-manager.advanceweb.com/Article/Airway-Clearance-Revisited-2.aspx

That inspires me to get back to work as soon as I can.

Our First Team Member - Dr. Jennifer O'Neill

Corey and I chose our first team member. This is a key person because they essentially follow me for the rest of my life although hopefully she will retire first! Dr. O'Neill is a hugger (which I am not) but I liked her anyway.

There were five spots of cancer. The cancer appears to be "in situ" which means that none of the cancer cells have leaked from those spots into the surrounding tissue. That will be confirmed in several ways. Yesterday, I had an MRI which measures the blood flow to the cells. The idea is that rapidly growing cells need more oxygen so there should be more blood flow to any spots of cancer that are active. The second way to confirm that the cancer has not spread is through pathology tests. This is actual samples of the tissue that are looked at under a microscope and abnormal cells are identified.

The first pathology report did not reveal any cancer cells in the surrounding tissue that they took from my breast during the biopsy. This makes the cancer "Stage 1" which means the cancer has not spread anywhere else.

Stage 1 is a good thing but the cancer is "high grade" which means that the cancer cells are rapidly growing. I think they can tell this by the amount of mitochondria in the cancer cells that they tested. I wish now I had paid more attention in biology class.

There is no survival advantage in having a mastectomy versus having the cancer cells and an extra 2 centimeters all around the cancer areas removed so we decided on the second option. We then headed to the Good Sam Breast Center for an MRI and hopefully will hear about that later today.

Corey headed to California this morning and will be back tomorrow night. We will then interview radiologists and oncologists and make plans for the next step in treatment.