Dr Oz: Dr. Laura Berman Inflammation Causes Disease
Dr. Laura Berman talked with Dr. Oz about her recent diagnosis of breast cancer, including her initial reaction to the diagnosis and the decision she wrestled with regarding whether or not to have a double mastectomy. Read on to see what happened next that stunned her even more than her first diagnosis.
Dr Oz: Breast Cancer Follow-Up Shocker
Dr. Laura Berman told Dr. Oz that after she had a mastectomy and breast reconstruction following her breast cancer, she felt relieved to be able to move on with her life cancer-free. As is typically the case, she had a follow-up exam to be sure everything was okay, but the news she heard was possibly even more shocking than her initial breast cancer diagnosis.
Dr Laura Berman told Dr Oz that she made important lifestyle changes after her fight with breast cancer in order to stay healthy in the future.
Basically, the breast cancer was not finished with her body and she was found to have a genetic, more aggressive form of cancer still in her body. Her doctor told her this was very unusual, especially in someone as young as Dr. Berman, but that did little to comfort her because although she admitted to enjoying it when people call her interesting or unusual, it was not something she wanted to hear in relation to her cancer.
Dr Oz: Herceptin for HER2 Breast Cancer
In addition to chemotherapy, Dr Oz and Dr Laura Berman credited her treatment success to the drug Herceptin. The genetic mutation of breast cancer she had is called HER2, and Herceptin is being proven highly effective against it in recent studies.
Dr Oz: Family Support During Chemotherapy
Dr. Laura Berman explained that as part of her treatment, she had to undergo chemotherapy treatment, so one day her husband expressed that he wanted to shave his head as a show of support. He also felt that it would help to put their 3 children at ease if they saw them both without hair, not just her. The kids’ reaction surprised Dr. Berman and her husband because they too wanted to have their heads shaved. As a matter of fact, they begged for it to happen before Laura herself had even lost her hair. So they did it. The entire family had bald heads as a show of love and support.
Dr. Oz: Dr Laura Berman Chemotherapy Hair Loss
Dr. Laura Berman told Dr. Oz that she actually felt liberated when she lost her hair during chemotherapy to treat her breast cancer. She said that while she considered her hair a big part of her identity, she actually felt more confident at times without it. She remembers how easy it was to get dressed in the morning and how great it felt to rub her scalp with oil. While so many other women were asking her about wigs and scarves she wanted to rock her inner bald chick, so that is exactly what she did.
Dr Oz: Laura Berman Relationship Advice During Cancer
As a relationship expert, Dr. Laura Berman, told Dr. Oz that the most important thing to do when supporting a woman through something like cancer is to be her best ally. You do not need to “fix” the cancer and you do not need to be her rock. Just be there as her companion and follow her lead, helping when and where she asks you to.
Dr Oz: Dr. Berman’s Healthy Lifestyle Changes
After her battle with breast cancer Dr. Laura Berman made some changes to her life in order to stay healthy and strong and hopefully prevent cancer in the future. She shared that the number one thing we know is that stress causes inflammation, which leads to disease, so it is important to control our stress as best we can.
Center Yourself Daily – Meditation, yoga, or just 5 minutes of alone quiet time to get focused and ready for your day.
Take Care of your Liver – Dr. Berman told Dr. Oz that she did a lot of research after she got cancer and found that inflammation is what causes so many health problems and the organ in our body that is the center of all of that is the liver. So she took some steps to focus on keeping her liver as healthy as possible.
Get More B Vitamins – Spinach, Kale, Broccoli, Whole Grains, Beets
Focus on Good Fats – 3-9 Servings of good fats like in Avocados and olive oil.
Avoid Dairy – Dr. Berman learned that dairy is challenging for the liver to process, so she replaces dairy with alternatives like coconut milk, hemp milk, or almond milk to keep her liver healthier.
Eat Cultured & Fermented Foods – Dr. Berman admitted that it is certainly an acquired taste and takes some getting used to, but the health benefits are worth it. Foods like Tempeh, Sauerkraut, Miso Paste, and Soy Yogurt are wonderful examples of cultured and fermented foods to add to your diet.
Dr Oz: Fans Sing Dr. Oz Tweets
Dr. Oz recently learned about two guys from Seattle named Jeremy and Kevin who scour Twitter for tweets and then create a fun song based on the tweet. They have even created songs for some of the tweets that Dr. Oz’s fans have sent to him and if you would like to see more about them you can visit their website at wesingyourtweets.posterous.com.
Hello Dr Oz,
I was recently told you have a reciepe to share that help you prevent hair loss during chemo