Running Through Cancer -- A Ketogenic Diet


I am five days past my diagnosis of invasive ductal carcinoma and have spend countless hours digesting information on the disease.  I do not have a medical game plan yet, as I have to meet with surgeons this week to discuss the options for treatment.

In the meantime, one of the key factors that has clicked with me is the understanding that cancer cells operate on a glucose based energy system.  These little nasties can apparently not use fats to grow, instead relying on glucose.  They are also anaerobic, meaning they don't need or like oxygen in their little bubble.

There is a diet recommended by several sites that is designed to switch the body's fuel cells to fat burning.  Chief among them is the ketogenic diet.  This is the hard core phase of the Atkins Diet.  The idea is to burn off all our glucose and begin getting the body to use its fat stores.  The measure for success is the presence of ketones in the urine.  With cancer, there is also a need to be as organic as possible, with low meat and low calorie intake.  So I'm tackling a vegetarian, low calorie ketogenic diet.  This is a big challenge.  I'm taking it to another level because I also intend to still run the half marathon I have registered for in April.

My strategy is to starve out the little cancer bean currently nestled happily in my right boob.  It can't use fat to energize, but my healthy cells can.  Even better, to oxygenate my blood so my entire system becomes uninhabitable to the nasty bugger.

From a high level, the highlights of the diet include eating tons of vegetables, no fruit, no sugar, no dairy, no grains.  Meat is central to the Atkins diet, but it is an acid producing food in our bodies and acidity is a problem if you have cancer.  Cancer loves an acidic, sugary body.  So my meat consumption is going to be really low.  I think I've eaten more vegetables in the last five days than I have in the last two months combined!

Another point to consider, if I am going to consider cancer drugs or radiation especially, is that my body needs to be really clean to be able to process the chemical shit storm coming my way.  I'm still hoping to negotiate my way out of radiation and hoping a simple surgical removal of the cancer bean will do it; but I'm going to be proactive and set the stage for drug therapy with a clean body starting now and continuing until I find out the little bastard has been killed.

One point that I am making non-negotiable with myself:  I need to keep on my training schedule for my next half marathon in April.  This will ensure plenty of oxygen is streaming through my body throughout this entire medical process.  It also brings me enormous satisfaction, quality of life, gets me out in the sunshine for vitamin D (another component in the fight), and brings me in contact with an amazing support group.  I run with several different groups of the Moms Run This Town club, and their support and encouragement has gotten me through some tough runs already.  My next half marathon is on trails with some moderate elevation, so I absolutely have to get the training done.  Run, walk or crawl, I will cross that finish line.

I've already spent five days on the highly restrictive ketogenic diet.  I'm fully "in ketosis" with urine strips showing plenty of ketones present.  I've lost four pounds in five days.  Now that the shock of diagnosis is over, it's time to get back on schedule.  

My challenge:  continue my half marathon training while burning fats for fuel, eating no more than 1200 calories a day, with near zero carbohydrates and absolutely no sugar.

Bib #1070 taken at a local 10k



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