I just received the results from Susan's lab work. Her Vit D was only 41ng/ml. She has been taking around 5,000/day total when you add up the Vit D from her calcium+multivitamin+Vit D supplements. We are going to increase it some more (probably to around 8,000/day combined) and she is on her way to the pool. Hope we can get her levels up some more.
I just had my levels checked again and they are up to 65. I had been taking around 5,000mg for awhile and then I upped it to around 9,000 for a couple of months. I do think being outside some helps too. I was told to take 2,000/day to maintain. Does that sound right?
Laura
DX 10/09 @44, Stage I IDC tnbc, DCIS other side, Neoadjuvant TCx4, Bilateral Mastectomy w/Recon 1/10, 1.2cm 0/7 Nodes, 5/11 Mets to Lungs/Lymph Nodes, Avastin/Taxol, 10/11 Bone Mets, Xgeva
Vitamin D insufficiency associated with
football injuries
The
American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine's Annual Meeting held
in San Diego was the site of a presentation on July 10, 2011 of the finding of Michael Shindle, MD of
Summit Medical Group and his colleagues of a higher incidence of
vitamin D insufficiency among National Football League players with
muscle injuries.
The current study
included 89 NFL players aged 21 to 32 years. Fifty-eight subjects were
African American and 31 were Caucasian. Sixteen of the players suffered
from a muscle injury. Vitamin D levels were tested in the spring of
2010 during routine pre-season evaluations.
Vitamin D deficiency,
defined as a level of less than 20 nanograms per milliliter, was
identified in 27 participants and insufficient levels of 20 to 31.9
nanograms per milliliter were observed in 45 subjects. Caucasian
players had an average level of 30.3 nanograms per milliliter, while
African Americans averaged 20.4 nanograms per milliliter. Among those
with muscle injury, vitamin D levels averaged 19.9 nanograms per
milliliter, which is considered deficient. "Eighty percent of the
football team we studied had vitamin D insufficiency," commented Dr
Shindle. "African American players and players who suffered muscle
injuries had significantly lower levels."
"Screening and treatment
of vitamin D insufficiency in professional athletes may be a simple way
to help prevent injuries," added coauthor Scott A. Rodeo, MD, who is
Co-Chief of the Sports Medicine and Shoulder Service at the Hospital for
Special Surgery.
Joseph Lane, MD of the
Hospital for Special Surgery, who also contributed to the study,
concluded that "Further research also needs to be conducted in order to
determine if increasing vitamin D leads to improved maximum muscle
function."
Wow.. now THAT"s interesting. Esp. from a 'non-disease' point of view. I think our ancestors got a lot more Vit D than we do now, and I think that maybe even our genetic make up has changed so that our skin absorption of Vit. D is not as efficient as it was a millenium ago. Environmental/dietary factors also... I feel a lot of the 'crap' we injest (junk food full of preservatives, etc) blocks the vital absorption of a lot of vitamins/minerals. If you look at the overal health statistics (blood work/chemesties) of Vegans, their vitamins and minerals are always over the top. They are doing something right. I just could never figure out how to be one and be happy at it :( LOL
Stage III ICD/TNBC 9/07; lumpectomy A/C/Taxotere+rads; Stage IV bone mets 12/10. Xeloda and Gemzar, no good. On Navelbine + rads
This study was on ER+ BC patients taking aromatase inhibitors and how they benefited from Vitamin D supplementation. However, I believe it proves the benefits of Vitamin D and helping women fight the chemo side effects of muscle and joint pain. I just wish the study didn't use Vitamin D2 high dose and would have used Vitamin D3. More proof of the benefits of Vitamin D supplementation for breast cancer patients.
DX IDC TNBC 6/09 age 49, Stage 1,Grade 3, 1.5cm,0/5Nodes,KI-67 48%,BRCA-,6/09bi-mx, recon, T/C X4(9/09) 11/10 Recur IM node, Gem,Carb,Iniparib 12/10,MRI NED 2/11,IMRT Radsx40,CT NED11/13,MRI NED3/15
Ive just seen my Professor and he says at least 4000 iu day of D3 only and must be retested every two months to keep levels over 75. I supplemented all through chemo and still do and have not yet achieved level of 75 in blood but am getting there as was only taking 2000 iu day initially.
Low vitamin D impairs strength recovery after knee surgery August 1, 2011
This weekend, scientists from an American medical institution published a
study that has practical implications for patients undergoing ACL
(Anterior Cruciate Ligament) surgery.
The study, by a group in Utah, may have answered in part the long sought
question of why some patients do well after knee surgery (quickly
regain strength in their quadriceps) and some do not. Dr. Tyler Barker,
of the Orthopedic Specialty Hospital in Murray, Utah, and his colleagues
at the University of Utah (where I did a surgical internship back in
1976) discovered that vitamin D levels are associated with muscle
strength recovery after knee surgery (anterior cruciate repair). Those
with levels above 30 ng/ml recovered much better than those with levels
below 30 ng/ml.
I found it somewhat disappointing that the authors refused to say that
vitamin D deficiency should be treated before knee surgery. All they
would say was that Americans should fund more studies before any action
is taken. Of course this is neither practical or ethical, as physicians
are (and always have been) obligated to act on what is known now -- not
on what may or may not be discovered in the future. Randomized trials of
vitamin D supplemention need to be undertaken to discover what the
optimum vitamin D level for knee surgery is. But such trials will take
years, while orthopedists need to act, or not, now.
-John J. Cannell, M.D.
DX IDC TNBC 6/09 age 49, Stage 1,Grade 3, 1.5cm,0/5Nodes,KI-67 48%,BRCA-,6/09bi-mx, recon, T/C X4(9/09) 11/10 Recur IM node, Gem,Carb,Iniparib 12/10,MRI NED 2/11,IMRT Radsx40,CT NED11/13,MRI NED3/15
Another article from the Vitamin D Council newsletter. While the study is on colon cancer, I can't help but think there might be a parallel with breast cancer. Most of us with TNBC have extremely low levels of Vitamin D at diagnosis.
New Study on the Role of Vitamin D in Colon Cancer 8/17/11
Vitamin D, in the form of the vitamin D receptor, slows the action of a
key carcinogenic protein, beta-catenin. The problem arises when the
tumor start to grow and, like in many cancers, reduces the presence of
VDR, and finally there is simply not enough VDR to counteract the
beta-catenin. And then the tumor takes over.
However, what I really like is Professor Palmer’s statement about what
vitamin D can be expected to do. He says, “In light of these findings,
chronic vitamin D deficiency represents a risk factor in the development
of more aggressive colon tumors.” I also like United Press
International’s summary of the study: “Patients in the initial stages of
colon cancer, when the vitamin D receptor still has a substantial
presence in the cells, could benefit from vitamin D3, but this would not
be useful in the advanced stages when the presence of the vitamin D
receptor is very much reduced.”
Vitamin D receptor slows colon tumors
That is pretty much what we see in studies of patients with colon
cancer. High vitamin D levels appear to slow the growth of colon cancer
only in some people, and we now can suspect those people are mainly
patients with early stages of colon cancer and healthy numbers of VDRs.
It is a common and sad story. One of the first things most cancers do,
early in their growth, is ramp-down the machinery that increases vitamin
D production in the cell and ramp-up production of the machinery that
gets rid of vitamin D in the cell.
What we hope (and some think it’s more than just hope) is that
maintaining physiological vitamin D levels for years and years before
you get cancer will ward off the disease. Although some studies support
that, not all do, and only time will tell if our hope is grounded in
reality.
Boy Donna you are the Vitamin D guru here. :) I thank you for all the information you have brought to this forum on Vitamin D...it has been very helpful.
Thanks for the link, good info. I knew nothing of Vitamin D3 until I joined this forum and Nancy, Connie, Mainy and others started talking to me about it. I didn't get tested until I was thru with chemo and found out I was deficient. What a shock! I think this should be an automatic blood test given during yearly checkups with the ob/gyn, just like a mammogram and pap smear. If a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer, this should be an automatic test too. OK, need to get off my soapbox. There are so many physicians that still don't understand about Vitamin D. Luckily my rad onc notices the connection over a decade ago and has participated in studies on treatment and levels of corresponding Vitamin D.
Donna
DX IDC TNBC 6/09 age 49, Stage 1,Grade 3, 1.5cm,0/5Nodes,KI-67 48%,BRCA-,6/09bi-mx, recon, T/C X4(9/09) 11/10 Recur IM node, Gem,Carb,Iniparib 12/10,MRI NED 2/11,IMRT Radsx40,CT NED11/13,MRI NED3/15
At my annual physical this past month, I was surprised to learn that Vitamin D testing had been part of my yearly blood work. I never knew until I asked about having it tested. One year before diagnosis I was 44, last year midway during chemo I was 32, and fortunately this year I am up to 69. I also learned about the importance of Vitamin D from this forum. As a result, I have been taking a multivitamin with 1000 IU and an additional D3 supplement for 2000 IU more. I also get lots of sun.
Prosserman
Centre for Health Research, Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute, Mount
Sinai Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada. knight@lunenfeld.ca
Abstract
OBJECTIVE:
Vitamin
D may reduce breast cancer risk through an effect on steroid hormones
in cycling women.We conducted a study to determine whether there is an
association between circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) and
estradiol and progesterone in young women.
METHODS:
Volunteer
women aged 18-22 and not using hormonal contraceptives were recruited
during summer and winter. They provided demographic and lifestyle
information and a blood sample. Women recruited in winter gave a second
sample after taking vitamin D supplement for 4 weeks. There were 101
women sampled during the luteal phase (1-14 days prior to the start of
the next menstrual period). Generalized estimating equation linear
regression models were used to examine the relationship between 25(OH)D
and estradiol and progesterone.
RESULTS:
Per increase of
10 nmol/l of 25(OH)D, progesterone multiplicatively decreased by a
factor of 10% (95% CI 5-14%, p < 0.001) and estradiol decreased by a
factor of 3% (95% CI 0-6%, p = 0.04) after adjustment for age, body mass
index, ethnicity, season, alcohol use, smoking, and physical activity.
CONCLUSIONS:
Higher
levels of vitamin D may reduce progesterone and estradiol, providing a
potential mechanism for reduction in breast cancer risk from increased
vitamin D exposure in young women.
PMID:
19916051
[PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
DX IDC TNBC 6/09 age 49, Stage 1,Grade 3, 1.5cm,0/5Nodes,KI-67 48%,BRCA-,6/09bi-mx, recon, T/C X4(9/09) 11/10 Recur IM node, Gem,Carb,Iniparib 12/10,MRI NED 2/11,IMRT Radsx40,CT NED11/13,MRI NED3/15
One thing I forgot to mention that I read on another site...sorry do not remember the site...they said to take vitamins before you go to sleep at night. Their thoughts were if you were to take them during the day, specifically in the morning, they would leave your body when you use the bathroom. Not sure if this is accurate...have not looked into it but I thought I would pass it along
Craig, I'm of a mind that whatever I do will be wrong somehow someway! I have noticed that some pills specifically say to take in am or pm and those are the ones that I try and do 'correctly' but I have to laugh...who says a lady doesn't pee at night???
SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA, September 6, 2011 – The Vitamin D
Council, a nonprofit educational corporation based in California,
launches their “Vitamin D and Cancer” campaign today, presenting 20
detailed summaries of the evidence on the role of vitamin D in
preventing cancer. Epidemiologist Dr. William Grant prepared the
evidence-based summaries. He is the founder of the nonprofit
organization, Sunlight, Nutrition and Health Research Center (SUNARC)
and serves as the Science Director for the Vitamin D Council.
Some researchers believe the link between vitamin D sufficiency and a
decreased risk in cancer is promising. A randomized controlled trial
found a 77% reduction in all-cancer incidence when the study group
supplemented with 1100 IU/day of vitamin D plus 1450 mg/day calcium.
Says Dr. Grant, “Based on various studies of UVB, vitamin D and cancer
to date, it appears that global cancer burden can be reduced by 15-25%
if everyone had vitamin D blood levels above 40 ng/ml.”
The summaries can be found under the “Health conditions” tab on the
Vitamin D Council website, or more specifically at http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/health-conditions/cancer/.
The Vitamin D Council hopes the campaign will spread more awareness
about the importance of vitamin D sufficiency and the dangers of vitamin
D deficiency.
Top ten facts about vitamin D and cancer (presented in
the summaries):
Many studies have found solar ultraviolet-B (UVB) and vitamin D
associated with reduced risk of breast, colon, and rectal cancer.
A randomized controlled trial with 1100 IU/day vitamin D3 plus 1450
mg/day calcium found a 77% reduction in all-cancer incidence.
Geographical studies have found reduced risk in mortality rates for 20
types of cancer in regions of higher solar UVB doses.
Observational studies have found that the risk of breast, colon, and
rectal cancer fall as vitamin D blood levels rise at least up to 40
ng/mL (100 nmol/L).
Mechanisms have been proposed to explain how vitamin D acts to reduce
the risk of cancer from starting, growing, and spreading.
Those who develop nonmelanoma skin cancer may have produced enough
vitamin D to reduce their risk of internal cancers.
Those with higher vitamin D blood levels at time of cancer diagnosis
had nearly twice the survival rate of those with the lowest levels.
African-Americans have an increased risk of cancer in part due to
lower vitamin D blood levels because of darker skin.
Higher UVB exposure early in life has been found associated with
reduced risk of breast and prostate cancer.
Those diagnosed with breast, colon and prostate cancer in summer in
Norway had higher survival rates than those diagnosed in winter.
DX IDC TNBC 6/09 age 49, Stage 1,Grade 3, 1.5cm,0/5Nodes,KI-67 48%,BRCA-,6/09bi-mx, recon, T/C X4(9/09) 11/10 Recur IM node, Gem,Carb,Iniparib 12/10,MRI NED 2/11,IMRT Radsx40,CT NED11/13,MRI NED3/15
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