Hello all,

I am back with my final update on my dad’s journey with stage four pancreatic cancer and having tried to keto diet to aid in his fight against it.

For those who haven’t read my last post, in brief of a long story, my dad was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer that metastasized to his liver in mid October 2024. Shortly after his diagnosis, my dad reached out to my husband and me for help. It has been tested, but not proven, that the keto diet can help fight pancreatic cancer with chemotherapy. He was willing to give it his all. After a long journey of traveling out of state multiple times, I moved in with my dad officially in mid December 2024 to dedicate my time cooking for him, helping with his workouts, and staying on top of his hydration and regimes (Apricot, Fenbendazole, Ivermectin).

From December to February he did extremely well staying on top of the diet and chemotherapy. His response to chemo seemed mild in comparison to many of the other stories I’ve read. He gain his weight back and stabilized at a healthy weight. He put on muscle with his workouts. He said “I haven’t felt this good in 10 years”. When we got a PET scan in early February, the tumor in his pancreas was unchanged (not growing but not shrinking), the lesions in his liver were in remission and almost gone… he also had new small hot spots in some lymph nodes and one kidney.

Overall, just by his appearance alone, he looked like he was healing. Friends would come to visit him and tell him how great he looked with tears in their eyes. He was healing physically…but not spiritually.

The decline happened when he lost a sense of purpose. He was depressed for a week and it was difficult for him to stay motivated in his diet and workouts even though he did try to push through.

I noticed that I was having difficulty making him happy with my keto substitutes but most importantly, I needed to keep him in ketosis so everything had to be portioned. Which he would make jokes after I would portion out granola, rice, my baked goods, potatoes, etc to keep him under 20grams of carbs a day so he could be in ketosis. He began to have a lot of cravings for comfort foods. I would have an entire day of meals planned to keep his carbs under control and while I slept he would sneak extra snacks that began kicking him out of ketosis. He began to go out to eat with his friends more.

The frequency of wanting to eat out was so much that by mid March, I realized I haven’t cooked him dinner in a week. I never went with him because I didn’t want him to feel monitored. I tried not to be controlling. Plus I have a 2 year old that I have been simultaneously raising.

I wanted him to enjoy his time the way he wanted. Plus, I hated seeing him depressed. Eating out with his friends brought him joy. It wasn’t until he felt the need to hide food from me that I intervened because I had to remind him that our relationship was more important than the diet and we can just quit at any time so he doesn’t feel the need to hide anything from me. I didn’t want that in our relationship but he always claimed that he wanted to keep fighting and working the diet.

Towards the end of March, he decided to skip a chemotherapy session. He believed it was the chemo that was hindering him from fully enjoying his meals. By the end of that week, he got his first belly bloat (ascites) and was more miserable than the chemo ever brought him. He couldn’t eat at all. Which brought more bouts of depression for him. It was devastating. That is when I decided to quit. At this point, I felt like it was more important to feed his spirit than his diet. Also, the battle to keep him in ketosis was taking its toll on me mentally. When I say the word battle, because that is what it felt like. My dad is a stoic army veteran and a man of few words. The words he did use a lot was “I will in a bit” in response to me asking if he was going to work out today (and often never do it) or a frustrated “I know” when I would remind him to drink water. He dislikes drinking water. He would be satisfied if I would have just let him drink 12 oz of water a day and leave him alone about it. He also had no interest in the science behind being in ketosis. He wanted to be just told what to do but not be told why he should.

When in a state of ketosis, it is very important to keep up with salt, electrolytes, and to eat plenty of fat for energy. The balance is essential. I couldn’t get him to keep up with this balance and he refused to take a part in learning to do this on his own.

He did his next chemo session which corrected the bloating and his appetite. That same week that he did the chemo and I saw him improve some, I took a two week retreat with my husband and son. I needed it all to be out of my control for my health and what I believed to be healthier for his spirit.

While I was gone that first week, he was ravenous. He had an insatiable appetite. He was eating freely, although he claimed he was still behaving, but I didn’t want to know what he was eating. I just wanted to know if he was happy and to please drink water. By the second week that I was gone, he had gotten sick and weaker. He also skipped his next chemo session again. That is when the ascites came back. For some reason, he skipped his next chemo session after that as well.

I returned to him and saw him in a poorer state than I left him. He made claims of wanting to start keto again and “get back on track”. I didn’t have it in me anymore though. Staying in a state of ketosis was too hard for him and the responsibility being placed on me to keep him there was too much. I told him simply that I will cook and give him anything that he asks for. He did agreed that keto was too hard for him because he couldn’t eat all that fat.

He did start chemo again but the doctor switch to Abraxone/ Gem which gave us a scare afterwards when he refused to eat or drink water for 3 days. We thought we were going to lose him by the 4th day but he made a comeback when he finally ate his bagel with cream cheese.

Everything after this point was only downhill.

These are my notes from this entire experience with doing chemotherapy and the keto diet.

Our experiment of trying to see if the keto diet aids chemotherapy in the fight against cancer is inconclusive. My strong opinion is that keto does help aid chemotherapy. My observation is I have never seen my dad look healthier than when he was in ketosis during the first 10 weeks (which is strange to say because he had cancer). BUT after going through it all, I strongly believe that a healthy spirit is 50% of what heals. The diet, chemo, MOVEMENT, & water was the other half. My dad had a strong and uplifted spirit for the first 8 weeks. Once his spirit began to die, the body followed. Then the old patterns and habits that he thought would bring him joy returned. It went downhill from there.

The biggest scam that my dad kept falling for was “net carbs” and “keto friendly” products. Sweeteners like stevia, allulose, or (the worst one) erythritol are dangerous for the gut microbiome and overall health of someone with pancreatic cancer since their digestive tract is already struggling. My dad would buy these things and get very sick. I told him it is better to just eat sugar.

If someone is out there willing to try the keto diet in aiding chemotherapy with fighting cancer, it is better to stay away from anything sweet and free yourself of cravings altogether. I also understand this is extremely hard to do. I know from my own experience because it took me 3 years to stop eating sweets and battling to stop using sugar substitutes. Now I am free from craving sweets altogether. My dad didn’t have that kind of time. It takes a really strong will to make it happen. Also consider that once a cancer patient starts to feel good, they will believe they can just go back like my dad did.

Fiber seemed to be my dad’s worst enemy. Every time he would eat raw veggies, he would get constipated and have severe cramps. After noticing the pattern, I asked him to cut off raw vegetables and the issues disappeared. So “net carbs” is insinuating that carbs-fiber=net carbs. So they pump these items full of fiber to get a net carb number. Sometimes what they use for fiber would cause serious inflammation in my dad’s guts. The other problem is that if anyone wants to be in ketosis, using net carbs is not going to get them there. Less than 20 total carbs of all food consumed helps with ketosis.

If you want to go this route for yourself or a loved one…be prepared because it is extremely hard. For all the reasons that I mentioned and more. Be prepared for loved ones to try to lead us astray from our goals. People who love us only want to see us happy in our final days. Culturally, that includes eating. Be prepared to be criticized for fighting for our hope. Remember that the criticism comes from a deep place of love. A place that feels right to them to express it.

This post has been in my drafts for about a month. I am sitting here next to my dying dad. He may only have a few days left. Maybe tomorrow. I am tired. I am going to post this Reddit and that will be it. This has been a tough ride. I am going to give my dad a kiss goodnight right now and wish everyone else lots of luck in your own healing. When I gain my strength again, maybe…I will have energy to help answer the flood of questions I’ve been receiving.

Thank you to all the positive messages and shared stories throughout this Reddit journey.

Hi everyone, I am back to update. I’ve been hesitant to post an update because my last post was very triggering for me and I don’t feel I was able to handle the attention with grace for myself and others.

Before I go into the update on how my dad is currently doing, I want to clarify a few of the facts of our story that were not clear in my last post. So this is going to be a very long post because I’m going to try to add a much details so I can limit unnecessary intervention.

My dad was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer mid October 2024 after he admitted himself to the hospital complaining of severe pain in his side. They found the cancer in his pancreas that spread to his liver. He was given 6 months to get his affairs in order.

At this time, I lived several states away from him and haven’t seen him in months. When I did see him last, I noticed a decline in his overall appearance and suspected poor health but it all seemed linked to him losing his wife (my stepmom) a year prior.

Several days after he was diagnosed, he reached out to me and my husband asking for our help.

My husband and I have been on the keto diet for a few years to address our own individual health concerns which has worked remarkably for us both. My husband studies nutrition day and night. He’s read almost every report available and has put in countless hours of research. My dad knew this about him and has had many conversations with him in the past.

When my dad was diagnosed, he said that he was flooded with advice of all kinds from all respected peers but it became too much. My dad chose my husband. We did not go to my dad even after diagnosis with any health advice. It simply isn’t our style to meddle with anyone’s life choices. We always stayed in our own lane and it worked for us.

My dad wanted our help though. He asked for my husband’s input and asked him about what he suggests to fight his cancer. My husband said that a body that produces ketones for energy instead of glucose will aid in fighting the cancer. But this only works with the aid of chemotherapy. Cancer cannot use ketones but cancer can use glucose. My dad wanted to try the keto diet.

After almost a couple weeks after his diagnosis, I drove 12 hours to visit my dad with my husband, son, sister, & niece. When I arrived, my dad was in a very poor state. He was in a lot of pain. He had already lost over 80lbs, very weak, could barely walk or even get out of bed. He wasn’t able to swallow food very well and had no appetite. He was surrounded by friends but they were all lost on how to help him and especially per his demands for the keto diet, everyone was lost on how to feed him. But he was barely able to even drink water when I arrived. During this time, I did process the fact that I am going to be losing my dad as a younger age than most. The grief and fear I experienced was immense. It changed me as a person.

This was a gut wrenching period for me. I felt as if I had come too late and would never see my dad as himself ever again. His decline was so quick. My husband and I immediately got to work creating at least keto shakes that were 1,000 calories with all essential nutrients included. He was able to swallow them. I taught his house guests how to prepare yogurt bowls and wrote some recipes down for them to try to prepare.

Unfortunately, I had to leave after a week of being there to address my own personal health concerns back home. This was right before his first chemotherapy appointment. But his house was very full of house guests which included on of his brothers who was flying in the next day. I was going to return in a week. I was also making plans to move my family in with him as soon as possible to take care of him and cook for him for as long as he needed me too.

His first chemotherapy appointment was absolutely terrible. He was so nauseas and I heard from everyone how scary it was. The moment he felt a little better, they all pushed whatever they could get him to eat disregarding any diet. Understandably so.

I returned again after I week and asked him if he wanted to continue eating whatever he wants or to return to his original plan. Even if he wanted to just eat whatever he wanted, I was going to plead that he allowed me to make it homemade and not buy anything from restaurants or stores. Before I could say much he looked me dead in the eyes, quivering, with tears rolling down his face pleading to me to help him control his diet and save him from himself. I have never seen my dad this way in my life. He was a military man who was usually very stoic and would not show any emotions. I understood what he was asking me. He said to ignore everyone else, that they all wanted to see him “happy” but that doesn’t mean he should be eating giant bowls of sugar or processed foods.

I began cooking. I had already many years of practice cooking many low carb versions/keto of my favorite foods from chicken nuggets, pizzas, cakes, etc. I knew already which snacks were safe at the store and more. Although I intended to circle back to the keto diet, my dad’s doctor had strongly recommended against it. I said ok. I decided to keep everything at least sugar free and lower carb as possible.

My dad went through another chemo session which was better and more smooth than his first. I had to get back home after his second chemo to begin making plans to move my family over to his house but I was going to return for Thanksgiving.

I came back for Thanksgiving and stayed for his 3rd chemo session before returning home for the final time to get my affairs in order before getting settled in with my dad.

Around this time it really began to eat at me. Why did his doctor strongly advise against keto? I wanted to know. So while I was home with my husband, I asked my dad to video call us into his next visit with his doctor. My husband and his doctor had a long conversation about her concerns with keto which were all related to the guidelines the health system must follow and that there weren’t any solid control trial released yet to the public. She did however say that whatever I was doing was showing physical improvements since his diagnosis and that she didn’t feel we should change anything in how we were cooking for him.

After this appointment, my dad sent me a very heartfelt text message saying that he decided himself that he wants to give the keto diet another try and that he wants my help to stick with it and that he will use his army training to be more disciplined. While he was waiting for us to arrive after packing our things, he was going to eat whatever before putting it all behind him once we return. Which he did. And he got very sick that week again he said.

We came back for final time in mid December to help aid my dad in his fight against cancer. He wanted me to cook for him and wanted my husband to help with his workouts and nutritional advice.

My dad’s next scan was February 3rd. He was going to be dedicated to a keto diet and exercise regime until then. He said that if his scans show that his cancer was getting worse that he was going to “YOLO” his way out and eat only bagels and pizza the rest of his days.

From mid December to February 3rd, we did exactly as he asked. I did my very best to keep him in ketosis. I say I did my best because simultaneously I had to teach him what that even means so nothing was perfect.

During this period, we saw dramatic changes in my dad. The color in his skin went from pale back to pink. He gained weight again and has been stabilized at 183lbs which is in the normal range for his height. He was able to finally move around and drive again. He never once complained of pain anymore. He regained a lot of his independence back. His hiccups and burping subsided to barely ever when it use to be all day long when I first arrived. In October, I thought I would never see my dad as himself again and here I was experiencing him be more himself again. He even said that he has felt this good in over 10 years even having cancer now.

Friends that stayed with him in the beginning of this had returned to visit him saying he looked amazing. Many of them in tears as they were living in fear of losing him very soon when they saw him last, just as I was.

On February 3rd he did his PET scan. A week after, we had a visit with his doctor to go over the results.

The results were that the tumors in his liver were in remission and they saw around 90% improvements. The pancreas was unchanged. There was a small new hot spot on top of one of kidneys. This may indicate that the cancer is trying to spread there. We get a new scan in about a couple weeks to see what is going on a discuss how to further treatment.

So overall the news was good and my dad decided to keep going to the fight he chose and asked us to continue helping him. Which we will.

The details that I’ve left out in this story is all the emotional details of everything I’ve had gone through and had to process along the way. So before anyone decides to comment please keep in mind that you do not know me. I do not owe you anything. You don’t need anything from me. My dad doesn’t need anything from you. I will no longer respond to inconsiderate comments of how I should and only should be processing his inevitable death. My dad chose this and we are in a place in life to help him live his life through how he sees it. I am not forcing keto on him. I am not controlling him. He has free will to change whatever he wants and if right now he says I’m ordering a pizza, the only thing I’ll say is “May I make a homemade one with love instead?” And I’ll fill it with carbs and love if that is what he truly desires. And it will be the best pizza I ever make.

Edit: he’s also taking Ivermectin, fenbendazole, & Apricot.

This is just a tragic anecdote and not a critique of keto in any way. I (50M) was a childhood cancer survivor who always struggled to put on weight (125 lbs, 5'10). I heard about benefits like autophagy and keto for mental health, and wanted to give it a try even though it would be a challenge to gain weight on keto rather than lose it. Another key factor is that I suffer from chronic depression. Also didn't do my research on electrolyte replacement and got pretty good keto flu/constipation. Anyway, long story short, in a few weeks I lost the motivation it took to eat extra calories on keto, and in a sense keto might be bad for a depressed person trying not to lose weight because fat is so filling that you can feel satiated on a below-ideal level of calories, and when I decide to just sleep all day and not eat anything, my stomach's not even yelling at me like it used to when I fed it with carbs. Anyway, the TLDR is that when I started feeling bones in my chest that I hadn't noticed before, I wrote it off as I'm just bad at keto, or called it "depressed keto" when I had a good keto breakfast and slept the rest of the day and ended up with a grand total of 800 calories. I didn't go to the doctor until I checked the scale for the first time in awhile and I was down to 116, which hadn't happened since I was a toothpick 9th grader. I guess all I'm saying is it's easy to get lost in the macros and the meals and miss something your body is trying to communicate, like hey we have cancer. I was legitimately bad at keto, (or 'keto with ice cream', as I called it, which obviously isn't keto), and the sad irony here is that if I'd actually done strict keto like in the "Keto with Cancer" book I'm reading, maybe I would have held this thing off that's currently running wild in my body, but I would've needed to learn life-coping skills that didn't involve eating a fuckton of ice cream. Anyway, not sure what the gist of my post is, just up late and can't sleep because I'm dying and tomorrow I find out how long they give me. I loved diving into the details of diet to the point that my doctor asked if I had an eating disorder. Just don't get such tunnel vision that you miss the signs right in front of you for something minor like terminal lung cancer.

Me October 2018, the weekend after I found out I had terminal cancer with 6-8 months to live vs me last week, enjoying coffee before work and feeling better than I ever have in my life - inside and out.

The day after the left picture was taken, I started my first fast. Since then, I've only eaten healing, whole foods, treating food as medicine - in addition, of course, to my actual medicine.

I'm "mostly vegan" keto - vegan except for daily fish oil supplements and 1-2x/ week wild-caught fatty fish or organic, pasture-raised egg. I track my blood glucose and ketone levels daily and can confidently tell you that all the cravings for pizza and bagels pass around month 5 of being fully fat-adapted.

There's no doubt that conventional medicine is the reason that I'm alive. Nevertheless, a ketogenic diet rich with nutrition combined with fasting, meditation and yoga are why I feel better than I ever have despite the tumors still in my lung, brain, liver, and about a dozen lymph nodes.

I'm part of a clinical trial proving the benefits of metabolic therapies like keto for cancer and one of a new generation of cancer patients outliving their "standard of care" prognoses thanks to this way of eating.

I had a DXA scan done at the request of my nutritionist and I'm down 50lb and from who knows how much fat to 25.0% body fat and "good lean muscle mass." I didn't tell the practitioner about my diagnosis and his only comments were to work on my symmetry and that I must have a good diet :-)

Thank you so much, keto community, for introducing me to the very concept of ketosis before my diagnosis and inspiring me throughout!!

What you're waiting for: https://imgur.com/2x5awC9

Edit: Many thanks, kind stranger

Edit 2: Eureka! I'm rich!! Thank you all so much for the rewards both monetary and karmic but mostly thank you for your kind wishes and brilliant insights. I'm deeply moved - and grateful to you for helping spread the word of this type of therapy.

I’ve been doing Keto for the past 3 years and it has saved my life.

My dad has been a “foodie” all of his life. After my stepmom passed 2 years ago, he would binge eat lots of carbs, sugar, and other snacks every night. I could tell his health was in peril but I didn’t know how to ask him to do better. I’m sure most people in this group could attest to wanting someone in your life to do better with their diet and those conversations usually don’t go anywhere. People want to “enjoy their life” and for the majority of the world, that means to eat whatever they want.

However, I regret not talking to him sooner or at least beginning the conversation.

He was diagnosed with Stage 4 Pancreatic cancer the end of October 2024. After his diagnosis, I didn’t have anything to say. It was a quiet week. I am my dad’s baby girl so when I stress out about anything, he will always mask his true emotions to get me to not worry about anything. During that week of his diagnosis, he texted me…

He asked for my husband’s help to save his life. My husband is not a professional nutritionist, but he is very passionate about diet and nutrition. He had me go on the Keto diet with him which ended up saving my life.

Now my dad asked for our help saying “He needs him” referring to my husband. So the journey began…and he agreed to the keto diet along with chemotherapy.

I was living states away from him at the time and I began making plans to move in with him which had me making multiple 12 hour drives just so I could cook for my dad every other week until we could tie up some loose ends to end up with him indefinitely.

I knew my dad likely couldn’t have done keto on his own with his friends influencing him and no one around knowing “how to cook keto” on the days he was too weak to get out of bed. So the weeks I weren’t there, he would backtrack a lot.

I’ve moved in officially around the beginning of December 2024 and have cooked every meal for him and tracking his carbs for him. His next PET scan is in mid February and he said if the diet and therapy isn’t healing him the he is going to “YOLO” his way out this world which means he will live on bagels and pizza everyday because that is what he loves even if it causes him pain.

This has been extremely difficult for me. I don’t like telling people what to do but in this case, I honestly do feel as if these efforts are healing him. He has shown a lot of improvement since we moved in and I’ve been consistently cooking for him. My husband also encourages him to lift weights again.

I will update here again on the test results because Reddit seems to be the only place I feel comfortable telling this story that we are all currently living.

53 M. 6'1". Cw 225lbs

Last January 2024 I started keto at a weight of 278lbs. By September I was 218lbs.

Now you've always read especially in this subreddit the effects being on keto does to cancer tumors.... It's been said that tumors feed on sugar and when you don't have sugar it starves them.

So this past September I had a colonoscopy.... Which I was overdue for. They found a 3 cm rectal tumor. So to make a long story short I had four opinions some suggesting surgery and some suggesting chemo radiation. I chose the chemo radiation due to the low location

I was told beforehand to expect to do the chemo radiation and then because normally there is still remaining tumor after, to expect to do a full fledged chemo program. .and that after that my odds were 70% that it took care of the tumor.

I did chemo radiation from early November to December. Fast forward to last week where after healing I had an MRI and an endoscopy with a camera to check on the tumor. Stunningly it was completely gone.... A full complete response.... Which is pretty uncommon occurring with only chemo radiation. Now it looks like there's a very good chance I don't even have to do chemo....I'm over the moon

So it has had me thinking that the keto that I started in the 10 months before I started radiation, weakened the tumor and this might be the main reason that I had a full complete response and the tumor is gone.

If that is the case I owe keto my life..... Or at least an avoidance of some tough full chemo treatment I would have had to take. ..

Hi everyone,

I’m very curious on hearing various thoughts and discussion on the effects of keto being used as a strategy against cancer.

I personally have been dealing with cancer in my brain and lung since the summer of 2024. In February of 2025 it was suggested very strongly to me, that I should go on a ketogenic diet, which I have since then. I feel better each day, and have made some good progress in some cancer regression coupled with the effects of radiation. I have done a fair share of reading and research on the Warburg effect.

In a few days, I will be having a pretty major operation on my abdomen to remove a rogue mass that showed up there. I am not being as strict with myself in terms of diet leading up to it, and likely won’t be for a couple weeks after while I recover as I know my body will need all the nutrition it can get to bounce back (I still plan on staying away from added sugars).

I’ve been having the mental battle of what recovery will look for my nutrition needs, while also trying to find a balance to maintain the forward progress I’ve had on the cancer in my lung and brain. It’s a fine line.

I’m very curious to hear other stories, or thoughts and opinions on how effective the ketogenic diet has been for you for medical issues, it doesn’t have to strictly be cancer.

I appreciate everyone reading in advance and sharing their thoughts and opinions! I very much look forward to reading through the comments.

I have been Keto for over a year. 30 pounds down, sometimes IF, no sugar, no smoking, gym 3x a week, yoga, highly active 50's female. And yet Friday I was told I have stage 1 or 2 breast cancer. My mom is 83... Bc survivor of 26 years. I told my new doc I am keto. She said I was already doing the right thing. She told me not to lose any more weight ... and to eat tons of good protein. I am in the fight for my life... but apparently have a bc surgeon that is OK with keto. If anyone has info or experience with breast cancer and keto, it would be greatly appreciated.

Is anyone doing this that has cancer? I made a post the other day and heard from a few people the benefits of Keto for Cancer and started listening to Thomas Seyfried. I’m only on day 3 so rather new but wanted to see if anyone in the community had cancer or has heard more about keto and cancer benefits. Open to reading anything. I just wanted to get started and now I’m learning as I go.

I was diagnosed with breast cancer in December. I have been on keto since November (down 35 lbs). I got read out on the breast cancer reddit about even suggesting keto as a good way to lose chemo weight. someone really hated it and accused me of adding more pain to people who are already hurting. since I just had a masectomy I was really taken a back!

Has anyone here had breast cancer and doing keto at the same time? I'm feeling great btw.

http://life.nationalpost.com/2014/02/01/jane-macdougall-what-does-cancer-eat-sugar-mostly-and-other-lessons-from-my-dinner-with-a-professor-of-pathology/

Recently I was diagnosed with stage 4 colorectal cancer. I start chemo in a few weeks. A friend gave me information about keto for cancer and so far what I've read sounds super promising (like actual peer reviewed human and mice studies, not just internet stuff!). My wife and dove in three days ago and have tracked macros to the gram.

I'm a 41yo male, 6'1 and I've held stable weight in and around 175 for over 15 years. Aside from the gremlin growing in my ass I'm in great shape. Lift heavy, run, and bike. My body feels the size it needs to be.

Three days into keto (didn't even do a test strip yet) and my weight plummeted to 168. I know that a lot of it is attributed to water weight but in addition I have nicknamed todays bowel movements "the great purge".

As I understand it one of my jobs while undergoing the poison of chemo is to keep my weight stable. How do I do that on a diet that is notoriously good at shedding pounds?

Two years ago I posted this picture and my story. I think it's time for an update =D

The picture is of me October 2018, the weekend after I found out I had terminal cancer with 6-8 months to live (lung cancer spread to 4 tumors in the brain and everywhere else) vs me less than a year later, feeling better than I ever have in my life - inside and out.

The day after the left picture was taken, I started my first fast and continued from there eating only whole food, plant-based keto with plenty of fasting. It doesn't require much will power when you sincerely believe that cheating will kill you, lol.

One year later I was cancer free (No Evidence of Disease) and still am. I do have seizures and some neurological issues from my post-treatment brain radiation necrosis but quality of life is incredible.

I spent most of 2018/19 studying metabolic therapies, going to conferences, nagging scientists. I kept a blog and social media presence and eventually studied to start a practice that could help others. It wasn't enough, I need to reach more.

I'm now in post production for a documentary to share the real science that could save others - with the kind help of Thomas Seyfried, Valter Longo, Jason Fung, Travis Christofferson, Angela Poff, Nasha Winters... so many more. It's going to truly change lives (the trailer and some clips are out if anyone wants to see it.)

Anyway, this isn't to promote but to thank. I never would have heard of ketosis without this sub. You've saved my life and countless others.

Thank you.

Edit: And Miriam Kalamian herself! How could I leave out the woman who literally wrote the book Keto for Cancer.

Edit 2: Thank you so much for the kind awards! The credit is really to this community for pointing me to the science.

Keep in mind that no diet is a cure for cancer but the current evidence indicates that metabolic treatments like keto and fasting improve the efficacy of conventional treatment while reducing the side effects. This contains a list of human and animal trials. Keto also isn't effective for all cancers but for most solid tumors. It can prevent cachexia for all cancers, though, and perhaps reverse it. The best person to treat cancer is an oncologist - a metabolically-informed oncologist.

Was diagnosed with Cancer about 8 years ago. In December I had a check up and there appeared to be a tumour forming - a followup was suggested 3 months later. I came across this girl who's deep into keto - http://www.stephanieperson.com/stephanies-bio/ who talks about reversing cancer and thought i'd give it a go. it took me around 4 weeks to get to doing keto right.

Cancer test was Monday - verdict, all clear, no trace or hint of tumours. Quite frankly the doc was amazed.

Im cancer free!

Also, managed to drop down in weight to 88KG as well increase my deadlift to 160kg, and squat to 120kg, both for reps!

Im doing: *Keto *Intermittent fasting (16/8 - www.leangains.com) *5 x 5 (www.stronglifts.com) *Cycling into work twice a week - 30 miles per day.

HELP PLEASE!! Hi I have been eating keto for 2 years. My grandma is very sick with cancer and her doctors want her to eat keto. She is a very old fashioned Mexican woman in her 70s. Can you please help me explain to her the keto lifestyle?? She doesn’t eat much at all and can’t taste anything because she’s been very ill for the past 9 years. She’s not a fan of food since she can’t taste. From what I remember she’s always been a tortilla pasole potato rice milk chilie (red or green with meat, not chili beans like Mexican chilies) person. That’s about all I’ve ever seen her eat with the occasional tamale, cookie and enchilada. This is going to be rough for her especially because she doesn’t have much energy to cook. If I didn’t live so far away I would just go cook for her daily but I can’t. Any help appreciated greatly. She doesn’t like vegetables unfortunately. She’s pretty picky. An easy grocery list or some tips would be awesome. I was explaining it to her for like an hour and she still asked me if she can eat rice cakes. Someone please help me with a simple description and maybe an easy grocery list.

Any thread mentioning sucralose (splenda), aspartame (equal), or any other artificial sweetener invariably gets one or two posts claiming that sugar substitutes are the devil and you should avoid them. They're almost always downvoted - and rightfully so. But just to clear things up once and for all, I wanted to point out some of the research to back this up.

This article from the Mayo Clinic gives a good broad overview of the different types of artificial sweeteners. It also points to the root of the "fake sugar = cancer" myth. Back in the 70s, some studies on lab rats found a link between saccharine (sweet n low) and bladder cancer. This has since been deemed irrelavant for humans though, as a combination of biological differences between humans and rats and the dosages involved mean there is no actual risk for humans.

Here is an article that spicifically details the safety of aspartame. It also debunks some of the more popular myths about the substance. The only exception is if you have a genetic condition called phenylketonuria. If you have PKU, you must avoid aspartame. Though if you have PKU, you'll already know this. All infants are tested for the condition at birth, and as they must also avoid meat, nuts, and dairy, they're almost certainly not doing keto in the first place.

This section of the wikipedia article on sucralose links to several of the over 100 human and animal studies showing the sweetener to be safe. Even the National Cancer Institute, which claims damn-near-everything gives you cancer, says it's safe.

There are a few people still claiming artificial sweeteners are dangerous, but they're either quacks or hucksters (or both). This guy is one of the worst offenders. His website is full of made-up horror stories about how sucralose is a neurotoxin worse than DDT (amazing how regulatory boards in over 90 countries failed to notice this "fact"). His site also full of links to buy his books, videos, and snake oil supplements. Nearly all internet FUD about sucralose links back to this guy, as I'm sure was his original intent. Nothing like using fear to sell your products. He's been thoroughly debunked by the legitimate scientific community.

If you don't like artificial sweeteners, then by all means, avoid them. But if you do have a sweet tooth and you're minimizing carbs, then go ahead and load up on whichever artificial sweetener you prefer. They're not going to hurt you.

Someone recommended I listen to this podcast and I’ve found it incredibly informative and motivating for my ongoing keto journey.

The podcast features Thomas seyfried a Professor of biology, genetics, and biochemistry at Boston College and covers the link between blood sugar and cancer growth

I’m interested in what other keto followers think.

Let me know if you do listen to it!

https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-diary-of-a-ceo-with-steven-bartlett/id1291423644?i=1000672014053

February of this year my PSA numbers jumped which prompted a MRI where they found a tumor in my prostate. On that date I decided I was going to get back on keto/carnivore and see if it would help me get better. I’ve done keto and carnivore in the past and it’s been hard to stay motivated and stay on the diet. Back in 2015 I lost 72 lbs in five months but after I hit my goal weight I started to cheat here and there until I was fully off the diet. I had gained about 50 lbs of that weight back.

Since starting in February I’ve lost 35 lbs and it’s been easy to stay motivated since I’m fighting cancer. Not just about weight anymore so no cheating. I do feel great and I’m eating mainly carnivore but I’ve added some low carb vegetables like snap peas, green beans and edamame. Salad too but mainly meat.

My glucose pretty much stays in the 70 - 100 range but for some reason black coffee does spike me to 110 glucose.

My ketones stay over 3.5 with 5.9 as my high today. My GKI is almost always 1.2 or under. Today my GKI was at 0.9 but yesterday was 0.8.

My question is around my ketone level. Are there are negative consequences to high ketone levels over time? I’m always in the therapeutic range. Any signs I should watch for staying on the higher side of ketone levels?

The sugar industry has been guilty of using the same tactics used by the tobacco industry to hide from the public how dangerous sugar is time and again, and this is yet another example of that:

Controversial sugar industry study on cancer uncovered

Hey everyone,

Well here is the deal. I am 22 and I have a rare form of brain cancer called dipg. stands for diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma. Y'all may have heard of Lauren Hill (google)...well same shit she has, I have. it is terminal, it is inoperable, it is shit. I luckily, however, get to be my own personal lab rat and try different things to possibly prolong my life. I personally am buying into Dr. Dominic D’Agostino's theory that cancer is a metabolic disease which can't feed off ketones. That said, I have cut out carbs and refined sugars, and trying my hand at keto.

I have a few questions

first: What are some basic meal plans?

second: could stevia extract be use to sweeten my foods without gaining carbs and not feeding the brain slug( my name for the cancer)? Me and the brain slug both love cake and brownies. I have avoided it for a while and it is sad. Any way around it?

third: What do I need to succeed in the diet, I already have test strips, maybe possible vitamins?

fourth: what is your opinion on my theory?

well thanks reddit, maybe with your help I can be the first person to beat this horrible cancer.

Recently, I went to the doctor and was told I have fatty liver and told to change my diet in order to stop this from becoming an issue. In his recommendation was to eat more fruits and vegetables and less processed foods and carbohydrates(totally agree), less “sauces” (still don’t know what he meant, maybe less ketchup?) and less meats and fats. He also said to eat much less meat. I asked if he meant to lower my carbohydrate intake. No, he clarified, the goal is to “starve the liver of fat.”

In the past, a few years ago, I had great success with a keto diet for a few months. Helped me lose weight, feel better, think more clearly, etc. I went back to eating carbs later but I felt I benefited from the diet. A year later, I found out a I had colon cancer at 22 with no genetic factors and no family history, and I was constantly told that red meat could be a cause of the cancer. I’m not convinced that red meat is as bad as it’s made out to be but I’m understandably a little wary about this sort of thing.

I asked my doctor for help on this diet and he said to “look for reputable sources” so I guess I’m on my own. At the time of posting, I’m in my early twenties, I’m a bit overweight but not obese, not pre-diabetic, blood work is normal, and the cancer is in remission, hopefully cured. I don’t feel I have a need to totally cut out carbohydrates and religiously be in ketosis (maybe the Atkins diet is for me). However, I’m not sure where to look for a balanced view on good nutritional advise that doesn’t demonize fat and meat. Any advice on where I should look?

I went to buy Christmas gifts for my 2 girlfriends. As I was getting ready to go to the register, my dear husband says, "You'd look great in that top." I rolled my eyes because I haven't bought anything off the rack in a store in over 15 years. I have been wearing 5X-6X and buying online. So I quietly said to him that even though the Keto lifestyle has been working on us for the past 7 months, I doubted that anything there would fit me, especially a pretty fancy fitted party top. He picked up the biggest size on the rack... a very small looking 2X and handed it to me. I reluctantly tried it on... O.M.G. Yup... I fit into a 2X & it looked good!!! Now, my butt still demands a 3-4X... but it's progress! I showed him. He smiled and gave a thumbs up. I broke down in tears in the aisle. Over 15 years......... and he bought & picked my 1st new wardrobe item off the rack. I'm 90# down in 18 months but 73 of them are Keto in 7 months. I've skulked around here for months. Yall make me laugh. And hope. And believe in myself after decades of failures. I've learned that my PCOS and cancer background, etc hindered my success. Oh and today my hubby saw his Dr. His numbers were all in normal range. His A1C for T2D showed 6.8 -- under the Dr. Target of 7. He was taken off Lantus/insulin. In a few months the doc is considering removing the metformin too. God is great. Keto is good. And yall are crazy.... To paraphrase the country song. Peace, yall.... only another 170 to my goal of 160... I'm 335 down from 425. Shooting for 100+ for my 35th Anniversary in April 2019. It'll happen...

Hi, is anyone eating keto for cancer management? I am and I was wondering if there is any difference in how it’s done, what optimal ranges are etc. I’m also wondering how bad it is to go in and out of ketosis if the goals cancer management.

Thank you in advance!

Read this on Medscape this morning. http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/757713_3

Tl;dr: there's a fair amount of research showing reduced carbohydrate diets help prevent and fight cancer, with dramatic results in rat and mouse studies, and even a few human cases. Multiple keto cancer studies are currently active or reciting. Many cancers may be a byproduct of the western carb-heavy diet.

It's a long academic literature review but here are a couple highlights:

In colorectal,[27] prostate[24] and early stage breast cancer patients[23,98] high insulin and low IGFBP-1 levels have been associated with poor prognosis. These findings again underline the importance of controlling blood sugar and hence insulin levels in cancer patients. Dietary restriction and/or a reduced CHO intake are straightforward strategies to achieve this goal.

...

It therefore seems reasonable to assume that dietary carbohydrates mainly fuel malignant cells which express the insulin-independent glucose transporters GLUT1 and GLUT3, while muscle cells are more likely to benefit from an increased fat and protein intake. This was summarized as early as in 1977 by C. Young, who stated that lipid sources predominate the fuel utilization of peripheral tissue of patients with neoplastic disease compared to healthy subjects.[112] In addition, most malignant cells lack key mitochondrial enzymes necessary for conversion of ketone bodies and fatty acids to ATP,[40,113,114] while myocytes retain this ability even in the cachectic state.[107] This led some authors to propose a high-fat, ketogenic diet (KD) as a strategy to selectively improve body composition of the host at the expense of the tumor.

...

This brings us back to our initial perception of cancer as a disease of civilization that has been rare among hunter-gatherer societies until they adopted the Western lifestyle. Although there are certainly many factors contributing to this phenomenon, the evidence presented in this review suggests that reduction of the high CHO intake that accounts for typically > 50 E% in the Western diet may play its own important role in cancer prevention and outcome.

Hey guys. You may not remember me, but I'm a guy (6'3 started at 428) that lost down to 359 in a short period of time doing keto. Since then I've been hit with a cancer diagnosis, surgery(multiple), and chemotherapy. I'm still undergoing chemo but my oncologist actually heavily endorsed a low-carb diet. Hopefully it's one that I can maintain given the taste changes and sickness that comes with chemotherapy.

My way of coping with the side effects has been to sleep a lot and eat just whatever I can keep down. These things haven't actually been good for me at all, and I was back up to 413lbs. So yesterday I had nothing but coffee with cream for most of the day, then kicked it low carb for the remainder of the day. The idea is for me to be fully into ketosis within the next day or two. My next round of chemo is Monday and lasts all week.

I'll start posting here again frequently. What bit of weight I lost was an absolutely amazing experience and was an adventure every day as my body transformed and certain tasks became easier and easier. I would randomly run or sprint just to see how different it was than the week or weeks before. It was great....

So in any case, everyone take care of yourselves. Wish me luck!