What Happens After Breast Cancer Treatment Ends?

Introduction to Carol Lourieu2019s Integrative Work 0:00

Doctor Carol Lourie stands at the intersection of deep clinical mastery and modern integrative healing, a natural part Chinese medicine practitioner, acupuncturist, and Amir with over four decades of experience. She guides women through every phase of voice cancer, from diagnosis to creating a clear, evidence based strategy for long term wellness, especially when conventional care offers little guidance for what comes next. Her work is both unapologetically integrative and deeply human. Through nourishing the targeted supplementation, emotional and trauma informed recovery and nervous system support helps women move from depletion and uncertainty into self trust, strength, and renewed momentum.

Drawing and decades of clinical experience, Kerala fares a grounded, strategic and personal path, helping women feel strong in their bodies, confident in their choices and fully present in lies filled with energy, joy and fulfillment. Doctor Carol Lurie welcome to the cancer breakthrough. Sami, thank you so much for having me. I'm so honored to be included in this important event. Sank you. Thank you so much, Carol. I am delighted to have you today as we are going to speak about recovering your health and reclaiming yourself after breast cancer.

I think the work that you are doing is absolutely fabulous and so important, because there are more and more breast cancer at the same time. I mean, breast cancer is not killing women as is, right? It's used to do that a few decades ago.

Personal Journey Into Breast Cancer Care 2:06

So there is more and more women who are can't breast cancer survivors and they need help. They need help because the treatment is brutal and there's a need to to recover their physical, metabolic, emotional health. And that can last long after the treatment. So it's really, really important what you are doing, the work you are doing with all those women. But before we start to speak about that, can you tell us quickly what is your own journey? How did you get into this very specific niche and specialized work with women with breast cancer to share this?

I had a very successful clinical practice in Berkeley, California, focusing on at that point it was women's health, but with a specialty infertility. And one day I received a phone call and I thought it was a crank call. But it turns out it was my dear friend who was historically crying on the phone saying they found a lump. And I said to her, don't worry, I'm going to be coming with you to every appointment. You're not alone. So that began in 18 month journey of my getting an up close and personal experience of what it was like to go through every aspect of breast cancer care at UCSF in San Francisco, which is one of the larger teaching and research institutions in the country.

And it was a very. I opening experience, and I'll give you an example. For the first time, we were in the infusion room. She was getting chemotherapy, and we came prepared with healing tea and meditation, music and acupuncture needles. And the nurse looks at her and says, well, you're a little thin. Would you like some? And sure. Now the number one ingredient of insure is sugar. And then as she's getting chemotherapy, the candy cart goes walking by. So that. And then they offered her a popsicle or a cupcake.

So here we are trying to supposedly kill cancer cells, but at the same time feed them sugar. And sugar is the number one gas for the cancer gas tank. So that was a very big eye opener for me as a practitioner. And of course, in between her chemotherapy infusions, I began to treat her with needles and herbs and supplements and nutrition and bone broth and the smoothie. And her oncologist looked at her bloodwork and one time and said, so what are you guys doing? And I thought there was a big problem.

And I explained it to her and she said, well, this is not the blood work of somebody who's had four chemotherapy infusions, and I'm going to refer lots of patients to you. So within a month my practice went from fertility to breast cancer. And that was 15, 16 years ago. So I went to study more about this. I had a basic foundation, but I knew I needed to study more. And I attended Donna Jansz three year integrative oncology program and the need. Unfortunately, outgrew my practice, and I developed this online

From Diagnosis to Conventional Treatment 5:18

life coaching program where I can reach women throughout the US, Canada and actually the world. Yes. It's amazing. I mean, and think women around the world actually should know should know more about you and you are offering such a great service to to all those women. So let's suppose, I mean, we we have a young lady, a young man worked as been diagnosed, she feels first, let's start with that. She's taking a shower. She feels a love. What do you think she would do to. Well, she should do. She should probably call her or her primary care physician and then get a referral for a mammogram.

And from that moment on, if they find something suspicious, she will be shepherded through the medical oncology protocol, which is mammogram diagnostic ultrasound, biopsy, pathology report and then meeting with the oncologist for some results and determination of treatment. Now, the world of medical oncology treats the tumor. They have developed very specific protocols for breast cancer. And they those protocols have been developed through the studies of drugs supported by the pharmaceutical industry.

So they have a very specific protocol. And women with certain types of breast cancer are all treated the same. Now from an integrative standpoint, not not all breast cancer is the same. Everybody's metabolic driving factors are different. Breast cancer is a chronic metabolic disease. And what I mean by that is metabolic diseases are similar to diabetes or Crohn's disease or any autoimmune disease. It's a disruption of your internal pathways. So medical oncology treats the tumor. They don't really look at the metabolic pathway disruption.

But there is a lot of information that your body gives off. If you do a deeper dive into blood work and genomic testing. And there's a lot of information now available, the signature test tells how many circulating tumor cells there are, and you have protocols for that with your products. So there's a lot of information available. But the young woman and more and more young women are unfortunately developing breast cancer. And I have my own approach and philosophy about that. It's due to the toxicity of the body, products and the environment we live in.

It's not just genetics. Genetics play a very small part in the development of breast cancer. There is also a lot of talk about the emotional role of the development of breast cancer, but I believe the emotional role cannot be separated from the metabolic consequences. And they have answered. Would you like to speak about that because you mentioned the cancer as a metabolic disease, but I think it's really seriously linked to the emotional state 100%. And I'm so glad you brought that up, because I recently had a conversation with

Breast Cancer as a Metabolic and Emotional Disease 8:30

a breast doctor, and I was talking about the emotional component of breast cancer. And she said to me, there's actually no studies indicating that there is an emotional contribution towards the development of breast cancer. And I actually said, well, not in my research. I have found some. And but every woman's story, if you ask her what happened 20 years or five years or in the last few years, she will report that there was a period of high stress. And often women will say to me, I had been molested 25 years ago or 30 years ago.

And so what happens in our body in a moment of trauma impacts ourselves. And of course, when you're younger and you're the victim of such a horrible event, you don't have any options and you just go into self-protection. Hopefully most women survive. Some women do not. But many years later, as an adult, when they're under a period of stress, those memories come to surface. And then the stress with the elevated cortisol creating inflammation that can turn on what was not really active. And then the woman will develop breast cancer.

There isn't one cause of breast cancer, but as you just said, I am a firm believer that you cannot really separate the emotional story from the physical aspects. And that's a critical component of the work that I do in my coaching program. Can you give us a little bit more details about what this coaching program entails without regard? Of course, there's two really important components of it. There is the Empowered Library, which has all the has interviews and research and over 100 articles and books and everything.

A woman needs to really feel like she has a reference instead of being on Doctor Google. There is a section on bone health, and that's a very critical component. After a woman has finished treatment and is then placed on either tamoxifen or an aromatase inhibitor, there is an entire section on advanced testing. What do you need to be able to speak to your oncologist or integrative practitioner or primary care physician about what other blood work and testing do you need to understand what is happening in my body after treatment?

How did it really work so that if there's going to be a problem, you understand and you have some pre knowledge before all of a sudden you were told that you have stage three or stage for its metastasized. There is an entire section on supplements and I use that phrase targeted supplements. It's not let's throw the kitchen sink at your body and take anything that anybody on Facebook is saying is good. So the supplement protocol is a live being. It changes as your needs change. If you've had radiation, there's something called a radiation recovery protocol.

And if you've had chemotherapy, we need to actually really look at what's happening in your gut and help your gut recover. And then there's inflammation protocols. So we have to give you food and supplements to reduce that inflammation. So this is the emotional physical reference for you. And you have 24 over seven access to that. And then there's the live group coaching where we meet on Tuesdays.

What the Coaching Program Includes 11:54

The women are there. They get to interact with me live, and they get to interact with each other in a group. You come and you get your questions answered in live time. And we meet almost every week except during the holidays. There are some times when the class isn't happening, but it's really an expert giving you advice on how to get back on your healing path and the support you need. Because one of the most important things for you to realize is being told that it's okay to eat. Everything in moderation is not a good thing.

After you've had cancer. Yeah, it's not enough. It's not enough. And you yourself, you have a mean, you have great knowledge also about food and cooking. I mean, you have been I mean there and you have attended some a lot of I mean, you were a chef, right? I was many years ago and now I use that. Well, I was always like a very natural, organic chef. But now I used to be also a chef and a pastry chef. That's how I worked my way through undergraduate and natural Path school. But now I apply my pastry skills to making gluten free and extremely, extremely low sugar.

And the attitude of these pastry goods is it's your birthday, it's the holidays. You are going to want to eat something. And instead of eating something that's made with regular flour and a ton of white sugar, you can stay in control of what you put in your body and eat something that's made with oat flour and buckwheat and teff. And maybe it has two tablespoons of maple sirup, sugar or honey in it. Maybe. So it's a treat, but everyone else will get to enjoy it. So there are some very specific lifestyle choices that you get to make.

Notice I'm not. I can't tell. As adults you don't want to be told what to do. It's a choice. Everything you do for healing needs to be a choice that you readily embrace, and everything needs to work for you and your lifestyle. Zoe's always a balance between the immune function and the development of cancer. Cancer grows because the immune function is not working properly. Otherwise it would stop the growth of cancer. So you base specific attention to rebuild the immune system of women after cancer diagnosis.

How do you do that? Well, that's a great question. I thank you for answering it. There is there are very specific blood tests that can guide and show what's happening with your immune system. An example is one woman was tested by an integrative physician that she was working with in conjunction to me, and we discovered that she had a lot of mold, previous mold exposure and mycotoxin exposure. Now, it wasn't an active moment, but that mold exposure has depressed her immune system and her CDK CD eight cells.

That ratio was very low. So with integrative treatment, we will be able to see that important number increase. And then that guides how she eats, what supplements she takes, what infusions she's receiving from her integrative physician. So there is testing and then there is looking at lifestyle. What kind of products is the woman using in her house for cleaning, for putting on her body? There's this one advertisement which drives me crazy. This supposed ob gyn doctor is putting body wash on herself, which I looked on and at, and it's filled with chemicals.

Nutrition, Supplements, and Immune Support 15:42

So when you use chemicals on what you put in your body, or dryer sheets or over-the-counter laundry detergent, you are then absorbing those estrogen disrupting chemicals into your body. And that contributes to inflammation. So your body is then having to choose between there's inflammation or there's a cancer cell and I can't keep up. So that is one of the ways, in a very simple terms, that cancer gets a hold in your body. Yeah. And you were mentioning this TV ad carcinogens are everywhere and most industrial products are loaded with carcinogens for kind.

So how is he averaged women able to navigate this this information in one wise I even some doctors I mean you were mentioning a doctor who is developed this this product. There are doctors with a white code saying one thing, and then there are doctors with the same similar white code saying other things. And then there is the internet with a flurry of of whatever. How do you think? I mean, it's pretty difficult now to find the proper information. How do you do you think people should proceed to become pay a face information on even easy information?

I think this is an example of the expression I use that cancer creates chaos. And cancer in a very simple level is cells that have stopped paying attention to the healthy stop and go. They just keep going. And you have this influx, as you just said, of overwhelming emotional and physical overload information with the internet, with a doctor saying different things. I think a woman needs to find one person that is experienced, licensed, has been in clinical practice, knows what she's he or she is talking about, and just follow that person.

I mean, you have to choose wisely because you're right. You, your money and your life are very important. Your life more than your money. But you need to find someone that you resonate with and that you believe is based in research and has done the work. I take the medical component of breast cancer extremely seriously. I attend the San Antonio Breast Cancer Conference virtually, because I think it's important for me to understand what's happening with the drug studies, as well as being well versed on research in the world of integrative methodology and testing and all of that, because we need to be responsible.

It's not like somebody went to the beauty parlor and doesn't like their hair color. I mean, this is a very serious metabolic problem. And so there as far as lifestyle is concerned, which is what you're talking about being exposed to carcinogens. Your home is the only place you have 100% control over what you bring into it. So you can filter your water, you can filter your air, you can use organic products. You can not use nonstick pans or aluminum pans. And you can gradually, like increase the health of what you bring into your home.

And it's a gradual process. This is something that can take a woman 3 to 6 months, a woman and her partner 3 to 6 months to redo your home. So it's not filled with environmental toxins. But in the end, that time has passed and now you have a home that is really a true sanctuary for you. And I like very much a fact that you are addressing

Reducing Environmental Toxins at Home 19:30

those little things that day after day can make a difference, because all that is compounding and creates a universe where the body can heal, rather than increasing the chances of being a carcinogenic environment and induce recurrence of cancer. Because having it once is one thing, I mean it twice, and having cancer coming back is even worse. Prognosis and absolutely terrible experience to to go through, because that's nothing more deflecting than having cancer. Cancer is back when you are exhausted and you feel you have done everything, almost everything you could do.

So that leads us to how do you think women can create a long term wellness plan to reduce the risk of recurrence? There is this aspect of women with breast cancer, and this is where my homeopathic medicine philosophy comes into play. In homeopathic medicine, there is this philosophy of a miasma, and amazing is a phrase that's used for certain diseases, have energetic states and have descriptive states. And there is a homeopathic remedy for women with breast cancer made out of breast cancer tissue, actually.

And what they've discovered. And I'm going to describe this remedy. And when I do this in my live group coaching or in a free webinar, women go, oh yeah, that's me. So women with breast cancer tend to be very bright, very accomplished, very independent. They don't like to ask for help because somebody will not do it as well as they do, and they take care of everyone else at the expense of themselves. So women with breast cancer have this philosophy or this perspective that they don't need to seek help, that they can figure this out on their own.

They can go into Doctor Google and get their supplements together and everything. So I like to explain this this way. Asking somebody to do that who is not a science based person is like asking me to go like fix a car. I would have no idea even if you gave me a manual. It's not my area of expertise. So I think one of the most important things that a woman initially, whether she's initially diagnosed in the middle of treatment or finished treatment and now on tamoxifen or an AI can do is to find someone who really knows this is their area of expertise, and guide you to what supplements do you take now?

What you're going through? Treatment. Your metabolic needs are different than if you finish treatment and you're on hormone blocking therapy. There's different stages of breast cancer and they have very different requirements. So I think that is one of the most important things that no matter what type of cancer you have, but we're talking about breast cancer. Find a practitioner who really knows what they're talking about and let them guide you. You're still the head. You're still the head of the team. You're not.

I know medical oncology tells women they're part of the team. Yes, you're but you're the head of the team. You get to decide everything, all aspects of your treatment. So let's say I've been diagnosed with cancer. I have listening to this podcast, and I am feeling that really I want to work with you. How do I proceed? What will happen next? Well, if you go to my website and it's my name Carol Lori LOURI ecom.

Long-Term Wellness and Recurrence Prevention 23:06

Just one word. I have a contact me page there, and if I respond to everyone who reaches out to me, just fill out my contact me page and I will get back to you. It's very easy. I try to make it as easy as possible, but. But after that I mean, I. Yes, I am involved in a you mentioned webinar so I have it's individual consultation with you. It's group coaching how that works. So what is going to to happen. So if you go to my website and contact me, there's an apply to work with me form. Once I receive that I reach out to the person, the woman, and there is a complimentary zoom call that follows.

And during that appointment, we will decide what your needs are and what is best suited for you. According to where you are emotionally and financially and what you're able to undertake, it can either be in live group coaching or individual coaching. It really depends on what your needs are. I treat every woman individually and try to serve women in that capacity. So the received some books or say some some manual to follow their receive their individualized protocol. They meet with you once a month.

So what is going on. So if they're in the life of coaching program, they have the access to the empowered library. And then the live group coaching happens weekly on Tuesdays from 4 p.m. Pacific to 7 p.m. eastern or 7 p.m. eastern. And you know, it's on zoom. We need on zoom. And we're there and everyone gets their questions answered live. And then if women have questions in between the sessions, they either put it in the private Facebook group or they reach out to me through email and concierge care happens depending on what the women's needs are.

But we always meet on zoom, okay? And generally, as an average, women work with you. For how long? How long do they stay? Well, when you are a member of the live group coaching program, one of the bonuses you have VIP access. So I have women who joined three years ago when they were in the middle of treatment, and they come back once a month just to check in and ask me questions so you can come back. As long as I'm doing my life coaching program. You. It's not like it's only eight weeks and then it ends.

It's ongoing and you can come back for as long as you want. And my experience has been a lot of women come initially every week and then they disappear. But the women who come in at least once a month on one of those Tuesday meetings, those are the women who are able to stay on their protocol and their food, because there is a way in which the standard American diet and the standard American lifestyle can drag you off your healing path. And it's not like your healing path is that different from your other life, but it is slightly different, and it does require a rhythm of eating properly and making your healing smoothie and getting into organization of your supplements so they fit into your life.

And you don't have to open 12 bottles every day.

How to Work With Carol Lourie 26:30

That doesn't work for anybody. And I have systems that I teach everyone because I've been doing this with thousands of women over extended periods of time to make things really easy, but it takes a while to get all of that in place. So that's why I really encourage women to continue to come. And the live group coaching, the live coaching individually. A woman is about to see her oncologist and she wants to check in with me about tests. She should ask, questions she should ask, and we have that conversation.

So I help guide her to receive the best medical care possible. It's a perfect mix balance of individualized support and also group support support group a weekly support group. And I think everybody going through cancer absolutely needs that. I agree that the emotional shift that women receive, and I can see it when they first come in, they're a little deflated and overwhelmed, and then they realize, oh, there's a path and there's guidance and oh, I don't have to do this myself. And there are other women who are just like me within a like a couple sessions.

It's like they're uplifted and it's a beautiful thing to see. And that's why my, the name of my program is empowered against recurrence, empowered to really important word. There isn't enough of that for women, especially in the world of medical oncology. Absolutely. Absolutely. Thank you. Carol, thank you for the wonderful work that you are doing. And thank you for empowering women all around the world, especially when they are going through difficult times. Well, thank you so much for having me, Sylvie.

I'm honored to be here. Thank you.