What are some ways you are reducing estrogen levels to reduce cancer risk? Br--st cancer related

[crazyforlatin]

The doctor says that my lumps were low-grade duct carcinoma in situ. She does not recommend radiation because each br--st only gets one radiation treatment, so if something else develops in the same br--st, we are out of the radiation option. She says I could take medication to reduce estrogen but that has side effects. That option will be discussed in a few weeks with my next appointment. 

 

So are there other ways to reduce estrogen levels? Maybe it's time to skip soy milk and tofu - though I thought the general opinion was that soy products are fine. 

[Penguin]

As a 10 yr survivor of an estrogen positive BC, I eat phytoestrogens in moderation. You can find research to back up both sides of the argument. I am not being much help, am I? Sorry :(

Edited July 13, 2016 by Penguin

[Happy]

I'm a 4.5 year survivor-- I take Tamoxifen every day. I limit alcohol and soy products. I ought to limit sugar but I'm weak there. Low glycemic diets tend to help keep recurrences at bay.

 

Have you thought of getting a second opinion?

[crazyforlatin]

Low sugar too? The sugar is helping my mental state. If I didn't eat those gummies sharks from TJ today, I don't think I could handle that call.

 

I don't have the report yet. But I should get another opinion.

 

At what point should someone decide to take tamoxifen? The doc didn't say either way and won't be able to meet until August.

[Um_2_4]

Based on family experience, no soy products and limit sugar (the later is for almost any cancer). Low glycemic is what I've read on latest research for starving the cancer cells (I keep up my reading based on family history unfortunately). 

I have an excess of estrogen due to hormonal imbalances and can not eat soy at all (I notice effects quickly). I have also limited soy in my kids food just based on my family history.

[Liz CA]

Don't eat any soy products and if you do try to make it fermented soy. Commercially grown soy is said to be full of GMO.

Also eat more organic and biodynamically grown food. Avoid processed foods all together.

Get a prescription for progesterone since it counteracts the estrogen and keep you in balance.

 

See a naturopath. They will explain the estrogen/progesterone interaction.

Edited July 13, 2016 by Liz CA

[Laurie4b]

Estrogen + BC survivor. 

 

Exercise, girlfriend. It's the best thing you can do.  You have got to do it, at least 5 days per week. No more falling off the bandwagon. It just has to be done. It just has to. It is great for regulating hormones and it increases survival rate. 

 

If you are overweight, lose weight. Fat tissue, especially visceral fat, produces estrogen even after menopause. Don't go on crazy diets. Make today the first day that you are committed to heading toward a healthier lifestyle and healthier relationship with food. Just eat healthy foods and cut down on sugar as much as you can. (at least start by looking at how much sugar is in processed food such as dressings, cereal, pasta sauce, etc. and choose lower sugar) . Keep red meat to a minimum (1x week). It's probably a good idea to make sure dairy and meat don't have growth hormones, antibiotics, etc. added to them. If you do best by taking baby steps, choose some steps to take today. If you are "all in," it's time to be "all in" with healthy eating. If sugar is your crutch now, unless you're a cold turkey girl, I would recommend adding in the exercise first and increasing fruits, veges, and healthy fats in your diet. When you do that, you may find your sugar cravings go down anyway. Dark chocolate is good for you, so that one is okay. 

 

Soy products are "iffy" so I would only eat them in low moderation. They are protective if you've had them your whole life, but may not be so good if introduced later in life. (That's my understanding of where the research is murkier.) 

 

If you haven't already, switch to glass rather than plastic in the kitchen. The chemicals from plastics affect hormones. 

 

Strict limits on alcohol intake. Your doctor may say zero. I have a health issue where some alcohol is likely to be helpful, so mine has okayed a little bit. I have to kind of weigh each of the risks. 

 

This site generally has good information. http://foodforbreastcancer.com/  

 

 

 

Edited July 14, 2016 by Laurie4b

[MorningGlory]

Continuing to think of you and pray for you. Wish I could give you a real hug instead of a virtual one.  :grouphug:

[Katy]

Eat cruciferous vegetables daily. 

[3 ladybugs]

I am a lymphoma survivor and my DH is a scientist. Till he says I need to limit sugar, I am not going to. Yes cancer cells need sugar, but so do all the other cells in your body that are working. So I wouldn't worry that much about the reducing sugar thing. That isn't to say that I would eat cookies and cake for every meal, but short of that, I think you would be good. Most people that are living an otherwise healthy lifestyle are probably good.

 

As far as estrogen, when I was cycling (trying to get pregnant with help from a doctor) I was told to eliminate all soy from my diet because it mimics estrogen. He wouldn't be able to tell where my levels were so he would be flying blind when treating me. SO if I were a breast cancer survivor, and I knew my cancer was even somewhat dependent on my estrogen levels then I personally wouldn't consume soy. 

 

There is a TON that we don't know about cancer. Honestly most of the funding goes to breast cancer (it is a popular one to fund right now) and we still don't know a ton about it. My cancer is a complete unknown why I got it or how I got it. NO family history and I was eating quite well for a few years prior to getting it. I would try your best to live a healthy lifestyle and try not to worry about the rest. That is why you pay a doctor, they do the worrying for you. I would hate for you to eliminate ANYTHING then find out that it actually helps and not hurts your condition. 

[redsquirrel]

First of all, I hope your health continues to improve.  My mother has had that twice, once in each breast, and it's been just fine. I hope the same for you.

 

I am not a breast cancer survivor or anything like that so what I have to offer might not be helpful. But, I have been dealing with a hormone imbalance and have had to try to lower my estrogen level.  BUT I have had to do this on my own, so this might be to out there for you.  But, I didn't not want to say anything in case it is useful.

 

I have a progesterone/estrogen imbalance. This is diagnosed but I was offered nothing beyond, 'it's not a big deal'.  It was diagnosed after I had 8 miscarriages, but now that I know the problems it causes it has been plaguing me my whole adult life.

 

So, one of the first thing I can recommend is acupuncture. It has been very helpful.  I am not a 'woo' person by any means but it has been tremendously helpful. Second, I use some herbs and supplements.  In order to reduce estrogen, your liver needs to be very healthy. It is the main organ responsible for filtering out excess estrogen. I take 2 capsules of milk thistle per day.  I take one in the AM and one in the PM. There are plenty of "liver support' blends out there, but I can find the most research on milk thistle so I am just using that for now.

 

I take 2 capsules of Vitex (also known as chasteberry) per day, also once in the morning and once at night. Vitex has a very long history as an herb that can help regulate the menstrual cycle. Generally it is directed to take a larger amount (two capsules in my case) for two cycles and then go down to half of that for as long as you like.  I can't do that.  If I go down to once capsule my breasts get so sore for the second half of my cycle that I have to wear a very tight sports bra 24-7. With the two capsule a day I have absolutely no breast soreness or sensitivity at all during my cycle.

 

I take two capsules of a more specific supplement that is made to reduce estrogen.  I use Natures Way Diim. It is extracted from cruciferous vegetables. It is essentially a way to get about 10lbs of broccoli in you, lol. Those have been shown to naturally lower estrogen. 

 

I have had good results with this and feel much better.  I have continued to take them because my family has a genetic 'syndrome' that dramatically increases my risk for all kinds of cancer. Having less estrogen in my system will help reduce that risk.

 

 

And YES to the PP who brought up maintaining a healthy weight.  Fat stores estrogen. You especially need to reduce visceral fat.  You know how many men get a big gut as they age? Well, by the time they are in their 60s many of them have higher estrogen levels than their post-menopausal wives. But the lower you can get your body fat percentage the better. You do that by losing weight and maintaining (or even increasing) muscle mass. And just exercising in general, keeping things moving, helps with hormone regulation. If you want to get to a healthier weight, try setting a goal of losing 10%. It can make a big difference in how your body stores estrogen.

[Kel & the Kids]

I just finished treatment for invasive bc in the spring, but turned down the tamoxifen on my naturopathic oncologist's advice. I now take 2 tblsp of ground flax/day as it is is showing very promising results and none of the side effects. My naturopath helped me greatly during this whole adventure.

 

I've also largely cut out sugar, try to exercise 5+ hours a week and have removed most processed foods. There's no sure fire solution but I think we can turn the tables in our favour and at least be able to say we are doing the best we can!

 

I would encourage you to see if there is a naturopath specializing is cancer near you. Mine has been worth every penny!

[Penguin]

I think you have lots to think about :)

I will point out  that I talked about consuming phytoestrogens in moderation; notice that I did not say soy. Soy is well known as a phytoestrogen, but there are other phytoestrogens. flaxseed, hoppy beer, red wine, black licorice...Personally, I mostly avoid soy for a variety of reasons.

Edited July 14, 2016 by Penguin

[Tita Gidge]

 

Soy products are "iffy" so I would only eat them in low moderation. They are protective if you've had them your whole life, but may not be so good if introduced later in life. (That's my understanding of where the research is murkier.) 

 

This is what we were told also.

 

My cousin has metastatic stage 4 breast cancer and has been treated (traditionally allopathically) for 11 years.

 

My aunt (unrelated to us biologically, she married our maternal uncle) also has breast cancer. She has been treating it holistically for 10 years. Hers is a different kind than my cousin's. Also, hers has grown some but hasn't moved beyond her breast.

 

Their doctors have only ever agreed on one thing: soy is "safe" if you've always eaten it, but that you should avoid if it's not part of your traditional diet. They says the research is still developing in that area, but that this is the safest recommendation they can make at this time.

 

My cousin ate a very traditional Asian diet, which included soybean .. but not soy product. There's a difference.  My aunt grew up 7th Day Adventist (I think? It's a faith where they are vegetarian) and didn't begin eating soy until she was an adult. And it was primarily soy product (fake meats, soy milk, etc.) as opposed to natural soybean.

[hornblower]

Don't eat any soy products and if you do try to make it fermented soy. Commercially grown soy is said to be full of GMO.

As a soy eating vegan, it's easy to get soy products which are not gmo. Organic tofu is widely avail & many soy milks come from non gmo stock. 

 

Almost all the conventional & GMO soy grown in the US goes to animal feed so it's in most of the meat & eggs consumed in NA. 

 

As to breast cancer & soy, there are studies showing it's protective. "Then came the famous Journal of the American Medical Association study, the biggest yet—5,000 breast cancer survivors. Conclusion: “Among women with breast cancer, soy food consumption was significantly associated with decreased risk of death and recurrence.â€" 

 

Quote is from here: http://nutritionfacts.org/video/breast-cancer-survival-and-soy/

the JAMA study is here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2874068/pdf/nihms169338.pdf

 

 

you may wish to add flaxseed to your diet: http://nutritionfacts.org/video/flaxseeds-breast-cancer-survival-clinical-evidence/

Edited July 14, 2016 by hornblower

[Happy]

A word about side effects...I've taken Tamoxifen for 4 years with little or no side effects. I do have more fatigue than I used to pre-chemo days...but I don't work out as much either. Some people have achy legs...and I do from time to time. The only way I'd know for sure is to stop taking it and replace with something else. If I got back to walking miles on end, I'd probably have more energy.

 

Probably the biggest side effect of is an increased chance of uterine cancer. I was monitored very carefully. At the first signs of changes in my uterus, I had a complete hysterectomy.

 

On the other hand, I don't have cancer now. (Praise God!) I lost my mom to breast cancer so it's a big deal to me that I've lived longer than she did after diagnosis. She didn't have Herceptin, either, and it's a miracle drug as far as I'm concerned.

 

Plus, my bone density is slightly better than before because Tamoxifen helps build bone.

 

Every cancer is different because each body is different. Listen to your doctors, ask LOTS of questions, and adapt some healthy lifestyle choices.

[redsquirrel]

yes, there is a big difference between eating tofu, , miso, tamari, tempeh, soy milk, okara, yuba etc  all whole soy products that humans have been making/consuming for a very long time vs soy protein isolate.

 

 

Edited July 14, 2016 by redsquirrel

[crazyforlatin]

Thank you everyone! I love all this advice - gives me a chance to start somewhere without freaking out. I've been eating tofu since childhood; my parents are vegetarians, so they gave us tofu, although they also cooked meat for us. But I've actually cut down on tofu and soymilk by a lot for some time. I'm going to get flax and DIM. It would be hard to lose 10% of my weight. On a good day I'm about 112, bad day would be 115, so maybe exercising would get me down a little more but I can't see myself maintaining anything below 105 given that I'm 5'6". I eat vegetables every day. Overall I thought I was quite healthy, no red meats, no alcohol, but wow, this diagnosis just made me realize I wasn't paying attention on a hormonal level and that BC can hit the most unsuspecting person. 

 

What I'm really concerned now is that the doc is not suggesting radiation at all. I read that the majority of DCIS have radiation treatment. I do have low-grade DCIS. But I just want to kill everything in there. What if the doc didn't get a clean removal? She removed calcification clusters on the same br--st. Of course I forgot to ask her what those were and whether they were carcinoma and whether every single one was removed. 

 

Is coffee still okay? A cup? Half cup? I can drop it if the risk rises for estrogen BC.

 

 

[historymatters]

Is coffee still okay? A cup? Half cup? I can drop it if the risk rises for estrogen BC.

 

I have my fibrocysts and cysts on ovaries; have documented low progesterone and was told to get rid of coffee, or at least down to half the caffeine; drink Green Tea instead

 

Only problem is, I just don't like green tea every day and I love the 'flavor' and 'smell' of coffee; mkes me feel good inside

 

The sub I have found is awesome: Teeccino (Vanilla Nut is my favorite)

 

YOu can buy in tea bag form or in granules to be brewed in a coffee maker; when I do that, I have it with Organic decaf coffee

 

The ingredients are very similar to what is traditional Louisiana drink and drinks from Spain that use chicory root (also, a liver cleanser)

 

Highly recommend trying it; I get it from Vitacost or on sale at Kroger, just look arond for best price:

http://teeccino.com/

 

HTH on the coffee issue; plus the ingredients in Teeccino are so healthful, detoxing, etc

Edited July 14, 2016 by historymatters

[Tammyla]

I gave up soy years ago.

[Laurie4b]

Thank you everyone! I love all this advice - gives me a chance to start somewhere without freaking out. I've been eating tofu since childhood; my parents are vegetarians, so they gave us tofu, although they also cooked meat for us. But I've actually cut down on tofu and soymilk by a lot for some time. I'm going to get flax and DIM. It would be hard to lose 10% of my weight. On a good day I'm about 112, bad day would be 115, so maybe exercising would get me down a little more but I can't see myself maintaining anything below 105 given that I'm 5'6". I eat vegetables every day. Overall I thought I was quite healthy, no red meats, no alcohol, but wow, this diagnosis just made me realize I wasn't paying attention on a hormonal level and that BC can hit the most unsuspecting person. 

 

What I'm really concerned now is that the doc is not suggesting radiation at all. I read that the majority of DCIS have radiation treatment. I do have low-grade DCIS. But I just want to kill everything in there. What if the doc didn't get a clean removal? She removed calcification clusters on the same br--st. Of course I forgot to ask her what those were and whether they were carcinoma and whether every single one was removed. 

 

Is coffee still okay? A cup? Half cup? I can drop it if the risk rises for estrogen BC.

 

 

If you're not overweight, you don't need to lose weight. 

 

Sounds like your diet was not an issue. 

 

Do you exercise regularly? 

 

I am unaware of any relationship between coffee and estrogen. Any effects reported tend to be very small effects: some positive, some negative, some no effect. Since coffee is good for other things, if you like it, you will need to weigh the risks of taking away something that may be beneficial for you in other ways. 

 

In the past year or two, there has been a sea change in how DCIS is treated. They used to be pretty aggressive treating it; hence you've heard that people have had radiation for it. However, though that seems like the intuitive thing to do , "just in case," the data apparently didn't support that and they've realized they've been overtreating. There are going to be side-effects of any treatment, so it's really a good thing longterm that they are not doing this anymore. 

 

DCIS means that the cancer was already contained within the duct, so if she removed the duct, it's gone. Calcification clusters are not cancer. 

[Guest]

Have you had your vitamin D level checked?

[crazyforlatin]

I have my fibrocysts and cysts on ovaries; have documented low progesterone and was told to get rid of coffee, or at least down to half the caffeine; drink Green Tea instead

 

Only problem is, I just don't like green tea every day and I love the 'flavor' and 'smell' of coffee; mkes me feel good inside

 

The sub I have found is awesome: Teeccino (Vanilla Nut is my favorite)

 

YOu can buy in tea bag form or in granules to be brewed in a coffee maker; when I do that, I have it with Organic decaf coffee

 

The ingredients are very similar to what is traditional Louisiana drink and drinks from Spain that use chicory root (also, a liver cleanser)

 

Highly recommend trying it; I get it from Vitacost or on sale at Kroger, just look arond for best price:

http://teeccino.com/

 

HTH on the coffee issue; plus the ingredients in Teeccino are so healthful, detoxing, etc

 

I'm going to order teeccino; so excited there's a replacement. I can mix 1/2 coffee, 1/2 teeccino.

 

If you're not overweight, you don't need to lose weight. 

 

Sounds like your diet was not an issue. 

 

Do you exercise regularly? 

 

I am unaware of any relationship between coffee and estrogen. Any effects reported tend to be very small effects: some positive, some negative, some no effect. Since coffee is good for other things, if you like it, you will need to weigh the risks of taking away something that may be beneficial for you in other ways. 

 

In the past year or two, there has been a sea change in how DCIS is treated. They used to be pretty aggressive treating it; hence you've heard that people have had radiation for it. However, though that seems like the intuitive thing to do , "just in case," the data apparently didn't support that and they've realized they've been overtreating. There are going to be side-effects of any treatment, so it's really a good thing longterm that they are not doing this anymore. 

 

DCIS means that the cancer was already contained within the duct, so if she removed the duct, it's gone. Calcification clusters are not cancer. 

 

Laurie, thanks so much, seriously, you've provided so much more than just your knowledge. I read some articles yesterday so I'm beginning to understand DCIS. 

 

Have you had your vitamin D level checked?

 

Thanks for the reminder. I thought it was fine last year but I haven't checked this year.

[Guest]

Thanks for the reminder. I thought it was fine last year but I haven't checked this year.

You will want to do your homework on D, so that you decide on a level that is cancer preventative.