Hi I am wondering if there are any of you out there who have changed their diet significantly and feel that they making effective change to beat this dreadful cancer? I would really like to hear from anyone who is several years down the line and feel diet has helped in their recovery. I am recently diagnosed and moving on with a vegan virtually diet and have read extensive books and articles on the subject of diet and cancer and keen to hear what you think. Thank you
Hi Carrie,
I’m only a year down the line but unfortunately was dx with both primary and secondaries all at the same time, since dx last year I have changed my diet to include a pint of green juice a day, wheatgrass shots occasionally, mainly vegetarian diet, no red meat at all, fish and poultry only if its organic, free range and again very occasionally, completely cut out sugar, caffeine, alcohol and presently waiting for a ct scan too see how my secondaries are but feel very well and fit, everyone keeps commenting on how well I look and I think its to do with the change in diet. Have you looked at Kris Carr of Crazy Sexy Diet book and David Servan -Screiber of the Anit-Cancer book, if you google the names there is websites also.
Hope this helps
Sarahlousie xx
Hi,
Also look out for Zest for life, which covers the mediterranean diet, and has some great recipes - even my children like them!!
All the best,
Leigh
Thankyou ladies for a quick response and Sarah I can’t begin to imagine how you coped with being diagnosed with both primary and secondary at the same time. I too have a green juice to start the morning made with broccoli and carrots or beet and turmeric added which spoils the taste but might help in killing cancer cells if you can believe what you read. Anyway also have wheatgrass (how disgusting is the taste) with pineapple and apple juice and if I am not at work I also have carrot apple and ginger. I have cut out everything Sarah has but still have the odd glass of alcohol and dared to have a bit of an Easter egg too. It has been a hard journey and I have dropped 2 dress sizes and have been hungry but getting a better balance now. I have the anti cancer book and Jayne plants book and a few others but will check out the ones you both mention. Do you take supplements? I have calcium vit D chorella and spiralina and probiotic and zinc vit c and astragalus and selenium. Don’t think I can do anymore or I will rattle! My homeopath also given me a potion. It might make no difference at all (my friend had breast cancer 7 yrs ago and drinks more now and eats red meat etc and has been free of it!) but at least I feel like I am taking some control back but I would really like to be “normal” again 
Hi Carrie- my daughter was first dx with BC 9 years ago and with a 2nd primary 4 years ago: she has now been in remission for over 6 years ( aged 42) and is really well.
After the shock of her first primary she went onto the dairy-free Jane Plant diet- which is controversial but certainly healthy . It helped my daughter a lot- she felt that this was one area of her life over which she could still exercise some control and she stuck with the diet very conscientiously for at least 5 years. She has relaxed it a lot now but still keeps low on dairy products…and she is really well
Who can say if the diet really did help with her BC or not - but it certainly helped her psychologically to feel that she was doing something herself to fight her BC - rather than just having to submit to what was being done TO her- surgery, chemo rads etc
i was dx myself 3 years ago and haven’t been on any particular diet - but if I had been ypunger, I think I would have given it a go- some of the vegan recipes were lovely : others, more 'challenging"!
I do organic dairy as far as is possible, always skimmed, and I have a lot more veggies than before. Always have tinned fruit in the house as convenient standby to up the ratio. Never had much red meat anyhow, and have always been alcohol-free, don’t add sugar. Did a spell on broccoli till I felt it would come out my ears then laid off a bit.
I don’t impose this on others, and eat out socially when I can without letting the changes make this too difficult. Need my friends.
I’m not ready to quit chocolate just yet. Life is for living!
I’ve also seriously upped my exercise which (a) uses lots of calories so I can earn my choccy and (b) has helped with weight control, not that I was gross before, just a bit cuddly. Prostheses don’t cuddle well It may also be purely psychological but that feeling of maintaining some control is so very important.
Hi Carrie, ladies,
Will check out the other diets mentioned on this thread, tried to give up dairy but failed miserably, only have lactose free semi-skimmed milk, eat organic butter rather than other spreads as recommended by the Penny Brohn cancer centre in Bristol, eat organic cheese again not all the time maybe once a week, I think its all about taking things in moderation, easter was difficult for a sweetooth like me, I love chocolate, try to eat just good organic dark chocolate like green and blackwells ginger, changed white bread to wholemeal infact wholemeal everything including using brown rice, and wholemeal pasta. I take a menagerie of supplements, evening primrose oil, omega 3 fish oil, selenium with zinc, Vit D & C, turmeric in capsule form (avail from Holland and Barratt), aspirin, cranberry capsule for my bad bladder, probiotic, biotin for hair regrowth, sea kelp for thyroid, I am also on tamoxifen and clonidine and have herceptin every 3 weeks for the foreseeable future or until they stop working, all this from someone who never popped a pill in her life before dx :0( !!!
Like Hymil when I go out with my friends I relax my rules but again this is very occasionally and I would say I am sticking to my diet 99.9% of the time. Its all about empowering yourself, taking back some control over your life and using diet as a way of achieving this, I think the diet approach helps restore the lost confidence in your own body, lets face it cancer is totally bonkers.
Carrie it sounds like your doing all the right things and your reading all the good books, pat yourself on the back your doing just fine.
Sending you all love and light
sarahlousie xxx
I had the ABC drink twice a day all the way through my treatment and am still having it now but only once a day. (juice of one Apple, beetroot, carrot) I never had an infection or any problems with the chemo other than the usual side effects. Who knows if it helped or not! This is the thing. You never know. Beetroot is supposed to be helpful and I take a beetroot tablet on top of eating it roasted and in the drink etc. The only problem with that is your wee turns red and, if you are sick with the chemo, which I was occasionally, it turns your home into a set from the Chainstore Massacre!
Best wishes
Jan
We’ve had a lot of debate on this forum about diet. I found it helpful to change my diet when I was diagnosed as it gave me some control over my life. Now 2.5 years on I’m much more relaxed about it as it became a source of anxiety. I still care about what I eat but I’m not so restrictive as it began to take over my life.
I’m by no means an expert but I have looked at quite a bit of research on diet over this time.
With regard to the Jane Plant book, JP appears to make a good case for eating soy but my view (and that of some others on the forum) is that the research to date seems quite mixed on whether or not it is a good thing for those diagnosed with BC. Some research has shown that components in soy can actually cause BC cells to grow and I’ve seen one research paper on soy milk which says this. Other research has shown that women eating soy have less recurrance/death although that study was in China where the type of soy they eat and other lifestyle factors are probably different from in the West.
I’ve made the decison not to worry about the odd soy latte or bit of tofu here and there but don’t regularly eat it. I’d rather wait until the research is clearer on the subject.
There is considerable research on the benefits of vegetables for general health and having the fibre from vegetables seems to be important too. I now only juice as a supplement to eating my 5 or more veg and fruit per day so I don’t miss out on the fibre. They seem to think that having a good mix of colours is important too as different types of veg/fruit having different micronutrients eg. orange carrots, green cabbage, red peppers, purple blackcurrants etc
The two things that seem to have the strongest evidence with regard to BC are keeping weight down and cutting out/limiting alcohol - although both of those can cause debate on this forum.
take care, Elinda x
One question that confuses me - can we eat Soy products?
I am flummoxed when it comes to diet!
Rae
x
Hi,I found this on the CNN health website.they have a ask the expert section and someone has asked about soy and breast cancer.hope it helps.
thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2011/01/19/is-soy-linked-to-breast-cancer/
best wishes Melxx
i ate fruit and veg every day till it came out of ears- spinach, tomatoes, cumcumber, onions, orangesm grapes, strawberries , pineapple. Limited red meat intake. NEVER ate takeaways. People at worked joked that my desk looked like a greengrocers. Ran all the time. Ran 15K a few days before i was diagnosed with BC aged 37. Non smoker. No family history, There is no point in getting hung up over diet.
Raechi - I’ve posted several times on the subject of soy recently. I’ve looked at the research but I’m not an expert.
Several studies show that components in soy can cause BC cells to grow in vitro (test tube). Another study looking at women in China found that they had less recurrance and mortality if they ate soy. However, whether or not we can transfer those findings to the West is perhaps debatable because there may be other lifestyle factors involved there. Also the products in the West tend to be very processed. The conflicting results is why there seems to be such confusion about soy.
There is good detail on this on Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer centre website which gives an excellent overview of the fors and against citing the research:
mskcc.org/cancer-care/herb/soy
So basically I’ve concluded that the evidence isn’t cut and dried on its safety so I’ve chosen to err on the side of caution and keep soy very limited. Hopefully more research will be done which will clarify this once and for all.
take care Elinda x
With respect (and I really mean respect - I’m not being personal or sarky), I think the idea that diets can beat BC, is misleading. Billions of pounds have been spent trying to find a way to beat BC, and if it was as easy as eating specific foods, drug companies would have isolated the compounds by now.
I know there are numerous books promoting the idea that diet/lifestyle can beat BC, an organisations like Penny Brohn are very strong on diet/lifestyle etc, and have built a whole industry selling supplements/books/tapes etc. None of this is wrong (unless people abandon conventional medicine), but I know of at least two people, over the past few weels alone, who have died despite spending the last few years of their lives diligently following vegan diets, supplemented by the numerous juices. The person who founded Penny Brohn (Penny Brohn), still died of cancer didn’t she? Having said that, I do think diet and exercise are important, because there is quite a lot of evidence about links between obesity and BC (particularly for those with metabolic syndrome), and because the healthier someone is, the better they can cope with treatment.
The other thing I think is important(particularly if someone has oestrogen receptive BC), is minimising alcohol consumption, as alcohol is not only a source of calories, but stimulates oestrogen production.
Personally I would avoid phytooestrogens (Soy or Linseed), because as Elinda and Stressy say’s, the jury is out, and I don’t want to risk consuming oestrogen (especially as I’m taking endocrine therapy to reduce it). I also eat organic food, because I don’t want to consume chemicals and hormones, and I no longer eat red meat, because I find it hard to digest, and because of hidden fat. I just hope that by keeping myself as fit and healthy as I can, I will live long enough that some clever scientist finds the answer- or an answer.
Hello
I was recommended Suzanne Oliviers book - "The Breast Cancer prevention Diet’ and have found it interesting reading and do follow most of it.
However, she wrote it in 2002 and advocates soya - that is the bit I don’t do as there is a lot of controversy about it and as my ER is 8/8 don’t want to pile any more oestrogen into me.
However, I do diligently drink at least 2 litres of filtered water every day, eat only organic fruit and veggies, no caffeine, no red meat and for the most part avoid any form of refined carbohydrate such as white flour, white rice and pasta and sugar and any form of processed food I have no dairy and have happily switched to rice milk. (But at Easter I did eat a whole chocolate rabbit to myself and felt okay about it as it was a treat.) I didn’t drink alcohol anyway.
I eat lots of fish, venison once a week and free range chicken. Don’t do any supplements.
No idea if any of this makes a difference but I do know it is healthy and that i am not taking any gunk (other than the chemo) into my system.
I know some people refuse all treatment and just do diet and supplements, but for me, I don’t want to play that particular game of Russian roulette. I see my diet as supporting my medical treatment, but in no way a substitution for it.
Smiles
PPixie x
Mel and elinda,
Thanks for the advice re soy. Much appreciated 
Rae
X
Just a quick note. watched ‘This Morning’ with Olivia Newton-John talking about her battle with breast cancer and her new book all about diet/health which is why ive posted on this thread, must admit she looked very well on the diet, will definitely check it out in book shops see what the recipes are like. She also mentioned about taking a skipping rope with her where ever she travels too just incase she can’t go to the gym, she said its good for the lymphatic system, will certainly try this one out, I used to love skipping as a kid. Here’s a link to the write up on the book. lifestyle.com.au/health/olivia-newtonjohns-livwise-book.aspx
Love to all
Sarahlousie x
Picking up on Elinda’s comments about the need for further research on soy, I tried to join the DietCompLyf trial but it has just stopped recruiting.
The lay summary of the trial is:
“Diet has been found to influence hormone production and metabolism which in turn could affect the incidence of hormone related cancers. Consumption of soy-containing foods, known to be rich in phytoestrogens, is thought to be one of the chemoprotective factors against breast cancer in Asian populations. Phytoestrogens have a wide range of metabolic effects and may have a role in effecting breast cancer risk. Although there is mounting evidence of the positive influence of phytoestrogens on breast cancer risk, very little research has been carried out in humans as to the effects of phytoestrogens on breast cancer recurrence and survival. The DietCompLyf study aims to explore this effect by carrying out an observational study in 3,000 breast cancer women in the UK. The effects of diet, lifestyle practices and use of complementary treatments will also be investigated. Participants are recruited 9-15 months post-diagnosis and followed up for 5 years. Questionnaires as well as blood and urine samples are collected annually.”
Don’t know if any other posters have signed up, but it looks like at least 5 years before we’ll know anything!
xxxxx
Hiya Pestering Pixie,
Wintersocks from March chemo thread, my ER is 8/8 too. Do you know what that means exactly and why it is an issue for us?
Never want to Google these things as too scary,
Would rather ask others with a similar dx.
Incidentially. on the subject of diet I am a diagnosed Coeliac and therefore HAVE to follow a gluten-free diet and have done so now for 14 years and am closely monitored.
I did read an article that did suggest that Coeliac women have a lower bc dx than the general population…well seems not…(dx Feb2012.)
Thanks
WS
I have been reading the couple of threads about diet with interest. Have noticed though that no-one has mentioned something which was one of the first things my oncologist mentioned and tested for when I was diagnosed in Nov 2010. And that is Vitamin D, or more precisely vitamin D deficiency.
Now I am a firm believer if you have anything wrong with you, you throw the best in medical science at the time at it, and my view of diet is that you make sure you have a very colourful one in terms of fruit and veg, lots of it together with a balance of meat, dairy and other unprocessed food. Coupled together with lots of exercise. I don’t personally believe in cutting out food groups because we all need a certain amount of fat, salt, sugar, albeit the correct types. And if you start cutting things out you risk going without vital elements of a good diet.
But I was very surprised when my onc told me that she had started testing for vit d deficiency following on from research currently going on about it being linked to BC and other cancer and that 90% of her patients had a deficiency. Me included by the way. So along with all my treatment I was also put on high strength vit D3.
Even more interesting to me is that having just come back from holiday in the States, this topic is even more in the news over there, whilst there I saw a programme in which a doctor who deals primarily with hormone imbalance was saying that vit d deficiency should be classed as a hormone imbalance because the problems it causes, cause just as many problems as hormone problems, cancer included. His thought is that if more people treated it as a hormone then it wouldn’t be dismissed so readily.
Finally whilst in the States I stocked up on high strength vit d from a pharmacy (cheap drugs) and on the bottle and information label it specifically mentions that vit d is needed to maintain healthy cells, bones and may can help prevent colon related problems and breast cancers.
To me this makes sense because in its simplest form, if we keep our cells and bones as healthy as possible then we having more of a fighting chance against the cancer.
And also when I think about all the treatment I had thrown at me (chemo, surgery, rads, 12 months herceptin) it isn’t surprising that by the end of it my poor body was deficient in something.