I am 6 months post WLE. I have had 4 weeks rads and am on Anastrozole for 5 years. I am lactose intolerant and have used soya milk for 20 years now. Someone has mentioned that having soya products may interfere with the Anastrozole because they contain plant oestrogen. Does anyone have any information on this please? I dont have a problem with cheese or yogurt - but am trying to cut them out due to all the hormones given to cows. Im in a bit of a catch 22 here and dont know what to believe?
Take care
kaj
xxx
Hi kaj,this is from breastcancer.org “Until the issue becomes clearer, many doctors recommend that women who take hormonal therapy or who have estrogen-receptor-positive breast cancer avoid soy supplements because they contain high concentrations of isoflavones. But in general, it’s fine to eat moderate amounts of soy foods as part of a balanced diet. One to 3 servings of soy a day (a serving is about a half cup) is similar to an average Japanese woman’s daily soy intake. If you are taking hormonal therapy to fight off a hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer, and you are concerned about any phytoestrogen effects, ask your doctor or registered dietitian about how much soy you can eat”
here’s the link
breastcancer.org/tips/nutrition/reduce_risk/foods/soy.jsp
All the best, Melxx
Thanks Mel. I am seeing surgeon in a couple of weeks - will discuss it with him then,
take care
Kaj
xxx
Hi - Both me and my mum had ER+ve BC and have been advised not to have soya and also try dairy free. I use coconut milk (not the cream style one in a can but a long life Kara one and for cereal and coffee/tea it’s great. Not sweet and even my children drink it.
Wishing you success x
Hi
I have made the change from a meat free, to a vegan diet and eat loads of soya products - milk, tofu, yoghurts etc. My BC was also oestrogen +. Am i putting myself at risk of recurrance?
Naz
Hi Naz hormone receptive BC you will probably be taking tamoxifen and if so this is the issue with soya, there are some suggestions that it acts in a similar way to the drug and so taking soya with tamoxifen may make the tamoxifen less effective. The research is slim so I would have soya in moderation. I would be more concerned about the amount of dairy products that you might be consuming as these are full of additional hormones that you are trying to avoid and the tamoxifen is working hard to stop the cancer cells latching on. Also if you are having yogurts they are full of sugar and cancer thrives on sugar and an acidic environment apparently. Thus the advocate for an alkaline diet and keeping aneutral balance in the body to build the immune system. It’s all very scientific and you could obsess about it for hours. At the end of the day you need to do what you feel you can manage effectively.
Wow, I am vegetarian too and eat tofu regularly, but I am now taking Tamoxifen and have estrogen-receptor-positive BC. I had NO IDEA about this recommendation of moderating the soy intake. My onc is never really keen on discussing diet while on treatment, so I wonder who I could ask. The last time I asked her whether something was good for me she said to eat as I pleased, as the food trends to avoid BC recurrence come and go “with the interest of the US economy. If milk has to be sold, you’ll see in the news milk is good for you. The following year they’ll have overstock of something different and that will be the next big thing against cancer”. I can see her point, but this left me a bit worried!
Carrie35/Naz
for info if you are in the UK there are no hormones in any of our dairy, it is illegal to do so. Also I was recently at the BCC Younger womens forum where the nutritionalist advised us that out of all the studies done to see if there was any link between dairy and BC only 2 of them were credible and both of them said that dairy was a benefit so think it’s probably unwise to cut anything out of your diet without speaking to your surgeon or oncologist first. tThere are a lot of spurious diets out there with absolutely no evidence to back them up. I understand it’s about taking some control back, i’m in the same position, i’m just saying don’t believe everything to read or hear and proceed with caution.
Take care
Lydia