Diet since my diagnosis

[CarolineC]

When I was first diagnosed in 2009 I did an overhaul of my lifestyle. Part of the plan was no caffeine, cut down on sugar or only have honey or brown sugar, no more soy milk, free-range chicken and eggs, upping my fruits and especially cruciferous veg. I feel that the soy milk was making my already precarious hormones be tipped more toward estrogen dominance. Why? Because in 2006 when I was feeling really crappy I started some dietary changes and one of them was starting to drink soy milk because I thought my stomach upset was caused by dairy. That is when I started losing weight; 10 pounds in four months and 15 more in the next 2 years before diagnosis. I was 140 pounds and dropped to 118.
I have a very sensitive system that seems to react to anything, good or bad, and I try to steer clear of foods that contain soy since my tumour was very estrogen positive (90%). In my support group we discuss the controversy around soy and have decided to avoid it because it's in everything, even as a filler in vitamins. I am not saying the soy caused my cancer; there were a myriad of things that were going on. A hormone consultant told me 5 months before I was diagnosed that although my estrogen was okay, because I had lower than the lowest progesterone, it made me estrogen dominant. We're all so different and we're being told as a society to eat this or take that without knowing our hormone status and how those things may affect it.

[Jackie07]

Amy has compiled a list of links about soy in another thread http://her2support.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=51846&highlight=Soy 'Flaxseed and soy' :


http://ww5.komen.org/ContentSimpleLe...?id=6442451776 (http://ww5.komen.org/ContentSimpleLeft.aspx?id=6442451776)

http://www.breastcancer.org/tips/nut.../foods/soy.jsp (http://www.breastcancer.org/tips/nutrition/reduce_risk/foods/soy.jsp)

http://www.livestrong.com/article/44...cer-survivors/ (http://www.livestrong.com/article/445944-soy-products-breast-cancer-survivors/)

http://www.aicr.org/foods-that-fight...FYIQNAodTSKOoA (http://www.aicr.org/foods-that-fight-cancer/foodsthatfightcancer_soy.html?gclid=CLPKnvmE-KsCFYIQNAodTSKOoA)

[ElaineM]

Sometimes endocronologists can help figure the hormones out and apply that information to a persons disease and nutritional needs .
There are also blood tests to check on hormone levels in addition to the information about hormones we receive after biopsies and surgeries.
One lab that does this work is Genova Diagnostics (Great Smokies Lab). The website address for cancer related hormone testing is http://www.gdx.net/tests/search.
Some insurance companies cover testing done at this lab.
I had hormone testing twice. The first time my hormones were out of balance. After some dietary and other interventions I took a second test. Everything was normal and in the correct proportions.

[Jackie07]

Happened to see this link on the Livestrong website:

http://www.livestrong.com/article/254477-nutrition-diet-for-breast-cancer-survivors/

ps. Caroline you are so right: "We're all so different and we're being told as a society to eat this or take that without knowing our hormone status and how those things may affect it." Glad you've got your hormone level checked. Maybe the doctors will be 'educated' by us if more cancer patients will show them the scientific data and request for the hormone check.