Exercise for er/pr- and Flaxseed???

[DonnaD]

I am relatively new to this site. Articles that are posted are beyond my understanding most of the time. Within the last two days there has been info on our local news about the role of exercise for er/pr- bc patients. Anyone know about this study?

Also I am confused about flaxseed and the use of it for her2nu+ bc patients? Should I be including this in my daily diet while on Herceptin?

Thanks in advance for your knowledge and help.

[Grace]

Donna--I can't comment on the exercise bit, although I have seen various articles suggesting that daily exercise does help to keep breast cancer at bay.

I have read a lot about flaxseed (ground, not whole) as a way of diminishing the HER2 protein. There are artciles posted on this site and on the internet regarding various trials using flaxseed. Also Sloan Kettering has a supplement site where you can read about benefits of flaxseed. The Canadian study, a controlled study, gave women diagnosed with breast cancer before surgery a flaxseed muffin each day (25 grams in each muffin) and found after surgery that both the KI67 proliferation rate and the HER2 protein had diminished. It was a significant reduction, although I don't remember the number.

I started out baking muffins but it was a bit time consuming (and they were so good I was eating too many), so I started mixing it into my cereal (Irish oatmeal) with skim milk. Not the greatest taste in the world but okay.

So, I would say if you're not ER/PR positive, for sure flaxseed can't hurt. Some claim that flaxseed can increase estrogen, although that's up in the air right now.

Remember keep the flaxseed refrigerated, and grind fresh every few days.

[hutchibk]

I have been advised by my onc, my nutritionist, and the staff at the Young Breast Cancer Survivor's Programs at MDAnderson to stay away from supplementing my diet with Flax and Soy while in chemo.

And I found this answer to the question (especially in conjunction with Tamoxifen) at this website, as well as on other websites:
http://www.bccancer.bc.ca/RS/Commun...acists/faqs.htm

Q.
A few of my patients have asked me about flaxseed to prevent hot flushes while they are on tamoxifen. Should I recommend it?
A.
Flaxseed has multiple mechanisms of action, and may act as a phytoestrogen. It may antagonize tamoxifen or even stimulate breast cancer growth. Explain to your patients that this is a controversial area, with limited and conflicting evidence for both efficacy and safety. Because the safety is unknown, the current BC Cancer Agency recommendation is cautious. We advise against the use of any phytoestrogen supplements during chemotherapy or radiation treatments. This recommendation applies to flaxseed, as well as other supplements such as black cohosh, dong quai, evening primrose, red clover, soy and others.

Just FYI, but I have chosen to defer to the advice I have been given.

[Alice]

All I can tell you is that after my treatment was finished ,all my onc would tell me and stress to me more than once...was that my only option and best option to help myself was to excerise. This was the key to the only thing I had control over that could help in as much as giving me 50% less recurance rate. She did not have statistics for me but I was at a learning and a progressive thinking facility and I know that at my age (47)and stage (IIIB) that she wanted to give me the best information on anything that could help in the most way possible. I think if she told me this that there must be somthing to it. I am not the tipical high risk BC patient so when I hear I should exercise I think of a marathon or somthing of the sort, but she just said walking daily was all she had in mind, this, after treatment, is sometimes even dificult. I don't want to discurage anyone from having treatment though, I had a more than usual treatment, due to the severity of prognosis, but without it I probably would not be here to at least try to help others. I never regret my choices on this subject.Now I just walk and remember to not sweat the small stuff!!!

[Grace]

Donna,

My previous post did not include the Canadian numbers--I thought they were rather significant but didn't want to provide numbers unless I was sure they were correct.

Canadian scientists, following up on previous studies conducted in mice, enrolled women newly diagnosed with breast cancer as volunteers to study the effects of flaxseed on breast cancer progression. In this study, one flaxseed muffin a day, containing a predetermined concentration of pre-lignans, was consumed per day for 30 days. Tissue biopsies were preformed prior to and after the 30 day period. The results showed that the flaxseed pre-lignans, converted in the intestines by bacteria into powerful anti-cancer lignans, were extremely efficient, in low doses, in killing the breast cancer cells in these volunteer women.

The growth index in the cancer cells was reduced 34.2%, while the level of programmed cell death increased 30.7%. Women who expressed the HER2 (c-erbB2) metastatic oncogene saw its expression decrease by 71%.

I also saw today, March 22, on CNN that a recent study indicates that flaxseed may reduce breast cancer in women by 17%. Unfortunately, it went by too fast for me to record the group that did the research. Of course, every oncologist and every cancer clinic has its own view of what works best and we should do what makes us most comfortable. My observation is that American doctors, in general, are less open to alternative remedies than those in other countries. For whatever reason!

For those who can't afford herceptin, or those who must go off for heart problems, flaxseed at $7.00 a bag seems a good second best. If you plan to take flaxseed, here are some caveats:

Flaxseeds and flaxseed oil can spoil if they are not kept refrigerated. Some possible side effects include diarrhea, gas, and nausea. Flaxseed oil should not be used with other laxatives or stool softeners. People who have inflammatory disease or narrowing of the intestine, esophagus, or stomach should avoid flaxseed. Flaxseed is also not recommended by some doctors for people with diabetes. Some oral medications may not be absorbed properly if they are taken at the same time as flaxseed. For this reason, some doctors recommend taking medications 1 or 2 hours before or after flaxseed.

Flaxseed may also interfere with x-rays taken after a barium enema, and some doctors recommend avoiding flaxseed before undergoing this test.

You should check with your doctor before taking large amounts of flaxseed, as I did with mine. The Sloan Kettering website also has some interesting information on flaxseed and cancer.

[Val Pfeiffer]

I am also ER-/PR- and I use flaxseed every morning in my smoothie. I buy the flaxseed already ground and keep it in a ziploc freezer bag in the freezer so it doesn't spoil. The smoothie is mixed in a blender with the following (per serving, approx.)....

1 banana
small handful of blueberries
small handful of raspberries
1 heaping T. flaxseed
2-3 heaping T. nonfat plain yogurt (or flavored)
a few ice cubes (optional)
enough milk to reach desired consistency

In Wisconsin, fresh fruit isn't available all year, so I usually use frozen berries. And I always have to check my teeth after I consume this--small bits of the flax and blueberries tend to get stuck in teeth :-)

[LAURIE]

kind of interesting, I am allergic to flaxseed. It is the only food allergy I have.(at least that I was tested for)