beware tea tree shampoos/products mimic estrogen

[RobinP]

http://www.scienceblog.com/cms/lavender-tea-tree-oils-may-cause-breast-growth-in-boys-12497.html

Amazing how the products we use for personal care and hygiene can mimic estrogen and cause breast ductal hyperplasia, the precursor of all breast cancer! What makes me sick is that I used to use Tea tree oil shampoo by Paul Mitchell and never knew it could harm. I see Paul Michell is still using this shampoo. Yep, use human beings as guinea pigs for their products rather than testing on lab rats...shame on them and others using tea tree oils.

[Believe51]

As a wife of a Male Breast Cancer patient and being an advocate for this disease in general, this TURNS my stomach. I too used these products. I also sell Avon and will be more careful with the research I do and provide to my customers....until I stop selling it!!!! I inform my customers about the hazards, I have complained to them (Avon), I refuse to sell certain things. Arggh....Avon says "The Company For Woman".....NOT!! Crock of S#*T!!!! How dare they be aware of these issues and still continue to make them?? How dare they sell breast cancer products and donate to 'the cause' if they are contributing to it. Oh sorry to ramble, I am steaming now! Thank you for the link Sweetie!!>>Believe51

[abitjaded]

I heard about this paper last year. I am a lavender addict, and had just started using tea tree oil on my nails. I had tried to find the original paper, and had told my onc about it. The paper talks about the boys and how the "gynecomasty" ebbed as soon as the use of tea tree and lavender products was discontinued.

I have looked to see if anyone had ever added these two oils to the list of things BC patients should avoid. Lots of lists of the standard stuff: soy, black kohash, flax exist, but no one has yet added lavender or tea tree.

The original article does speculate on using these in pre-pubertal girls, but BC is never mentioned. There has been no further research published. I did email Dr. Clifford Bloch, at Colorado Hosp about it and did not hear back (did not expect a reply). I also mentioned it to one of the oncs at the Cure symposia in May. He was an "herbalist" too. And was aware of the research. I hope the word starts to get out. However, we must remember there is no evidence to link the use of these with BC.

But I wanna tell ya, I don't use the stuff anymore. I have tons of expensive lavender stuff sitting in my bath cabinet but don't want to pass it on to anyone.

The tissue culture stuff gave me the willies. Who knows how much junk has estrogenic qualities?

Carla



Orig paper:

http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/356/5/479

In men, abstract, not sure how paper is cited:

http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/extract/336/7646/709

Referenced for use of contraindicated self-therapy:

http://ecam.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/nem185v1

You can read all the letters responding to the original article by researching at your hospital, or logging a free tempory subscription to The New England Journal of Medicine.

Just curious. Have any of your oncs warned you against the use of tea tree or Lavender?

When I told my onc about this (emailed her the orig link, she seemed uninterested at best. I had yeard a story on NPR when the article was first published. (But you may have seen me comment on her enthusiasum).

Carla

[RobinP]

progression of cancer from normal ductal epithilium
hyperplasia
atypical hyperlasia
carcinoma in situ
invasive breast cancer

PS. Let's stop even the beginnings of breast cancer via preventing ductal hyperplasia. Note
gynecomastia is by definition ductal hyperplasia. By the way, ductal hyperplasia development via carcinogens and estrogen mimicking compounds is worse for women than men due to the additional burden of natural circulationg estrogens.

[abitjaded]

Here, here Robin,

Makes me crazy all the magazine articles that say do this, do that and you will/will not get cancer.

Yet when something has at least a suspicious link we need to take notice.

So much (self) blame the victim. I was in Science labs a long time and was exposed to so many things that are carcinogenic, not to mention just filthy old asbestos contaminated buildings. The rats that had gotten loose and lived in the science building I worked in in college were lumpy with tumors. All of us can find a reason we got 'hit'.

I think twice now every time I drink non-organic milk. Or eat non-organic anything. But then the phyto-estrogens and estrogenic compounds are everywhere. A friend of mine who is very into organics, also science background) was so careful about feeding anything non-organic to her kids. I think she was right. Her daughter was much less zaftig at all stages than her fellow maturing girlfriends. Blows me away thinking about the girls in the school where I worked a few years how wayyyy more mature the 4-5-6 grade girls where than at my age 30-40 years ago.

Who knew I would rue soaking in lavender baths, rubbing the lavender in my garden because it would smell so good and even making my husband detour to the French side of St. Martin Island because my favorite pure lavender spray was to be had at a discount.

Carla

[harrie]

Oh brother....I have been using Nioxin shampoo and conditioner ever since I started with my new growth of hair post-chemo. It is suppose to be very good in stimulating and conditioning the new hair follicles. You can actually feel the "tingle" when you use the products and it recommends you really massage it in for a good minute. My new hair growth is thick, black, and very soft and I presume probably due to the Nioxin which I have recommeded for use on another thread at this HER2 site.
I am so sick to hear that now the tea tree oil might mimic estrogen and promote hyperplasia.

[harrie]

Wow, I just checked the ingredients on the Nioxin and it has a lot of substances, but I did not see the tea tree oil. I swear, it really smells like tea-tree oil and has that tingly effect like tea tree oil. I will do a bit of research and find out if it in fact contains TTO or not. I know a lot of people use this product to promote hair growth and it works very well.

[lizm100]

Since my BC diagnosis & skin cancer I have been trying to go all natural. I have paid much more for products thinking that will be better for me & my family but obviously not. I too recently purchased lavender & tea tree oil hand/face soap etc. My skin surgeon told me that I have a 50% of another basil cell carcinoma so I should apply sunscreen everyday after I get out of the shower. I figured that everyone in my house should do this too since we're all fair skinned and outside alot. Well...that natural sunscreens are very EXPENSIVE and some contain soy. After spending hours researching many sunscreens by checking each ingredient by running it through the cosmetics database on the internet and finding one that the price wasn't too bad, the 2nd to the last ingredient has been liked to breast cancer. I am so frustrated by all this. It seems like we can't win...... I guess we have to try to do the best we can but it seems like many natural soaps & creams contain tea tree oil or lavender.....

Liz

[BonnieR]

I don't think there is any "blame" in this. I expect most of us have tried to use more "pure" and "organic" products since being diagnosed. Tea Tree oil fit that category. I believe I learned about using it on my nails on this board. And companies have been adding these ingredients as the general public shows more interest in organic things too. Certainly sounds more healthy than the chemicals in other products. And maybe it still is. But there is the rub. Many "nautral" substances have their own side effects and contraindications.
It is all I can do to just find and eliminate the obvious bad actors in my life.. My favorite salad dressing in the world contains soy... do I need to eliminate it all together?.....things like that.
It can drive me to distraction.

[fullofbeans]

Dear RobinP THANK YOU THANK YOU for bringing this up..I had no idea and I am using tea tree oil so much!!!!!!!!

I have shampoo, deodorant and I bath everyday and put few drop in my bath...

oh my god.. although I am er- I still think it is not a good idea to be exposed to estrogen mimic as much as I did several time daily..

Thank you again well spotted.

[RobinP]

I hope I didn't send too many here in a state of panic, as I think that if tea tree oil is not used on the breast, then it may not have a negative impact on breast tissue. I used to use it in my bath and wash all over which I will not do again. Despite my concern over estrogen mimics, I still think that the biggest estrogen trouble-maker for most women is HRT and oral contraceptives. Estrogen mimicking compounds in everyday household items like tea tree oil and other listed below at the Cornell site only add to the estrogenic build-up. Cornell site on household estrogen mimics:

http://envirocancer.cornell.edu/rese...eos/makeup.cfm (http://envirocancer.cornell.edu/research/endocrine/videos/makeup.cfm)
http://envirocancer.cornell.edu/rese...s/plastics.cfm (http://envirocancer.cornell.edu/research/endocrine/videos/plastics.cfm)
http://envirocancer.cornell.edu/rese...deos/drain.cfm (http://envirocancer.cornell.edu/research/endocrine/videos/drain.cfm)

[abitjaded]

Yikes, thanks for the links.

But as everyone knows, we have to take it with a grain of salt. If we knew what to avoid, we'd probably avoid everything.

Carla

[lizm100]

Yes Robin, thank you for all the links. They're very helpful. As my natuaral path said that I need to educatate myself but not drive myself crazy with what I learn........

Liz