Hi,
I read the posts on olive oil and other products which are rich in oleic acid like canola, flax seed and fish oil. I am both her2 positive and er/pr positive and cook mainly in canola oil and use olive oil for salads and mediterranean cuisine. I also add flaxseed meel to cereal and and take omega 3 fatty acid supplements. I understand that flax seed may not be very good for people with er/pr + . Could any of you please let me know if I am on the right track? Thank you. With hugs.

Ragini Srinivasan

Hi Ragini,
I'm er/pr-, and have been using both olive oil and flaxseed meal (2-3 Tblsp daily) and soy milk for a few years now. Don't know what the long term implications are for er+, but my onc and I discussed the benefit of using whole foods that contain the elements deemed to have anti-cancer compounds. He feels the whole food is safer than extracted compounds, until more data becomes available; studies are flourishing! Have you talked with a nutritionist or your onc, maybe either one would have good input given your er status...

Love, Lolly

The concern over flaxseeds and ER/PR is that they contain phytoestrogens and also that ER/PR patients tend to be on anti-estrogen medications and the interactions between these and flaxseeds haven't been worked out. For these reasons, some people think that flaxseeds require further study in ER/PR+ patients.

Fortunately, there are many other sources of oleic acid.

Hi Christine, that's a worry, I have been singing the praise of flaxseed oil capsules since I went on them about 3 months ago, but so far I have only good things to say and I am taking double the recommended dose. My next MRI will tell as I am also on Aromasin, and I know I had no eostrogen before from my PAP smear test.

Love & Hugs Lyn