Soy..safest to avoid for Er+..even in small amounts?

[Rich66]

I'm asking because my mom is being pressured by visiting nurses to drink ensure, which has some soy. I have even sought out soy-less spaghetti sauces.
Am I being a soy nazi?

[Jean]

Rich,
I am highly positive for ER 99%....yikes,
How positive is your Mom's ER? She maybe boarderline positive...10% and below ...

I watch the soy and avoid it as much as possible.
No you are certainly not a soy NUZZ...rather
a Great Son....

Best wishes to you and your Mom.
jean

[Rich66]

I think the term "strongly" was used..haven't heard a %.

[Jean]

Rich,
I would suggest since strongly was used....
check on your Mother's pathology report the % should be there...but when you have a dr. tell you strongly,
it will be in the high range.

I would watch many foods high in estrogen.
There is a list...which you can find on the intere moderation is always best.

Regards,
jean

[BonnieR]

I had not known about soy being in Ensure until now! It certainly was the drink of choice and highly recommended by my cancer center when I had no appetite and was losing weight. Otherwise they would have postponed treatment if my weight had kept dropping. So I guess it is all a balancing act. I avoid products that are largly soy based, like tofu. But it is going to sneak in here and there. My onc seems okay with that approach.
Keep the faith

[Jackie07]

I've read somewhere that soy actually helps with the hormone problem because it replaces the need for our body to produce hormone.

Here's a description of a study - Soy Protein and Breast Cancer Reduction -(Phase II) being conducted by UT-Galveston:

Soy consumption has been associated with reduced risk for developing breast cancer. Ovarian hormones and breast density are considered breast cancer risk markers. We propose to test the hypothesis that consumption of soy protein reduces ovarian steroid hormones and results in a corresponding reduction in breast density.

Yet, from the current Medline vocabulary posting:

Soy and components of soy called "isoflavones" have been studied for many health conditions. Isoflavones (such as genistein) are believed to have estrogen-like effects in the body, and as a result, they are sometimes called "phytoestrogens." In laboratory studies, it is not clear if isoflavones stimulate or block the effects of estrogen or both (acting as "mixed receptor agonists/antagonists").

[karenann]

I am 95% er positive and my onc said small amounts of soy and flax seed are ok. I still try to stay away from both.

Karen

[dlaxague]

Studies are all over the map on soy and breast cancer. You can find any answer that you'd like, which tells us that we do not (yet) know the answer. My onc said he didn't know the answer (how refreshing) but it seemed prudent to him to avoid supplements and concentrated sources while not obsessing about small amounts of soy here and there. If you ask someone who really pays attention (someone with a soy allergy), they'll tell you that it is amazing how prevalent soy is, in processed foods.

Like several other people have said - moderation (neither supplementing nor obsessing over small amounts) seems wise, at least for now.

Debbie Laxague

[Rich66]

I looked at the other nutritional drinks/ensure competitors and found they all had soy. Looking into whey protein mix. Muscle Milk supposedly is lactose free.