Dairy products query??

Pearl
Pearl Member Posts: 16
Hi..I'm new to this site, so please excuse any mistakes!! I'm 62 and  I was diagnosed with Hormone Receptive Breast Cancer last July, had 2 surgeries which included nipple removal and lymph gland removal on my right side. Following that, I had 6 rounds of Chemo and 30 zaps of radiation. What I want to know is ....opinions on Dairy products being possible causes of hormone receptive cancer. I seem to see a lot about this in news lately. Currently I have replaced Dairy with soy, not a problem for me as I am in a family that has 2 vegans so I get used to their recipes etc. Now I also read that soy can cause breast cancer too. Does anyone actually know some real facts about this subject, and can help me with my query? 
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Comments

  • Pearl
    Pearl Member Posts: 16
    Thanks Nikki. Do you eat soy products? I feel personally that soy would be a better alternative than dairy and, of course, meat, both of which seem to be laced with hormone chemicals...but I may be quite wrong about that!!  Yes, I agree that it is the way we deal with it, not how we got it, that matters!! I just desperately want to stay clear of it now...haha!!                         Cheers,                                                                                                                                                                                            Pearl


  • nikkid
    nikkid Member Posts: 1,766
    Hey @Pearl - I avoid soy (but only because it makes me gag!) - I feed my boys organic produce (meat and chicken) and try to eat as healthily as possible. I'm not a big fan of dairy as it doesn't really agree with me.

    I see my naturopath pretty regularly and he stresses to avoid gluten as much as possible as he thinks that's just bad for the digestive system. Lots of fresh vegetables seems to be the way...the ol' Mediterranean diet (altho I do so without meat :)

    Nx
  • fairydust
    fairydust Member Posts: 290
    @Pearl here we go again. I remembered speaking to a breast care nurse at a boutique hospital where I see my surgeon. I asked her what to do what to eat etc. She replied that over many years, many patients some who do everything ,strict dietary control still some get  cancer back. There is no answer.
    I am not saying do not do anything .I know a diet high in fats sugars and carbs is not a good idea. Equally eating too much protien not recommended.
    In my family circle (we all have diary) my mother is 100 years and six months lives with my sister and husband. My sister and brother no cancer. I recently after a year of treatment cancer free. Was it Dairy? Was IT gluten? Is that why I got cancer noooo I do not think so. Who knows?

  • melclarity
    melclarity Member Posts: 3,502
    Hello @Pearl, Welcome! 

    Ive never been a fan of dairy, I'll have it sometimes but only if there isnt anything else. I switched about a year ago to Coconut Milk, thing is I only have it on my oats in the morning, so I dont have milk in any other way. I drink alot of Green Tea, lost the taste for coffee through Chemo!!! OMG thats weird I never would have thought! even alcohol is rarely now and I used to enjoy a social wine! so everything in moderation. I love chocolate though LOL! and Im not about to stop living :) 

    I need to get more disciplined like Nikki! and probably go organic, I do however eat alot of steamed vegetables and lately gotten right into fish. 

    There is actually no one thing statistically that they can say you should avoid in terms of Breast Cancer, I did a rehab course through the Epworth and the day the Dietician did her presentation she said, all the things we hear are ALL minority studies only, that its about just eating a healthy balanced diet she said. Makes sense as Nikki said, otherwise how else can we explain that people who dont eat or drink the things they say not to still get it? and fit healthy people? it doesnt discriminate. So its just about eating and exercising to the point YOU feel good, nothing more. No right or wrongs. Hugs Melinda xo
  • primek
    primek Member Posts: 5,392
    There are no special dietary restrictions but to just try and fillow a healthy diet as recommended to all Australians. There was a recent research paper on soy specifically that found no increase risk with women with estrogen + cancer and actual benefits of those tnbc. Will try to find the research again. 
  • primek
    primek Member Posts: 5,392
    edited May 2017
    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-4294016/Soy-products-GOOD-fighting-breast-cancer.html

    This article was linked in one of our Friday updates in March this year by PCNA
  • Pearl
    Pearl Member Posts: 16
    Thankyou everyone for your helpful info. And thanks for making me welcome at this site!! 
  • Twiggyjumps
    Twiggyjumps Member Posts: 116
    Sometimes I think it came from cleaning chemicals. I use white king a lot to wash and scrub the bathrooms. The smell I could taste. Then again there's the broadleaf sprays on the paddocks like Amicide or Roundup. Used a mask but your skin can still absorb it. But then again farmers have been using it for years. I believe some of these chemicals are imported unregulated from China where DDT is still used apparently. Anyway who knows.  
  • Hopes_and_Dreams
    Hopes_and_Dreams Member Posts: 760
    OMG I wish we could pinpoint the cancer causer!  I suspect IVF drugs and HRT may have kicked me off but who knows.
    Like lots of others I try to eat healthy food, low fat, lots of fruit and veggies, not much alcohol, exercise.  It doesn't make any difference, this horrible disease doesn't discriminate!
  • Afraser
    Afraser Member Posts: 4,352
    I was told milk caused breast cancer by a nurse as I was waiting outside theatre for my mastectomy! One of the very few unhelpful comments from the nursing profession. Both my oncologist and surgeon were aware of a report a year or so ago about possible increases in recurrence in women on full fat dairy in their diets. The study has some relatively large gaps, so of interest but not definitive. There was no discernible increase in women on low fat dairy, so as I had been drinking low fat milk for years I have continued to do so but have cut down on cheese and cream.  Both my medicos advocate a varied diet in moderation and as I am on Femara, my oncologist is keen to keep my calcium intake up, so I take a supplement as well.  For those on oestrogen inhibitors, soy may not be the best alternative as it is quite rich in oestrogen, but there are varying views. Hard to keep up!! Next week, someone will decree that eggs are bad for you again.......
  • Zoffiel
    Zoffiel Member Posts: 3,372
    You'll go nuts if you look at every theory about what causes, or triggers, breast cancer. I've had well meaning, and not so benign, suggestions about what I could have done, or not done, to avoid the predicament I am in. Most of it is bullshit and some is plain malicious.

    I'd talk to your Onc about soy, the jury is still out regarding its effects on hormone receptive cancers, but, really, how much of the stuff are you going to consume? Most of these studies look at what happens to mice if you feed them a steady diet, or sit them in a pool of, or make them breath nothing but ***insert suspected carcinogens***

    Common sense says that eating well and looking after yourself should help. Practical experience says that there is no guarantee you will be safe. Do what feels right for you.
  • iserbrown
    iserbrown Member Posts: 5,540
    edited May 2017
    It is what it is!  For me the hormones worked overtime and here I am a pink lady on the BCNA forum, who would've thought! Learning all sorts of terminologies that I had no knowledge or need for prior!
    I'm reading on here that some have digestive troubles, look to gluten free products et cetera Understand it, get it! 
    For me I have always believed in a balanced diet, it is how I was brought up and taught through Tech school, Home Economics (now I'm showing my age), something from each food group everyday! 
    Yes we get the occasional cold, yes we have aches and pains, mainly mechanical as we age. 
    Can't jump that fence anymore, need to carry the fire wood in smaller armfuls, more trips should be better for the legs, Yes/No!.  Depriving myself of something or drinking green muck at this stage is a little too late if that is a preventer!! 
    Like@Afraser said I suppose next week eggs will be back on the naughty list again! 
    Goodness!  I do sound cranky!  sorry, needed to vent!
  • Brenda5
    Brenda5 Member Posts: 2,423
    So what's different to 100 years ago? Well, we all hurtle along in cars at 100kmph. We have power lines into our houses. We have mobile phones and radio waves everywhere. We spray roundup on weeds. Many farmers DO get cancers from sprays which is seldom highlighted. Its just the age we live in. Not much we can do about it.