Green tea

bexybexy

Hi there

Ok so here's the deal. I went out and bought loads of boxes of green tea after my DCIS and DIEP flap simply due to the fact the first month or so after diagnosis I became obsessed with diet and cancer. I beat myself up over the fact I ate a lot of processed soya etc...well I have stopped doing that so much now (although I do try to minimise my consumption of that). I have never got on with green tea and always always been a moderate coffee drinker which has never had any ill effects on me. It is not so much the taste I don't like, as believe me I have been on so many strange diets thru my life I can accept pretty much any taste. It just doesn't give me the same nice buzz coffee does, plus it makes me wee loads and just in general seems to play havoc with me.

I know there is so much beneficial stuff and studies done about green tea and cancer but then again I figure lots of people who drink 10 cups of it a day can still get cancer. What does everyone think? I just see no point in making myself miserable trying to drink something I don't want to drink and giving up coffee which is my only vice as I don't smoke, rarely drink and am vegan - don't think I could go without coffee!

DesertMama

I don't have answers for your questions, sorry. I just wanted to mention that my oncologist put green tea on the prohibited list during chemo treatments. He mentioned it more than once, so I am guessing it is fairly important in my case.

bexybexy

Ok thanks. I am not going to drink it anymore as don't like the taste of it. xxxx

ashley2

hello ladies, I am not a green tea drinker but nobody told me to not drink during chemo........I had the antioxidants like"prohibited" or some special medication. 

what else did you have, Desert Mama on your list? if you want to share, of course. thanks 

etherize

Green tea wasn't on my prohibited list, either, and I drank a lot of it during chemo.  Hope it didn't mess it up.

bexybexy, I think you're doing tons of good stuff to prevent a recurrence already.  If I were you, I wouldn't worry about not drinking green tea.  Like you, I much prefer the coffee buzz to green tea, so I mostly drink coffee now.

DesertMama

Ashley, my oncologist also prohibited any and all vitamin supplements. That bummed me out a lot, as a I had a whole regimen worked out, which supposedly would make chemo easier to bear. At the very least, it would have balanced out my diet somewhat, since I am mostly living on toast and yogurt- I can't seem to get anything else down during the week after chemo.

He also told me to avoid tomatoes and oranges, as well as spicy foods, but I think that was more for the acidic content aggravating mouth sores and upsetting my stomach, and less to do with any contraindications with my course of treatment. White tea was also prohibited along with green tea.

I have never been a big green tea drinker, so no feelings of loss there. I don't drink coffee at all. I am, however, addicted to a morning cup or two of strong black tea with milk in it. I know I need to phase that out eventually, sigh. 

ashley2

thanks DesertMama, for me the same, no vitamins supplements ( exception vit D with Calcium because I don't drink to much milk).

I was ok , I did eat A LOT during AC chemo, the first week, my appetite just becomes huge with decadron infusion.. I put 12 kg during chemo, in6 months,  just because of the appetite!! .. the milk created me little bit discomfort but lactose free it is perfect. I drink coffee every morning, need it to weak up. a strong black coffee without sugar . 

have a nice day 

SelenaWolf

I was never given any "prohibited" list during chemotherapy, although my MO did mention that they didn't like to have patients take mega-doses of anything.  When I questioned her about my regular vitamen regimen, she okay'ed everything I was already taking/doing.

As to making changes to your lifestyle, my only advice would be to do it for the right reasons.  Breast cancer - while hugely important to anyone who is at risk or who has been diagnosed - should not be the only reason to do make changes in your life.  We cannot prevent breast cancer - it's going to happen to certain women whether we like it or not - and to drive yourself crazy with a diet regimen you can't stick to or an exercise programme you hate or the need to take fifty gazillion supplements a day can get a little crazy.  Make changes that make sense to you... if you don't like green tea, you don't like green tea.  Why drink it, let alone ten cups a day?

Make changes that resonate with you and how you want to live your life in the long run.  Yes, you can do some things to lower your recurrence risk - like keeping your weight down and not smoking - but you, also, need to enjoy your life as well.  If you like the occasional glass of wine, you can still enjoy that; just don't enjoy several glasses several nights a week.  That wouldn't be good for you for any number of reasons, not just to lower recurrence risk.  If you like coffee, there's no reason to put it on a prohibited list, just - maybe - drink less of it if you are concerned.  If you like tea with milk, well... so be it.  And a sinfully, decadent dessert once in a while is just good for the soul.

As my MO told me, live healthfully, but don't force yourself to eat/drink things that you absolutely hate.  That doesn't make sense.  Moderation is the key.  You've got to enjoy your life.  That's why you suffered through surgery and chemotherapy.  To LIVE.

sdstarfish

Bexy, I drink mostly tea but have 1 cup of coffee a day. That said, I drink organic or fair-trade coffee whenever possible. The reason: coffee is highly sprayed with pesticides. But organic is not, and fair trade (i.e., Starbucks) is less likely to be grown with harmful stuff.

By the way, if you're near an Ikea, they have great coffee and it's also fair trade

bexybexy

sdstarfish I am going to start looking out for fair trade and organic coffee now. It needs to be instant though as I find that easier and don't have a coffee maker but am sure there are some great varieties out there I have also heard of "green coffee" made from green coffee beans. Like you I only have 1-2 cups of it a day so am not gonna beat myself up over it. I am kind of relieved in some way that green tea has not been proved to reduce breast cancer as didn't fancy having to drink 10 cups a day of the stuff lol! I already am really healthy and eat tons of cruciferous veg and salad and fruit but also love my naughty vegan cupcakes! Thankyou for everyones replies I think we just have to do the best we can with our diets nobody is perfect and I see people all around me whose diets are 50 times worse than mine and they seem to be healthy all the time and never get anything! xxx