Caffeine and Triple Negative

lmcclure4477

I read that caffeine increases the chances of getting triple negative breast cancer. I have to admit, before I was diagnosed I drank about four cups of coffee a day. Does anyone know if it is ok to drink one cup of coffee a day? I need the caffeine but don't want a reoccurrence.

placid44

When I finished chemo I told my oncologist I was eating more vegetables, had quit alcohol permanently, planned to lose 25 pounds, and had quit caffeine. She said caffeine is ok but all of the other items I mentioned were important in preventing recurrence. I am back to drinking one strong cup of coffee per day. I plan to meet with a nutritionist soon and if she says differently about caffeine, I'll post again.

placid44

...in facts act I went to a presentation by the Triple Negative Breast Cancer Foundation a couple of weeks ago and they said coffee could help reduce recurrence. It was not specific to caffeine...the research didn't say caffeinated or decaf.

Mumtobe

I really wish the medical profession would just decide what is good/not so good for us TNs. Placid44 my onc told me I was fine to have alcohol, preferably red wine, in moderation. Did your onc say it is a good idea to remove alcohol altogether? In saying that I will only drink on occasion i.e. weddings, birthdays so it wouldn't be a regular thing for me.

placid44

My onc did not say to quit alcohol altogether. She just approved when I said I had quit. A researcher and TNBC survivor from the Triple Negative Foundation who presented on 3/3/13 was stage 3 seven years ago and chose to quit. She hasnt had a recurrence. I'm choosing to do the same, in part because I have another recurrence risk factor...I am overweight...and I'm not sure how well I'll do with that. I've lost 10 lb., but I have another 20 to go, at least.

placid44

...the TNBC Foundation presenter also exercises 1 hour per day six days per week, and eats seven cups of veggies/fruits per day!

lmcclure4477

I also plan to quit alcohol except on special occasions (birthdays, holidays). I also plan to exercise at least 5 times a week once chemo is done. I could lose about 20 pounds so I will be changing my diet to mostly fruits, veggies, whole grains, poultry and fish. Those are all steps to take to lower a recurrence.

stride

Lmmclure, do you remember where you read that caffeine is bad for TN recurrence? I try to limit it generally. But we live in a society that is hooked on coffee.

placid44

The site below says coffee can increase recurrence for hormone negative. I remembered it because it conflicted with what I heard from TNBC Foundation. Definitely confusing!



http://foodforbreastcancer.com/articles/what-should-triple-negative-breast-cancer-patients-and-survivors-eat?

lmcclure4477

I also read it in the book Surviving Triple Negative Breast Cancer. That book is a great read and I definitely recommend it!!

InspiredbyDolce

Hello!  I just came across this post.  Before I was dx'd TNBC, I had thought perhaps it was something I had done recently, within the past 2 years.  And when I started reviewing things, about 2 years earlier is when I started drinking coffee, and I also would drink a lot daily, on top of Diet Cokes.  So when I was dx'd I stopped coffee, Diet Coke, and alcohol cold turkey.  I do have organic green tea 2x daily though.  I also now clean with gloves on (I used to be a big cleaner and also suspected chemicals).

MsBliss

I have not read any contraindications for coffee specific to tnbc.  Where did you get that info from?

I did go to the food for breast cancer link that placid44 posted and it provided a lot of links to articles and research which were very interesting.  Cool website!  Their recommendations with regard to coffee were compartmentalized depending on age, menopausal status and BRCA status.  Worth noting there appeared to be an error with regard to resveratrol's risk benefit however.  It was listed as contraindicated for tnbc, but the articles cited indicated resveratrol as beneficial for tnbc, but of course, not during chemo because it can conflict with taxane therapy. 

I am a long term coffee drinker.  I'm embarrasssed to say I drank the worst kind too--instant coffee, for years.  About a year ago, I switched to organic brewed coffee, about 3 to 4 cups a day.  I believe coffee has beneficial qualities, at least that is what I tell myself!  I love green tea, but don't crave it as much as a hot cup of coffee with cinnamon on top.

Luah

Evidence is mounting that cancer triggers are numerous, complex, and multi-faceted (biological, environmental, psychological, genetic etc.). I personally don't think any one thing is to blame - and certainly not one thing within my total control. I try to eat right, exercise, avoid bad fats, take a few supplements... I've heard coffee can be good. Everything in moderation is not a bad way to live. 

teresa008

I agree Luah. I have been over and over every change I've made in the last year and I'm not sure which one thing changed my world. I had packed on an extra forty pounds over the last few years so I was desperately looking for a way to remove it, (without too much exercise because of a lower back injury and arthritis and laziness, I'm sure!). So I ordered a new 'hormonal' 90-day 'treatment' that was supposed to restart my sagging metabolism and started on that. I also finally sat down and figured out that, with drinking 12-15 cups of black tea with three teaspoons of sugar a day, I was DRINKING up to 800-900 calories a day! So I went to a stevia extract sweetener instead. I dropped about 28 pounds over the next three months. Right after I was done with the 90-day treatment I was diagnosed with TNBC. It had been 13 months since my last mammagram and the tumor was 2.9-3.2cm estimated before the mastectomy. After the mastectomy they said that it was about 3 cm but it was surrounded by another 2.5 cm of non-invasive cancerous material. So it was pretty large. But I'm still trying to figure out what caused my cancer. I do not have cancer in my family that I know of, at all. So, for me, was it the stevia? Was it the 'hormonal' treatment? Or was it that I had smoked for 38 years? Or that I live with a high power tower in my pasture? Or the chemicals that I use in cleaning? Or that I mostly lived on nuked food and rarely do raw vegetables? There are so many 'bad' things there that I don't even know where to start. If it was any of the last few things, though, they have been with me for years and years. So why now?? (And yes, I quit smoking the day after Christmas!) But I also believe in moderation in everything. Oh yeah, and I drink alcohol once a year, at the most, some years not even that. So it could be any one of those things, a combination of things, or none of them. Who knows?

InspiredbyDolce

Answering MsBliss question on here - the original post did not state coffee was linked to TNBC; they posted that they had read that caffeine might be a trigger for TNBC.  My response was that I stopped drinking Diet Coke and Coffee.  This was a personal decision as I felt it was unhealthy and could very well have been a trigger for me.  What is a trigger for one person may not be a trigger for another person.

However, and this is very interesting ....in the State of California, at all Starbuck's there is a sign that says coffee is known to be carcinogenic.  I believe they are required to post it due to Proposition 65.  I also saw at WalMart this week in AZ a beautiful necklace, that was part of the Breast Cancer Foundation, where you buy the necklace and a percentage of profit goes to the foundation.  I was about to buy it when my husband noticed a warning label on it.  The label stated that CA Residents were required to know that either the packaging or the material in the product contained a compound known to be carcinogenic.  We could not believe that this necklace, being raised for support and research of a BC Foundation was potentially harmful.  Needless to say, I put the necklace back.  We figured the necklace had some types of hazardous metal in it.  If you see it as WalMart, it is on a black thin rope, with a round metal emblem and shiny gems around the circle.  It was so cute ... the point of my story is, the warning label was on there only because it could potentially be sold in CA. 

CA takes a very strong pro-active approach in warning their residents of potential health concerns with products.  This is probably to benefit them as well.  Less people getting sick, less people on government sponsored healthcare programs filing health claims, less cost dollar wise to the state of CA and the residents in the form of taxes, etc.