No soy?

This is a tough one, because your right everything has soy.  There are also some that argue that soy actually is good because it blocks the use of the stronger estrogen that would feed the cancer. 

After months of being afraid of everything I ate I decided to just watch the blatant soy inundations.  I eat a lot of oriental food and was worried about soy sauce until I discovered it's primary ingredient is wheat.  I also heard the problem is more with processed soy, not pure soy bean products.  I don't have any vegetable oil in my house (it's soybean oil) and I only use canola. 

There was a long thread about soy, but I can't recall under what topic.  Perhaps someone else will come along.  Soy is a tough one to yeah or neigh with a blanket statement.  There are studies that show that children in china with higher soy intake actually have lower breast cancer risk, as well as soy being one of the health products touted to reduce breast cancer until we have it.  I am left wondering. 

I was told no soy, also. My first BC was triple negative but my second was ER+/PR-. I've since had a hysterectomy w/BSO but I am to avoid soy, which is difficult considering animals are fed soy. I eat more fruits and vegetables and try to limit eating meat and chicken.

My onc told me that I could have a little soy...haven't eaten tofu in a while as it just doesn't appeal lately, but he said I could eat it on occasion...I figure once a week can't hurt that much...I don't take any supplements that are phyto-estrogens though.  Its such a cr** shoot.  I try to be good, but I gave up enough to BC to give up tofu once in a while or my red wine when the mood strikes.....

this is an excellent overview of soy and hormone-related cancers:

http://www.caring4cancer.com/go/cancer/nutrition/questions/soy-and-hormone-related-cancers.htm 

Rose,

Good post. I was trying to say the same thing...but I havent had my espresso yet!..lol. Oh I will never, give up an occasional coffee.

A recent paper in the Journal of the American Medical Association (Shu et al. JAMA 302:2437, in the Dec 9 2009 edition) showed NO relationship between soy consumption and increased mortality or recurrence, in a study of 5042 female breast cancer patients in Shanghai, China.  Another US (or Canadian, I can't remember) study with a somewhat smaller sample size came to the same conclusions.  Researchers not involved in these studies reviewed the work and supported the work and its conclusions.  I think an "everything in moderation" philosophy is a good thing, and the work I cited would suggest that occasional soy intake is not harmful.

I second Kerry's advice!

On the soy issue (when you get past chemo): I avoid overly processed products that contain soy protein and soybean oil. At first, you may be overwhelmed at the number of everyday fooods that contain soybean oil and protein, but if you do a little research you can find very good substitutes with very little or no soy at all.

For instance, it appears that most commercial salad dressings and mayonnaises use soybean oil, but if you use a mix like Good Seasons, you can use whatever oil you like (I think I've cornered the market on extra virgin olive oil, lol). Cindy's Kitchen dressings have a few varieties without soy, too.  Hellman's has come out with canola and olive oil versions of their mayonnaise, but before they did, I found similar products in the organic or health food sections of my supermarket.

And that would be a good place to start. Since people buying those products are very particular about the ingredients, the manufacturers tend to make foods that cater to those who have special dietary needs. Annie's Cheddar Bunnies are a good substitute for Cheese-Its crackers. My store even markets an organic potato chip made with sunflower oil under their own brand, and it's very good!

Trace amounts of soybean oil in a snack you rarely have won't do much to hurt you. Just watch out for the things you eat regularly and often. Try to find soybean oil-free substitutes for those. The oil and the protein are the worst because they are so heavily processed. Part of the process uses solvents that aren't entirely eliminated by the end. So if the phytoestrogenic properties don't kill you, the latent solvent just might.

kimber 3006, In my opinion it is important to get away from the mindset of finding supplements to take during chemo to counteract the side effects of chemo. Some supplements diminish the efficacy of the chemo, and we simply don't know enough about these interactions. Many supplements strengthen your cells--the good and the bad.You don't want to help your cancer cells along while the chemo is trying to kill them.

My onc, who was just voted one of the best oncs in NC by some sort of peer review, always insisted I not take anything--even extra vitamin c-- in the way of supplementation during chemo and radiation. I know it is tempting to want to make yourself feel better, and you can do this by eating food, which is always a good drug anyway. As usual, Kerry is right!

Hi Ladies,

I wish all the oncologists would get together for on BIG meeting about treating their patients.  So they will all be on the same page.  My onc told me it was ok to take vitamin C during chemo, it helps boost the immune system.  And I was told to avoid soy, as much as I can.  You can't avoid it totally, just dont start overloading on it.  Also, I've read that people who live in countries that eat alot of soy have eaten soy all their life so their body is used to it.  We americans have not had a soy based diet all of our lives like other countries.  So when diagnosed with ER+ breast cancer it is NOT a good thing to suddenly put tons of soy into our bodies.