Gut Issues-Breast Cancer Connection??

jons_girl - thank you for the links . DRs (regular, oncologist, surgeons etc) have never mentioned gut health and cancer) , several support healthy lifestyle including diet. But I keep thinking everything is connected, right? So if one part of the body is sick, unhealthy, or that if you are doing unhealthy things to one part of the body, it seems like it could affect another part of the body. Lifestyle changes can be hard to make. I've cut back on the sugar, probably need to cut back more. Diet is probably more contriversial than religion, and finding good information can be hard.

jons_girl,

The first study you noted is a mouse study. I put no weight in mouse studies. Yes, most research discoveries start with mouse studies, but the percent of mouse studies that prove to be true is humans in extremely small. As I read this study, while the focus is on the gut (of mice) the culprit appears to be inflammation, due to treating the gut with antibiotics.

The second link you provided is referring to this same mouse study.

The third link is a proposed research study - not run yet so no results and nothing more than a theory.

The fourth link hypothesizes about different ways that the intestinal microbiome may be related to breast cancer. Some of the factors are things we know, such as how a fatty diet might increase estrogen.

So while this appears to be an area of study, at this point, at least from these 4 sources, there is no proven connection between gut issues and breast cancer. At this point it's just an theory. Therefore it's not something that our doctors will talk about, other than to suggest we eat a healthy diet. Because, obviously, what we eat affects our health in many ways. There's no doubt an unhealthy gut can lead to other health issues. I'm not one to go on a strict diet but I tend to follow a similar approach to what moth mentioned, aiming for a balanced healthy diet, high in fibre, low in fat and with a lot more fruits & veggies than meats & sweets. The one thing I do is take Metamucil every day. My PCP recommended it years ago when I was having some stomach issues. I actually found it funny a while back because I'd seen a number of different doctors over a short period, and each of them needed the list of meds and supplements I take, and every one of them had the exact same reaction to the Metamucil. Each one of them, including my MO and the doc who did my colonoscopy, said "That's good. Keep it up." It's the one thing I take that every doctor seems to agree on.

Jons_girl - I've never done a food sensitivity test, and probably will not. Like my dog, I seem to be able to eat just about anything. I try to eat "healthy" and find it easier to do when alone, at least as far as meat consumption. My partner probably eats less sugar than me, but does like meat, we both like vegies and fruit. One friend who did do a sensitivity test because of often feeling bloated found out garlic might be an issue with leaky gut. So she cut it out pretty much completely for a year and said she was feeling better. I do not know if she has tried eating it again. Diets are so varied around the world. I hear a lot about how bad cow milk is, but am somewhat skeptical. An ND tried to convince me to substitute "plant milk" , which I see as a liquid supplement. I think Ghingas Kahn powered his army on milk/fermented milk, though it was probably yak, horse, goat milk.

Hello all, Jons_girl especially: I have gut issues that were really pronounced just before cancer diagnosis. Tried many probiotics before finding Align works best for me.

I believe that my gut issues lowered my body's defenses and created an environment for cancer to take hold. Now in my second year after successful cancer treatments, I was feeling really crappy lately for no good reason I could think of... Luckily my GP tested me and chocked most of the issues up to very low Vitamin D. After taking prescribed 50K IU for several weeks, symptoms have already gone away or lessened, including loss of balance, swelling in one leg, etc. These issues seem to have been nearly entirely based on the deficiency. I was skeptical of the importance of D before, but I'm sold now. Gut issues, computer-based vocation, and lockdown contributed to low D for me. Hope your gut health is improving!

I have. Long time IBD patient, now IDC. Interesting information to research, I didn't know. By the way, how do write narrative details about my dx the way you have on your profile?

hopeheal,

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