Natural Alternatives to taking Tamoxin?

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Natural Alternatives to taking Tamoxin?

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  • twirlgirl
    twirlgirl Member Posts: 212
    edited April 2008

    I am not convinced that the benefits outweigh the side effects of taking Tamoxafin?...anyone done any personal research on herbs/supplements or anything that would stand in as a replacement of sorts?

    My current plan is simply the anti-cancer diet with lots of estrogen regulating veggies and exercise (keep my weight healthy). Before I see my surgeon for follow-up, I want to be able to defend my choices.

    I know there is an incredible base of knowledge here with you ladies!

    thanks,

    Tay 

  • Paulette531
    Paulette531 Member Posts: 738
    edited April 2008

    Is there a copy of this diet somewhere? Sounds interesting!

  • Cynthia1962
    Cynthia1962 Member Posts: 1,424
    edited April 2008

    Off the top of my head, you could try DIM, Vitamin D, CoQ10, Curcumin, and Kelp (for the iodine).

    Cynthia 

  • anondenet
    anondenet Member Posts: 715
    edited December 2009

    I take Iodine which down-regulates the estrogen receptors. Iodine has gotten rid of cystic ovaries and fibroids also because of the same estrogen-organizing principle. 

  • twirlgirl
    twirlgirl Member Posts: 212
    edited April 2008

    Paulette...it's a diet I got from my naturpath doc, but there are books out on it.

    cynthia & anomdent, thanks for responding. i really appreciate the link to that article on iodine, as I am really wanting to find what I can choose that will work on those pesky estrogen receptors!

  • erickcarpenter
    erickcarpenter Member Posts: 79
    edited April 2008

    My wife takes I3C, and so far so good.

    Erick Carpenter

  • chemo072
    chemo072 Member Posts: 682
    edited April 2008

    fractionated pectin powder something or other is supposed to behave like a natural tamoxifen, as is melatonin in large doses as I understand it.  but best to look up the literature, likely in pubmed.

  • Bliz
    Bliz Member Posts: 507
    edited April 2008

    I am taking Dim, dandelion, milk thistle, a liguid multi-vitamin, green drink, Sam-E and fish, flax, borage plus upped the organic diet and stopped drinking tap water.  So far, so good.

  • Robbin65
    Robbin65 Member Posts: 251
    edited April 2008

    I was just going to start a thread on this topic but then saw this.

    I started Tamoxifen in Oct 07 and within' 6 weeks I broke out with a complete allergic body rash.  I am prementalpausal and there for Tamoxifen is the ONLY estrogen blocker for estrogen recptive breast cancer in pre-menopasual women. 

    My ono took me off for a few months and these are now my options:

    1.  Have my overies removed...Frown

    2.  Have my overies radiated...Cry

    3.  Have my overies suppressed by a series of shots...Surprised

    And that's it.

    Therefore, I am screwed. 

    My question is:

    Is there anyone out there that is familar with any other treatments or ways to block estrogen other than Tamoxife

  • Robbin65
    Robbin65 Member Posts: 251
    edited April 2008

    I was just going to start a thread on this topic but then saw this.

    I started Tamoxifen in Oct 07 and within' 6 weeks I broke out with a complete allergic body rash.  I am premenopausal and there for Tamoxifen is the ONLY estrogen blocker for estrogen recptive breast cancer in pre-menopasual women. 

    My ono took me off for a few months and these are now my options:

    1.  Have my overies removed...Frown

    2.  Have my overies radiated...Cry

    3.  Have my overies suppressed by a series of shots...Surprised

    And that's it.

    Therefore, I am screwed. 

    My question is:

    Is there anyone out there that is familar with any other treatments or ways to block estrogen other than Tamoxifen?  Believe me, I have researched lots.

    I have been taking nothing for 6 months now.  My period has returned and so my body is flowing with estrogen.

    What shoud I do?

  • erickcarpenter
    erickcarpenter Member Posts: 79
    edited April 2008

    RobbinJaye take a look at I3C. and the studies done. My wife uses it religiously, and the studies can be found on google. more effective than Tamoxifen.

  • Robbin65
    Robbin65 Member Posts: 251
    edited April 2008

    Eric,

    Can you tell me what I3C is???

    I also was wondering about alternative treatments.

    By the way, do you guys ride?  I am in northern CA north of Sac and use to ride a lot in the San Jose area.  Awesome!

    Thanks for the response.

  • Cynthia1962
    Cynthia1962 Member Posts: 1,424
    edited April 2008

    RobbinJaye - I've read of other women who also broke out in a rash from Tamoxifen and they discovered that they were allergic to a particular brand because of the fillers used.  When they switched to a different maker of Tamoxifen, their rash went away.  Good luck!

    Cynthia 

  • erickcarpenter
    erickcarpenter Member Posts: 79
    edited April 2008

    Here you go RobbinJaye, I3C.

    http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2002/jan2002_report_i3c_01.html

    kind of an overview, and also a "versus" DIM. My wife uses I3C instead of Tamoxifen, and so far, so good. do a google on it and see what you think.

    and yep, we ride around the San Diego area, made a trip last year to Yosemite, and want to go back to Sequoia.

    Ride on!

  • anondenet
    anondenet Member Posts: 715
    edited December 2009

    Robin, please look into nutients to down-regulate your estrogen receptors. Breast disease appears to arise not from too much estrogen but from having overactive estrogen RECEPTORS.

  • erickcarpenter
    erickcarpenter Member Posts: 79
    edited April 2008

    Another study from Berkely (I posted this on another area here)

    http://www.jbc.org/cgi/content/full/280/10/8756

    I3C is a promising chemotherapeutic agent for treatment of humanbreast cancer, and other reproductive cancers, because of itspotent growth inhibitory properties (18-23, 60-62),and repression of invasion and migration of cultured breastcancer cell lines (24). Elucidation of the molecular mechanismsand cell cycle targets of the I3C anti-proliferative signalingpathway provides critical information that could potentiallybe exploited in the development of novel indole-based therapeuticstrategies. We previously documented that I3C induces a G1 cellcycle arrest of human breast cancer cells that is accompaniedby the dual inhibition CDK6 and CDK2 kinase activities (19).I3C and its natural dimerization product DIM (12) have beenshown to inhibit CDK2 enzymatic activity, although the distinctionin the mechanisms underlying the effects of these two indoleswas unknown. We now establish a new and unique feature of theI3C signaling pathway by establishing that I3C induces a robustdown-regulation of CDK2 kinase activity that is accompaniedby selective alterations in the cyclin E composition, size distributionand subcellular localization of the CDK2 protein complex. Furthermore,we show that this mechanism of regulating CDK2 function is specificto the I3C anti-proliferative signaling pathway that is distinguishablefrom the actions of DIM and the anti-estrogen tamoxifen.

  • girlonthemoon
    girlonthemoon Member Posts: 4
    edited May 2008

    hi, I have estrogen positive, my dr gave me 3 shots of luprin for 3 months, and now i am getting a few hot flashes, but hope he successfully turned off my ovary. It was easy on me and I did not lose my hair. other drs wanted to hook me up to chemo and put in a port. instead I found a good dr who agreed with the acs gudelines.Good luck. I am now being tested to check if I am in menopause. I think that I am.  I will take tamoxifin for a year. I take maitake and black cohosh and other cam with western meds. I am one of the lucky ones. God bless.

  • amberyba
    amberyba Member Posts: 608
    edited May 2008

    I've been researching on the tamoxifien alternative too...after I finish radiation my med oncologist will want me to start it.

    I read an article on curcumin/turmeric ability to block estrogen mimickers;

    source:

    http://www.goodhealth.nu/News_Articles/050111-curcumin-anti-cancer-US.htm

    this site talks about many neat things you can supplement after bc to help prevent recurrence:

    http://www.raysahelian.com/breastcancer.html

    I hope my med oncologist will agree to check my hormone levels and run the blood test that predicts if you are a good metabolizer for tamoxifen ;higher circulating estrogen levels increase chances of recurrence, even if you take tamoxifen...source:

    http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/571252

    So far the things I've researched these three supplements have impressed me:

    Turmeric/curcumin

    flaxseed

    CoQ10

    I've googled Coq10 and flaxseed with tamoxifen and they seem to offer better effects when taken together.

    Like any supplement or medication you have to remember every ones body is different and responds in different ways.

    I still research and everyday I stand amazed at the things I learn!

    good luckSmile

    God BlessSmile

  • Chewyong
    Chewyong Member Posts: 1
    edited May 2008

    I am 33 and was diagnosed late last year with Stage IIA cancer.  After my surgery, chemo and radiation, I have just started using Tamoxifen and Zoladex (a jab once every 3 months).  I am having hot flushes more than 5 times a day - so much so that I felt like giving up on Tamoxifen totally as it seems less bearable than the nausea and tiredness experienced during chemo & radiation.  Am also considering traditional chinese medicine (TCM) as this is rather prevalent where I come from.  Anyone tried TCM before? 

    Anything I can do to alleviate the situation with the hot flushes?  

  • FloridaLady
    FloridaLady Member Posts: 2,155
    edited May 2008

    Chewyoug,

    I changed my diet and stop my hot flushes. I did major changes so you may not want to try my diet, but my natural doctor told be NO sugar of any kind.  And it worked.  I don't know why?

    FLALADY

  • girlonthemoon
    girlonthemoon Member Posts: 4
    edited May 2008

    black cohosh 80 mg can help with hot flashes. aLSO,an anti depressant called effexor also can end 80% of hot flaSHES.

  • Luckysmom
    Luckysmom Member Posts: 49
    edited May 2008

    Is 13C something that you can buy at a health food store? Is it in a vitamin form or what? thank you!

  • erickcarpenter
    erickcarpenter Member Posts: 79
    edited May 2008

    We get my wife's I3C here: http://www.nowfoods.com/?action=itemdetail&item_id=41657 but you can find it at just about any health food store. and for an interesting read on I3C, provided by the same shop: http://www.nowfoods.com/?action=itemdetail&item_id=41666 and part of that article is:

    What are the benefits to taking I3C?   I3C helps to regulate cell growth rates, and helps to change a strong and inflammatory form of estrogen (estradiol) into a safer, less aggressive form (estrone). In technical terms, I3C influences our bodies to favor the 2-hydroxylation metabolic pathway to increase the ratio of 2-hydroxysterone to 16a-hydroxyestrone. It may also be able to influence estradiol activity in neighboring cells to also be less aggressive at triggering cell growth. The regulation of estrogen-related cell growth is considered a factor into whether one is more prone to develop certain cancers, so dietary nutrients that normalize cell growth are considered protective. Cells need to be able to repair and grow at normal rates. Uncontrolled growth can be very dangerous. I3C helps trigger cell death in abnormal cells so they won't become a bigger problem over time.

    Hence the reason my wife decided I3C over Tamoxifen.

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