Advised to avoid Estrogen

Oestrogen is in some herbal products, soya products can convert to oestrogen although it's ok to have it as milk I have heard. Normal diet does not usually have oestrogen as an additive. My radiologist never mentioned anything like that. I would ask the MacMillan Nurses in here to comment or your BC Nurse. 

Hi Valleyside , wow I agree that’s a bit of a blanket statement without any elaboration! Assume your cancer was oestrogen positive? As was mine - see my profile if you want details but abridged version is oestrogen positive, HER2 negative, had wide local excision, sentinel node sampling, 3 weeks radiotherapy and currently on Anastrozole. I wasn’t given any advice re avoiding oestrogen but have tried to do that anyway. Don’t really know re shower stuff etc…… didn’t know there was oestrogen in any of that apart from products for vaginal lubrication. I do try to buy ‘natural’ stuff and avoid things like liquid paraffin, parabens and other chemical nasties but also think it’s impossible to be too purist. 
Re food, I did look into soy products as soya contains something like phyto oestrogens (think that’s the term) and was reassured by research which seemed to conclude that simple soy products like soya ‘milk’, tofu and tempeh were fine (and possibly protective) but to avoid highly processed soy eg in pretend meats. It does involve checking labels but highly processed is best avoided anyway. I use a lot of soy products so was glad that most seem good. 
A lovely member here used to have a list of foods which were ‘good’ for keeping oestrogen at bay, I’ll tag her now - hi lesleyhelen hope you don’t mind! 
I also went to a really useful talk on diet at the Future Dreams centre in Kings Cross - worth a Google even if you’re nowhere near as they do online stuff too. The Penny Brohn centre in Bristol also worth a Google, they do sessions on diet too (online and in person). 
Hope you’re at least feeling relieved to have the radiotherapy out of the way and not having any post rads issues. Love and hugs, HFxx 

Thank you didn’t spell Oestrogen right lol!! 
I am so confused about everything to be honest. I don’t want to be watching everything I eat or do. I just want to live my life xx

Thank you. I am a little fed up, don’t want to be watching everything I eat or worry about what skin care I’m using, I just want to enjoy life xx 

I asked my Oncologist about some of the things I take,  eg Collagen supplements, prescribed meds, scalp drops from a Trichologist containing a tiny % of oestrogen. He said everything was ok, I think it's wise to check a little but not to let it spoil your diet or life. Mine was oestrogen dependent and I'm on Letrozole. I feel it is not her remit to say that really. Anything can upset us if said at the wrong time. Enjoy your food. 

Hello Valleyside,  wow this is a loaded statement and I do agree with radiologist about really limiting exposure to xenoestrogens, phthalates and parsbens.  If you live in EU you have a big advantage over me as I live in US and only 11 items are banned from personal care products.  In EU you have thousands of items banned and hundreds in Canada so you are ahead of the game.  It is interesting you posted this today as my husband just read an article in Nutrition Action that discussed the xenoestrogens in personal care products and that we should avoid it.  
I have sent you a link that may help https://chemtrust.org/cosmetics/

I eat a plant based diet and eat soy products often as a source of protein.  Tofu, tempeh, edamame, soy milk , miso etc.  I stay away from soy protein isolates as that is not a whole food.  Don’t take any soy supplements either.  You can watch Dr Li on YouTube and he does a great job of explaining why soy products are fine and healthy.  He is fabulous and has worked on developing drugs to fight cancer etc.  You can check him out In Angiogenesis foundation.  
Take care and I have been checking all my moisturizers etc for questionable items as I am always moisturizing especially now since on anastrazole and my skin is drier.  
Take care and whenever I seem to get news that is disturbing I just think of it as a chance to learn and share.  We are all here to do just that and love all you women for educating me.  
Barbara

Hi Valleyside  and thanks to HappyFeet1  for tagging me.  I can't actually upload files any more, so if you scroll across, this is the spreadsheet that I did when I was first diagnosed.  I just went online and looked for oestrogen reducing foods and found all these.  I'm vegetarian, so I didn't research any meat products (sorry!)  I also decided to not drink cow's milk any more as I figured that cows were given oestrogen to produce calves and the milk is  there in order to feed them, so I guessed that cows milk would contain oestrogen.  I now drink oat milk.  I will put a caveat that this is just my non medical research!  But, I started eating a lot of these products and I've been signed off - and coming up to 6 years post diagnosis.

Also, reading that you were told to check for oestrogen food seems a bit odd.  I wasn't given this advice at all!  The only thing I was advised not to use was any oestrogen vaginal creams. I just decided that it made sense to see what foods contained oestrogen.

You will no doubt be taking oestrogen reducing tablets and these are what will definitely reduce oestrogen in your body and that's the whole point of taking the tablets (5 years or 10 years for younger ladies). 

My dentist told me to use Corsodyl and she was really knowledgeable as I'd visited her just before radiotherapy and she prescribed me some special toothpaste to protect my teeth during radio. (can't remember what it was) and I've had no issues with my teeth since, whereas I do read that other ladies have had issues.

Rather than thinking about worrying about 'what you eat' you could just add some of these extra into your diet if you fancy it

I also cut down on alcohol - but I did like a tipple every day, lol.  So now, I only drink when I go out with friends and a Saturday night.

Hope this helps a little.

Kindest Wishes, Lesley

Its strange, I too was never told this.  I was told (as I am overweight)....

That fat cells (can) store oestrogen for 'it' to feed from - hence another reason to loose weight. 

I'm not too sure now - and as for the weight, I just don't move around as much as I should and ....
I eat all the wrong foods arrrrrrghhh.

 lesleyhelen , I hope you don't mind, I have re-typed your list....

your list is really useful (again most foods I don't eat - I seem to have a problem with textures, although, no excuse).

xxx

Thanks for that, I too wonder about cows milk. I may try reducing it by adding soya milk. It has to fortified to replace vit d and calcium. I think they all are these days. I do take something for osteoporosis anyway. Good to share our research and wisdom. Hopefully that is what it is. If we are wrong I'm sure someone will say in a nice way. Xx

Cow’s milk has a protein called casein and it does cause proliferation of prostate cancer cells and I don’t drink it as it is meant for calves.  I just figure it must have a lot of growth factors in it so the calves can grow big and strong.  Besides there are so many delicious plant based mills.  I like unsweetened soy milk and unsweetened Ripple which is made from pea protein.  
Barbara