Breast Cancer Advice Center

What kind of foods should a Breast cancer stage 2b patient avoid ?

my doctor told me to avoid all red meat, chicken, etc. What food should I eat aside from fish , fruits and vegetables ? I used to be a fried chicken eater.

Public Comments

1. Everything and anything causes breast cancer these days according to one research or another, none of which are conclusive. The truth is they just don't really know. You can't/shouldn't totally eliminate variety from your diet. I was stage 2b also, hormone positive. Eat lean meats or trim fat from the meat you eat, limit red meat, maintain a healthy weight, and don't drink heavily and you'll be fine. Try organic raised meats. Girl I am from Georgia and I love fried chicken, lol, and I still eat it and have been a survivor for 3 years now, you'll be okay. oh yea, and I also heard that broccoli, cauliflower and greens are great at reducing the risk. My 6 year old son heard it on TV when I was diagnosed so I looked it up and sure enough there was page after page on the issue. Check into it and good luck to you! :)
2. I'm surprised that your doctor told you that. There are no foods proven to cause, prevent or treat cancer, and I've never heard of a doctor giving this sort of advice before.
   
   I have been a vegetarian for most of my life and a vegan (no animal products at all) for 12 years; I eat organic where possible, eat loads of fruit and veg, have never smoked, avoid caffeine and exercise regularly (though not as regularly as I used to). None of this stopped me being diagnosed with grade 3 breast cancer 4 years ago; it didn't cure me and I'm not relying on it to prevent recurrence or metastasis.
   
   My advice is simply to maintain a healthy diet (which would mean limiting red meats anyway), with all the healthy foods you know you should have, but above all enjoy your food. Have your fried chicken occasionally if that's what you enjoy - you need treats when you've got cancer!.
   
   Edit** Most breast cancers are eostrogen positive; mine was. This isn't advice that's usually given to ER+ breast cancer patients. Honeybots, was it actually your oncologist who said this, or your GP?
3. I agree with lo_mcg ... I've never heard of a breast cancer patient -- which would indicate that they are in treatment -- being told to avoid any food in particular. People in treatment are encouraged to eat pretty much whatever appeals to them, and particularly foods with high levels of protein, even red meats and especially chicken.
   
   Now, I personally (being in treatment myself) choose organic chicken and beef, or at a minimum hormone/antibiotic free offerings.
   
   You can start eating "healthy" again (lower consumption of red meats) when you've gotten through treatment.
4. I'd ask him or her why. Perhaps you are estrogen positive and they are concerned about the hormones beef and chicken are fed. There is hormone free beef and free range chicken.
5. My Oncol told me to eat what I want, when I want. He is more concerned with me losing weight during chemo than the content of my diet. I've made him proud since I've gained 15 pounds while on chemo. I blame the steroids.
   The other poster might have a point about your Dr being concerned with the hormones in the meats if you are hormone positive. Ask them why they want you to avoid those things.
   Remember that it is your body and you deserve complete answers rather than just a list of dos and don'ts
6. Many people around the world always mix meats with lemon grass, cumin, curry, 5 spicies, garlic, onion, chili peper, hot peper, ginger; etc. or milk with cumin powder to avoid poisons. They follow ancient's wisdom to kill cancer cells before cooking and consumption.
   
   Only few vegetables were told maybe anti-tumor, and
   the way to consump each of them is different. Fresh, concocting or boiling yields 3 different qualities of nutritions. 1 lbs of fresh vegetable maybe equivalent with 5 lbs of boiled one.