Breast Cancer Survival Rates & How to Prevent a Recurrence with Cancer Fighting Foods

Breast cancer survival rates are approximately 23% for women diagnosed with invasive breast cancer. Learn about 3 foods in the breast cancer-fighting diet to prevent a breast cancer recurrence…

Breast Cancer Survival Rates & How to Prevent a Recurrence with Cancer-Fighting Foods

ARTICLE SUMMARY

At The Cancer Detox we see a lot of women who have already undergone breast cancer treatment and want to prevent it from recurring. You asked, and we answered and developed a How to Beat Breast Cancer with Diet plan!

In this article you will learn:

• A breast cancer prevention diet start with lowering fat. A study found that a low fat, low-calorie diet could lower the risk of a breast cancer recurrence by 24%
• Vegetables are the foundation in a breast cancer diet plan. A recent large-scale study found that breast cancer patients who ate a large number of vegetables every day lowered their risk of a recurrence by 31%

Catch Up on Our Latest Posts

• Triple negative breast cancer diet
• Diet for patients on chemotherapy
• Watch all about our breast cancer diet plan

Now let’s get into it!…

INTRODUCTION

Over 2.9 million women in the U.S. have a history of breast cancer.  Approximately 23% of women with breast cancer will have a recurrence within a 15-year period after their initial diagnosis. Breast cancer recurrence, or the development of a new cancer at a different body site, continues to be a risk for breast cancer patients. Women with this disease know that it is expensive to treat and increases their chances of death, therefore avoiding another breast cancer diagnosis is imperative.

New science-based evidence is showing that lifestyle choices and natural cancer-fighting foods may lower the risk of a breast cancer recurrence.  Below you will find the foundational diet for breast cancer patients that breast cancer survivors could find beneficial.

#1 REDUCE FAT

While reducing fat is not a “cancer-fighting food” per se, fat reduction is an important aspect of a diet for breast cancer patients and survivors. Research suggests that fat could be a cancer-promoting food.  Eating less fat, especially trans fatty acids, may help to boost your chances of long-term survival.

A recent scientific study conducted in breast cancer patients taking standard chemotherapy drugs plus radiation showed that women who ate a low-calorie and low-fat diet had a significant reduction in breast cancer recurrence.  This study was called WINS (Women’s Intervention Nutrition Study).

The study results showed:

• In this study, women were asked to lower their dietary fat by 15% and compared the results of breast cancer recurrence to another group of breast cancer patients that did not reduce their fat intake
• Women who reduced their fat intake lowered their risk of a recurrence by 24% compared to women who did not [2].

COMING SOON! Learn more ways fat can lower the risk of a breast cancer recurrence by downloading our free guide “How to Survive Breast Cancer: 5 Strategies to Prevent a Recurrence” and you’ll get a BONUS 3-day cancer-fighting food meal planner.

FREE DOWNLOAD

Our Cancer Coach Dr. Dee Grace put together a FREE eBook on a breast cancer diet plan. Click here to download 5 Tips to Prevent and Conquer Breast Cancer.

#2 EAT MORE VEGETABLES

 

Vegetables are breast cancer-fighting foods, period. They are THE FOUNDATIONAL FOOD GROUP in our breast cancer diet plan. Eating more vegetables can lower your risk of a breast cancer recurrence and possibly improve your chances of long-term survival.

In the Women’s Healthy Eating and Living (WHEL) Study, over 3,000 breast cancer survivors were questioned about their vegetable intake. The women in this study were, on average, 23+ months post their initial breast cancer diagnosis.

The women surveyed in this study were eating about 3 servings a day of total vegetables. The researcher found that:

• Total vegetables: Women who ate a high amount of all types of vegetables had a 31% lower risk of a breast cancer recurrence compared to women who a low amount of vegetable
• Women taking the hormone drug tamoxifen and were eating a high amount of vegetables had a 44% lower risk of a breast cancer recurrence

COMING SOON! Learn more ways vegetables lowers the risk of a breast cancer recurrence. Download our free guide “How to Survive Breast Cancer: 5 Strategies to Prevent a Recurrence” and get a BONUS 3-day cancer-fighting food meal planner.

#3 FLAXSEEDS AND BREAST CANCER

 

Eating flaxseeds may help to improve your breast cancer survival outcomes. What are flaxseeds? They are important sources of the following:

• Omega-3 fatty acids (aka – healthy fats)
• Antioxidants

Flaxseeds are an important source of antioxidants for women. Antioxidants are substances that remove cellular waste and lower inflammation in the body. They are also important for painting healthy brain, joint, and gut health. This is why our diet for breast cancer patients includes foods with high amounts of antioxidants.

A recent study found that flaxseeds could reverse growing breast cancer tumors in newly diagnosed breast cancer patients. The women in this study were diagnosed with breast cancer based on a biopsy (where they take a sample of the breast tissue with the tumor) and were asked to eat a muffin containing 25 g of flaxseed (about 2 tablespoons).  A separate group of women that were also newly diagnosed with breast cancer were also asked to eat a muffin but it did not contain flaxseeds (this is considered a “placebo group”).

After eating 30 flaxseed muffins every day for 30 days, the women in this group had the following results:

• Increased cell death of the cancer cells compared to women who did not eat flaxseeds
• Production of HER2 cancer types (which is a very aggressive breast cancer) was turned off compared to women who did not eat the flaxseeds
• Less growth and proliferation of the breast cancer cells compared to women who did not eat the flaxseeds

The researchers who conducted the study stated, “Our results therefore suggest that the intake of flaxseed has the potential to delay disease progression of pre-invasive or invasive breast cancer by changing the phenotype of the cancer cells to a less aggressive form.” [2]

COMING SOON! Download our free resource exclusively for breast cancer patients: “How to Survival Breast Cancer: 5 Strategies to Prevent a Recurrence” and you’ll get a BONUS 3-day cancer-fighting food meal planner.

Contact Our Cancer Coach

Learn more about what is in our breast cancer diet plan. Call our Cancer Coach today at 678-310-8101! Or schedule a complimentary call. Let’s talk about a plant based diet for cancer treatment, best ways to find a second opinion, and much more!

 

To Your Best Health!

Dee Grace, PhD

Hi! I am Dee Grace, PhD Scientist and Cancer Coach. I help cancer patients improve their quality of life with strategies to get better care from their doctor and adopt a plant based diet for cancer treatment. This is a science-based cancer diet program where you’ll receive an anti-cancer diet book. Schedule a complimentary call with me and get our FREE guides “How to Survive Breast Cancer” and “7 Ways to Conquer and Prevent Cancer.”

 

REFERENCES:

1. Chlebowski RT, et al. Diet fat reduction and breast cancer outcome: interim efficacy results from the women’s intervention nutrition study. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2006;98:1767.
2. Thompson L, et al. Dietary Flaxseed Alters Tumor Biological Markers in Postmenopausal Breast Cancer. Clin Cancer Res 2005;11(10)