There’s a lot of controversy about consuming phytoestrogens like flaxseed and soya when you have estrogen-dominant breast cancer. Some say you should avoid them as they mimic estrogen and may aggravate the breast cancer. Others reason that phytoestrogens are a weak and harmless form of estrogen, so it is better for them to occupy the estrogen-receptor sites in the body which feed the cancer, rather than have those sites occupied by harmful estrogens like estradiol and estrone. By competing to fill the estrogen-receptors, phytoestrogens are actually cancer-fighting, or so the logic goes.

After following the Budwig protocol for 14 months and consuming large quantities of flaxseed oil combined with cottage cheese daily, as well as ground flax – an essential part of the program – I’ve come to the conclusion that flaxseed is harmful for my estrogen-sensitive breast cancer. Tumors as large as oranges developed during that time and covered my breast, bleeding profusely. That was a horrifying period. No more flaxseed for me!

Soy, on the other hand, seems to have helped keep the cancer under control for several years since I was first diagnosed. I drank soy milk daily and used it in my cereal until my husband and I sold our house and moved in with his folks for almost a year while we were looking for a new home. During that interval, we could not use the kitchen freely, so we did not buy groceries or prepare our own meals and beverages then. Not only did I stop consuming soy milk daily, I even stopped my daily juicing routine. Whether it was due to these changes in my diet or to the stress of living with the in-laws, the cancer started getting active and the small tumor I had then bled for the first time ever. Shortly after moving into our new home, I started on the Budwig protocol and the breast cancer grew exponentially thereafter.

I’m back to consuming soy daily now. I love drinking fresh soya milk every day, the natural, clean-tasting type which Asians have been drinking for generations, not the additives-loaded fake substitute for dairy milk sold in the West. I also enjoy cooking with soy products like tofu and tempeh, a fermented pressed soy cake. Interestingly, my oncologist suggested I consume more soy products to counter the side-effects of Femara (Letrozole), an estrogen inhibitor. I blend my own fresh vegetable and fruit juices daily too. I even make sauerkraut regularly and eat it daily for its cancer-fighting and estrogen-regulating properties. When I can find space in my fridge, I also make a big batch of coleslaw, one of my favorite salads which also happens to have cancer-fighting properties.

I know what flaxseed did to my body and I also remember how soy protected me against breast cancer so, as phytoestrogens go, my vote is for soy.