usage of flax seed oil and xeloda in breast ca with mets to bone - 1249305

staceyptl
Posts:3

Hi, I am new to the grace website and I just wanted to say that the readings that I have done so far have been quite helpful and encouraging as well. Thank you for your sacrifice of time and energy :). I am a 54 y.o. woman, dxed with Lt breast ca in 2003 had lt lumpectomy,1 lymph node pos; adramycin,cytoxan q3wks x4 and then taxol, followed by 6 wks of radiation.I was cancer free until 1/12 when I was dxed with breast ca again in Lt breast with mets to bone(spine).fx's in spine with txed with 2wks radiation & had 5 cycles of abraxine and exgeva with great response to tx. I was on faslodex for about 21/2 mths and noted regrowth in my breast.(confirmed with pet scan and mri of breast, bone remains stable) I Just started xeloda 1500mg bid 1 wk on 1 wk off. I would like to use flax seed oil from time to time when I feel respiratory congestion coming on. I like to use it first before going to antibiotics(I always let my oncologist know if symptoms persist). In the past I would use it for a week or so and it generally worked to stave off any progression of congestion etc. I was wondering if flax seed oil would interfere with my chemo.
Thanks for any insight that you can give.

Forums

Dr West
Posts: 4735

No, I do not believe that flax seed oil would interfere with chemotherapy, though I would probably not take it at the same time as the Xeloda. I'll ask Dr. Walko, our expert oncology pharmacologist, to offer her thoughts here as well.

-Dr. West

dr walko
Posts: 102

Stacey,

Welcome to Grace! Flax seed itself does not directly interact with the anticancer effects of Xeloda, however a concern with it's use is that it has been reported to have phytoestrogenic effects, which means that it may stimulate the growth of cancer cells that use estrogen as food. Based on the fact that you said you were previously on faslodex, I would guess that your cancer is estrogen receptor (ER) positive and thus the flax seed may stimulate the growth of the tumor. Weighing risk and benefit, I would recommend to avoid it, though I know the congestion is not fun.

Best wishes,
Dr. Walko