The TRUTH About Breast Cancer They Don't Want You To Know

I’m Cynthia Thurlow, NP, and in a recent conversation with Dr. Jenn Simmons — a former fellowship-trained breast surgeon who pivoted into functional medicine after her own illness — we dug into hard truths about breast cancer, prevention, screening, treatment decisions, and the lifestyle factors that really move the needle on long-term health.

Below I summarize the most important takeaways from our discussion, share direct quotes from Dr. Jenn, and outline practical steps you can take to protect your health and make informed decisions if you or someone you love faces a breast cancer diagnosis.

From Pain to Purpose: Why Dr. Jenn Made This Her Mission

Dr. Jenn’s commitment to changing breast cancer care is personal. She grew up in a family marked by breast and colon cancer and lost her cousin, Linda Creed, to metastatic breast cancer at 37. That loss shaped her career as a surgeon — and later, her shift away from conventional-only care after developing a debilitating illness herself.

Her revelation changed everything: surgery, chemo and radiation are necessary tools in many cases, but without addressing the person and the environment that allowed the cancer to emerge, they are insufficient. As she put it, once she found an alternative approach that healed her, she couldn’t go back to participating in a process “that I knew ultimately wasn't helping people and was really hurting people.”

Understanding Breast Physiology — The Basics

To have a sensible conversation about breast cancer, it helps to know what breasts are made of:

• Glandular tissue — the milk-producing tissue that grows and changes over a lifetime

• Fat (adipose) tissue — often accounts for most of the size differences between breasts

• Connective tissue — fibers and scaffold that hold everything together

Tumors arise mostly from the glandular tissue, but benign growths (like fibroadenomas) and rare connective-tissue tumors also exist. Importantly, the breast is responsive to the body’s hormonal and systemic environment.

Dispelling the Myth: “Estrogen Causes Breast Cancer”

"Estrogen does not cause breast cancer."

Dr. Jenn stresses that the statement “estrogen causes breast cancer” is overly simplistic and misleading. Many tumors that appear estrogen-sensitive have upregulated estrogen receptors as a survival response to an abnormal environment — not because normal endogenous estrogen spontaneously causes malignant transformation.

She explains it this way: when tissues encounter imbalance or stress, they adapt. Tumor cells may increase estrogen receptors to survive in a hostile environment. The solution is not blanket estrogen suppression but restoring homeostasis and addressing the root causes of the imbalance.

Key clinical implication

Focusing only on the tumor (cutting, burning, and drugging) while ignoring the underlying systemic issues means we often fail to prevent recurrence and can unintentionally accelerate other chronic diseases — notably cardiovascular disease, which remains the leading cause of death in women.

Screening: What Works and What Doesn’t

Screening is complex. Dr. Jenn believes every person should be in tune with their body and supports self-examination as a basic habit.

She’s critical of routine mammography as a blanket screening tool:

"Mammogram does not save lives ... for every one in 10,000 women whose lives were supposedly saved by mammogram, we're causing seven breast cancers."

Her view: overdiagnosis and overtreatment are real harms — detecting many lesions that would never progress to dangerous disease leads to unnecessary surgeries, radiation, and prolonged hormone suppression that carry significant long-term risks.

New and emerging imaging

Dr. Jenn highlights a promising technology called QT Imaging:

• Uses silent, water-submersion imaging (not compression)

• About 4 minutes per breast

• Reportedly ~40x more resolution/sensitivity than MRI

• FDA-approved for screening in women with dense breasts and approved as an MRI substitute for most other indications

• When normal, it can extend interval imaging to two years

She believes QT Imaging could replace mammography and the need for many MRIs (with their gadolinium exposure and high cost) — but adoption is slowed by existing financial investments in mammography/MRI infrastructure.

Thermography and MRI

Thermography can be a useful indicator of imbalance and inflammation but is not a perfect screening tool. MRI remains useful but has practical and safety limitations (time, cost, and gadolinium accumulation). QT Imaging may bridge many of these gaps down the line.

Environmental Drivers: Xenoestrogens, Plastics, and Chemical Load

One of the most urgent messages: our synthetic environment matters. Dr. Jenn emphasizes that increased breast cancer incidence is driven by a toxic, synthetic world loading our bodies with chemicals that mimic hormones.

"We see more breast cancer because we're living in this synthetic world that's acting like a toxic estrogen in our bodies."

Key points:

• Xenoestrogens and plasticizers (BPA analogues and more) bind hormone receptors in abnormal ways and can stick to receptors longer than natural hormones.

• Plastic liners, canned foods, personal care bottles, and food packaging leach chemicals into our meals.

• Antibiotic/biocide additives in many products also have hormonal or microbiome effects.

• Even municipal water supplies can contain unmetabolized hormones from human excretion; many treatment systems do not filter these compounds.

Actionable steps (practical, high-impact):

• Stop buying single-use plastic water bottles — switch to glass or stainless steel.

• Use water filtration (countertop or under-sink) and filter your home water.

• Minimize packaged and canned foods; prefer whole foods stored in glass or stainless containers.

• Choose personal care products free of endocrine-disrupting chemicals and fragrances.

Lifestyle: The Cornerstone of Prevention and Recovery

Dr. Jenn is unequivocal: lifestyle is foundational. She lists several core pillars:

• Nutrition:

  Clean, whole-food eating. For many of her patients she recommends eliminating grains and dairy (she argues humans aren't designed to eat grains and that dairy can be inflammatory). During and after cancer care, protein needs must be individualized — enough to maintain muscle mass but not excessive.

• Exercise:

  As you pass 40, shift toward strength training to preserve lean muscle; maintain cardiovascular fitness but prioritize resistance work and balance/flexibility.

• Sleep:

  Prioritize restorative sleep to permit repair and proper hormone regulation.

• Stress management:

  Chronic cortisol overload from lifestyle demands is toxic; find a practice that works for you (breathwork, movement, mindfulness, whatever you’ll actually do).

• Detox and environment:

  Reduce chemical exposures at home and in personal products.

She underscores that these steps aren’t about perfection — small, consistent changes add up.

Alcohol, Hormone Replacement, and Menopause

On alcohol:

"The American Cancer Society says there is no safe amount of alcohol for women."

If you are actively treating cancer, avoid alcohol entirely. For others, recognize alcohol is a toxin and women have lower liver capacity than men; moderation and informed choices are essential.

On hormone replacement therapy (HRT): the story is nuanced. The discredited, broad-brush conclusions from earlier large trials (like the Women’s Health Initiative, which enrolled many women well past menopause) left clinicians and patients fearful. Dr. Jenn and many integrative clinicians now emphasize individualized decision-making: consider symptoms, cardiovascular risk, bone health, cognitive symptoms, and personal values. Blanket fear of HRT overlooks the reality that menopause itself accelerates bone loss, cardiovascular risk, and cognitive changes — and that careful, individualized HRT can be protective for many women.

When Cancer Is Diagnosed: Staging, Overtreatment, and a Systemic View

Dr. Jenn criticizes the limitations of staging systems that rely heavily on tumor size — size can reflect when you detected the lesion, not its biological behavior. She believes genomics and molecular profiling should be used earlier to determine which tumors are aggressive and which are unlikely to progress.

Key concerns:

• Overtreatment of indolent lesions (e.g., some DCIS) leads to unnecessary surgeries and lifelong psychological harm.

• Chemotherapy and radiation are lifesaving for aggressive disease but are often used where benefit is minimal.

• Treatment-focused care that ignores environmental and systemic drivers leaves patients vulnerable to recurrence and other diseases (like cardiovascular disease).

Practical approach she advocates for patients:

1. Get thorough molecular/genetic profiling of the tumor when possible.

2. Assess individual toxin burden, DNA variations that affect metabolism, and gut health.

3. Optimize diet, exercise, sleep, and environmental exposures alongside any conventional treatment.

Functional Testing Dr. Jenn Uses

Her clinical approach typically includes:

• Comprehensive stool/gut testing — gut health strongly influences hormone regulation.

• DUTCH (saliva/urine) hormone testing to understand hormone production and metabolites.

• Toxin panels to quantify chemical and heavy metal burdens.

• DNA panels to identify SNPs related to hormone and toxin metabolism so care can be tailored.

She reports that showing patients their specific metabolic pathways (for example, unfavorable estrogen metabolite ratios) can be highly motivating and clinically actionable.

Breast Implants and Breast Implant Illness

Dr. Jenn acknowledges breast implant illness is real for a subset of people. Immune reactions to foreign bodies, low-grade infections, or chronic inflammatory responses can drive systemic symptoms. For many patients, removal of the implant and capsule is the intervention that finally leads to recovery. However, not everyone with implants develops illness, and decisions should be individualized.

Practical Takeaways — What You Can Do Today

• Know your body: perform monthly self-checks and get familiar with how your breasts look and feel.

• Prioritize strength training after 40 to preserve muscle and metabolic health.

• Improve your environment: switch from single-use plastics to glass/stainless, filter water, and reduce packaged foods.

• Eat a predominantly whole-food, anti-inflammatory diet; consider eliminating grains and dairy if you have inflammation or cancer.

• Manage stress with a sustainable practice (breathwork, movement, therapy) and prioritize sleep.

• When diagnosed, ask about molecular/genetic tumor profiling, toxin testing, and integrative support to address systemic drivers.

Final Thoughts

We need a broader, more humane approach to breast health: one that protects women from unnecessary treatment while aggressively identifying and treating aggressive disease. Most importantly, we should shift upstream — clean our environments, prioritize sleep and movement, optimize nutrition, and personalize care using genetics, toxin testing, and hormonal profiling.

"Cancer is not a chemotherapy deficiency — it's a signal that your system is out of balance."

If anything from this summary resonates, start with one practical change this week — swap plastic bottles for glass, add two strength sessions to your week, or book a clinician who will run thoughtful, personalized testing. Small, consistent steps compound into major protection over time.

For more information, watch this youtube video:

Next steps and connecting:

If you want to explore Dr. Jenn’s approach, resources mentioned include:

• Instagram: @dr.jennsimmons

• Website: realhealthmd.com

• Course: My Answer to Breast Cancer  — a practical program for creating an anti-inflammatory environment and optimizing health through and after diagnosis