Our heredity, or our environment? That is a huge question that many are not addressing in the information era of prevention through education.
I’ve noticed on many commonly-seen bits on yahoo.com, and other “health tip” readings on the internet, for protecting yourself from getting beast cancer, there’s a huge chunk of scientific field and clinical data that is not being addressed, so I wanted to illuminate it a bit.
Many articles focus upon one thing – the heredity factor, as was posted today on yahoo (see “A Healthy Approach” below), but I would also like to be very clear that most research is now showing that less than 5% of cancer is due to heredity factors, most all others are environmental toxins. As a result of knowing this in my clinical studies, I have copied some great references of online discussions with doctors from a few different sources, so you can learn a bit more, and truly join the leagues of women who are proactively trying to remain cancer free. This subject hits close to home for me, as my Mom is a breast cancer survivor.… but it wasn’t easy. And by the way, NO one in our family had it before her… so here’s a little bit more information to digest and use to your advantage!
Enjoy-
Dr. Grace
A Healthy Approach
High Risk of Breast Cancer: 4 Factors
Posted by Lucy Danziger, SELF Editor-in-Chief on Mon, Oct 08, 2007, 11:45 am PDT
To get a quick snapshot of your own risk, based on your family history, Therese M. Bevers, M.D., medical director of the Cancer Prevention Center at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, suggests you ask yourself the four following questions:
1. Do you have at least two blood relatives who were diagnosed with breast cancer before menopause?
2. Do you have a blood relative who was diagnosed with breast cancer before menopause and a blood relative who developed ovarian cancer at any age?
3. If you have a family history of breast cancer, were any of the diagnosed relatives male?
4. Is your family of Ashkenazi Jewish descent?
If you answered yes to 1, 2 or 3, or to 4 along with any other question, your family history of breast cancer implies a genetic predisposition, says Dr. Bevers.
Talk with your doctor about whether you should consider seeing a genetic counselor, who can give you a much more complete assessment of your risk. (You can also find a genetic counselor yourself at the National Society of Genetic Counselors.
Other Factors that are equally, or more important than heredity:
Read the entire interview from National Radio’s 1997 “The Health Report” at http://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/8.30/helthrpt/stories/s205.htm
The following is an interview with Professor Mary Wolff of Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York. She has been researching the pesticide vs. breast cancer debate for years, and has some very interesting things to report:
Mary Wolff: That’s right, and because we know that oestrogen is strongly related to breast cancer risk, that connection caused us to want to look further.
Norman Swan: You did what’s called a case control study. You compared women with breast cancer with women who didn’t, and looked at various factors including their exposure to pesticides.
Mary Wolff: That’s right. My collaborators at NYU Paolo Toniolo had a group of 14,000 women on whom he had drawn blood at one time point, and then followed them until they got cancer, and then compared them to other women in a cohort who don’t have cancer.
Norman Swan: And what were the findings?
Mary Wolff: In the initial study we did, we found that women with the highest 10% of DDT levels had about a fourfold increased risk of breast cancer, over women with the lowest 10% of DDT levels.
Norman Swan: Did you measure other synthetic chemicals as well?
Mary Wolff: We did. In that study we also looked at PCBs and we did not see a significant effect.
Norman Swan: Have other people tried to replicate them - what have they found?
Mary Wolff: There are more than 30 studies worldwide going on to look at the issue of pesticides and breast cancer, and some of them have been positive and some of them have been negative. Not all of the big studies have yet been published however.
Norman Swan: There is a significant gap in our knowledge in terms of risk factors for breast cancer. What’s the extent of our ignorance?
Mary Wolff: Well that again is something that has really propelled in a recent interest in looking at environmental exposures in breast cancer. That is that at most studies that try to explain breast cancer risk, come up with about 40% or 45% of risk, and most people think it’s lower than that and it’s like 30%. Most women who get breast cancer do not have any of the major risk factors. The major risk factors for breast cancer are age, country of birth, and family history. We also know that reproductive history - the time at which you get your first menstrual period and the time at which you have your first child, and the age of menopause, are important. And those are the big risk factors. All those together don’t explain all breast cancer risk, and most women who get breast cancer have none of those risks.
Norman Swan: What’s your guess as to the attribution of environmental factors?
Mary Wolff: My guess is that in some certain sub-groups of women who are susceptible or who were exposed at a very sensitive period of breast development, may have increased risk due to pesticides or to other environmental factors.
Here is a GREAT list of many factors from CBS.com interview with Dr. Debbie Saslow of The American Cancer Society.
Full story can be read at: http://www.cbs.com/cbs_cares/breast_cancer/
WHAT ARE THE RISK FACTORS FOR BREAST CANCER?
The American Cancer Society estimates that 75 % of breast cancer cases occur in women with no known risk factors, other than sex and age. However, the following factors increase your risk:
Sex: Being a woman is your greatest risk factor. It should be noted that while it is rare for men to get breast cancer, approximately 1,300 men are afflicted with breast cancer each year. Risk factors for men include a family history, a genetic defect, exposure to radiation or having a disease related to high levels of estrogen in the body, like cirrhosis of the liver. For more information on male breast cancer, visit the National Cancer Institute’s website, www.cancer.gov.
Age: One out of every eight women will be affected by breast cancer at some point in their lives, and your chances of developing breast cancer increase as you get older. Women under 30 are rarely (but sometimes) affected, whereas most breast cancers occur in women over age 50.
Family History of Breast Cancer: Women with a mother or sister with breast cancer have a higher chance of developing it themselves, and the more relatives you have with breast cancer who were premenopausal at their time of their diagnosis, the higher your own risk.
Personal History of Breast Cancer: If you’ve already been diagnosed with breast cancer in one breast, you are at an increased risk for developing cancer in the other breast. Additionally, radiation therapy to the chest before age 30 also puts you at higher risk for breast cancer.
Genetic Predisposition: Defects in the BRCA 1 or BRCA 2 genes put you at greater risk of developing the disease. Usually these genes help prevent cancer by making proteins to keep cells from growing abnormally, but if they are mutated, the genes aren’t as effective. Women of Eastern European Jewish ancestry (called “Ashkenazi” Jews) are especially at risk.
Excess Weight: Although the relationship between breast cancer and excess weight is complex, in general, weighing more than you should, and especially carrying weight in your abdomen, puts you at greater risk for breast cancer. Women who have gained weight after menopause are also at higher risk.
Insufficient Exercise: Women who do not exercise regularly are more susceptible to weight gain, which is linked to a higher risk of breast cancer. Women who begin exercising in their teens can help delay the onset of menstruation, and by decreasing the amount of estrogen exposure, a woman can decrease her lifetime risk of developing breast cancer.
Exposure to Estrogen: If you have a late menopause, or began menstruating before age 12, you have a slightly higher risk of developing breast cancer. The same is true for women who have never had children, or waited until after age 30 to have children.
Race: Caucasian women are more likely to develop breast cancer than African American or Hispanic women, but minorities are more likely to die of the disease. They tend to be diagnosed at a later stage than white women, mostly due to lack of regular mammograms.
Hormone Therapy: Recent studies show that there are some health risks with hormone therapy, especially at higher doses and/or when taken for an extended time. Some menopausal women need and may benefit from hormone therapy due to difficult symptoms. Before starting, it is important to discuss your risk factors for breast cancer and other diseases with your doctor to determine whether hormone replacement is right for you - and, if so, in what doses, combinations and for what time period. According to the National Cancer Institute, women who take hormone therapy for five or more years after menopause seem to be at greater risk. Taking estrogen plus progesterone puts women at a slightly higher risk, and hormone therapy may make tumors harder to detect on mammograms. If you are on hormone therapy, it is important to let the doctor ordering your mammogram know as well as the radiologist, so that they will know that the test will be a bit less sensitive.
Birth Control Pills: The American Cancer Society says that women currently using the pill may have a slightly increased risk, whereas women who stopped using oral contraceptives 10 years ago probably don’t have this risk. Most women who use oral contraceptives take them at a young age, when their risk of breast cancer is very low.
Exposure to Carcinogens: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), chemicals found in cigarettes and charred meat, can increase your chances of developing breast cancer. Exposure to pesticides may also increase your risk.
At present, there is no evidence that residues of pesticides at the low doses found in foods increase the risks. While some studies find this true, others who are in the midst of epidemiological reviews and other long-term clinical trials disagree. As time goes on, we see more and more evidence to the contrary.
Excessive Consumption of Alcohol: Regular consumption of even a few drinks per week is associated with an increased risk of breast cancer in women.
Over-use of antibiotics: More studies need to be conducted to determine the reason why excessive antibiotic use may be associated with an increased risk of breast cancer. One theory, provided on the National Cancer Institute’s website, is that antibiotics affect a body’s immune function. It needs to be emphasized that antibiotics are an important weapon to combat bacterial infections, but gratuitous or excessive use may increase breast cancer risk as well as making a person potentially less responsive to antibiotic treatments in the future.
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