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Thursday, October 19, 2006Things I Didn't Know About Breast CancerThis morning on the way into work a radio station had a Nurse Practioner from a doctor's office that deals with Breast Cancer on. Here's some new things I learned:- Women who average only one drink of alcohol a day are still at higher risk. Interesting to me since medicine also says one drink (of red wine I believe it was) a day is good for the heart. - Family history is NOT as big a risk factor as people believe. - Women who started their periods early or who go through menopause late are at higher risk. Why? Because one known factor for Breast Cancer is Estrogen, and the more exposure to it a woman has over her life the greater her risk. Which leads to the most surprising new thing I learned today: - Obese women are at more risk, especially after menopause, because fat cells create Estrogen! So even after menopause - when the biggest Estrogen generation in a woman ceases - the many extra fat cells in an obese woman will continue on making Estrogen in large enough volume to extend the woman's exposure to notable levels of it. Of course there was also the standard stuff that makes a woman at higher risk - nicotine, age - and that women who exercise regularly are at significantly lower risk, though they don't know why. They also mentioned, and I think it worth repeating, that women under 40 should take seriously anything out of the ordinary they feel in their breasts. Even though lumps in younger women are most often benign, there are enough that aren't that it's not worth the risk of thinking "Oh I'm young enough, it's probably nothing." |
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