Some Good News Regarding Breast Cancer
Amongst all the tragic stories dealing with breast cancer, one published last month provided some clarity and perhaps some hope. The Susan G. Komen for the Cure, a foundation dedicated to research and education related to breast cancer, commissioned the study asking what environmental factors affect breast cancer. Here are some of the facts regarding what is known and what is yet to be determined.
Members of the study commission concluded that the following are not responsible for causing breast cancer: hair dyes, microwave ovens, and cell phones. That information may provide some measure of peace of mind for some women.
Then there is another group of environmental exposures, such as pesticides and industrial chemicals, about which too little is currently known to say whether or not they are a risk for breast cancer. Further research is clearly needed.
Then there are the causes about which there is general agreement that they do increase the risk for breast cancer. Postmenopausal hormones containing both estrogen and progestin are a risk. Once this association was recognized a decade ago, the use of these hormones decreased sharply in the U.S. and the incidence of breast cancer began to decline.
A second recognized risk factor for developing breast cancer is “gaining excess weight after menopause.” The report doesn’t specify exactly how much is too much.
A third risk about which there is general agreement is ionizing radiation resulting from overuse of CT (computed tomography) scans. One scientist quoted in the Jan. 4, 2012 issue of JAMA noted that “the amount of ionizing radiation from 3 abdominal CT scans is equivalent to levels that Japanese women were exposed to in the World War II atomic bomb explosions in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.”
The next time your physician or emergency department doctor tells you that you need a CT scan, be sure to question why and ask whether watchful waiting is an option.
Brad Gascoigne, M.D.
Smart Readers Health Column
Well, I think it is really a good news! I appreciate your blog, I would like to share as well that my friend, when she was diagnosed with breast cancer, beside from chemotherapy, she tried Alternative cancer treatments. I think this is the time that we should try using this alternative medicine.
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