A very important study from the Institute of “Medicine of The National Academies”
was released in December of 2011.
This important study was funded by the “Susan G. Komen Foundation for the Cure.”
We don’t know what causes breast cancer, and there has been an overriding concern by
many groups that perhaps there are specific things in our environment that are increasing
the rate of breast cancer that we see in the United States and other Western like countries.
Factors like air quality, factors like hairsprays, deodorants, I mean just a variety of things.
Plastics that we have and things that we consume, etc., etc., and so I’ve got in my hand here
an overview of the “IOM”, that’s the “Institute of Medicine’s” report about
environmental links.
The bottom-line of the study is a couple of different things.
First of all, there is a lifelong exposure potentially to the risk of developing breast
cancer, and so we cannot forget that when adolescent girls are developing a breast,
that those breasts are potentially at risk for factors like cigarette smoking as an example.
We do know that cigarette smoking is a risk factor for breast cancer, and so who are exposed
to cigarette smoke at a younger age, this may be something that is very important to
us.
Another thing that goes on with adolescent young ladies potentially is having too many
x-rays.
This is particularly true in young women who have scoliosis, who have needed multiple x-rays
rather being treated for the scoliosis we do know that is a risk factor.
So that naturally then leads me in to the factors that the “IOM” has discussed that
can be done prospectively by you as a way of decreasing your risk of breast cancer,
and these include avoiding ionizing radiation.
A good example of this is from “CAT scans.”
Having too many CAT scans may, in fact, increase the risk of breast cancer.
It does not include the kind of low dose radiation involved with doing mammograms.
Another thing to be avoided is the combination, estrogen and progesterone hormone replacement
therapies, and fortunately the use of those combination drugs has been decreasing, and
we have seen a fall off in the incidence of breast cancer as a result.
Another thing is the concern about increasing weight in those postmenopausal years.
In other words, weight gain when you are beyond menopause and into your postmenopausal years
does increase the risk of breast cancer.
The more physical activity that you have then the better the chance of lowering the risk.
So it is an important study.
We will provide a link at breastcanceranswers.com for you to link on to reports about the study.
I want to personally thank the “Susan G. Komen Foundation for the Cure” for sponsoring
this important study by the IOM.
As far as those other factors that I talked about, hairsprays and deodorants and things
in plastics, the data is not clear at this time, but think lifelong, think about living
heart healthy life like I’ve indicated in the past.
Please know that the “Komen Foundation” and others are going to continue to fund research
to look at those specific other environmental factors where the link is not clear at this
time, and so, as we say, “Please stay tuned!
Stay tuned to breastcanceranswers.com!”
As more information becomes available, we will be sure to share it with you.