Pretty in Pink

Well, it's that time of year and since I have been complaining to Heath about it for 2-3 years in a row, I figured I should just blog on it to release frustration and give him a break. ;) Every time September rolls around, people start gearing up for "Breast Cancer Awareness" month. Pink ribbons pop up everywhere and fundraisers galore begin. Before you jump to the conclusion that I am anti-cure-for-cancer, let me explain.

I am 100%, wholeheartedly behind discovering a cure, not only for breast cancers but for the many others that also plague our society. If it is a spiritual cure you are seeking, well . . . you are not going to find it in a lab. ;) However, it irks me that throughout the entire month of October and in the midst of all the Breast Cancer Awareness activities, NO ONE is mentioning things you can do to lower your risk of developing breast cancer. *This* is one of the huge problems of our society. We focus on what to do AFTER something bad has happened instead of also focusing some efforts on prevention. What's that saying about "an ounce of prevention . . ."?

I realize there are various factors that go into who develops cancer and how severe it is. I am not saying by following the below steps you will never develop breast cancer. However, your risk will be much lower. Here are some things to do:

1. Breastfeed your baby/babies. The total duration of breastfeeding over a mama's lifetime directly correlates to a reduction in risk of developing breast cancer. So, if I have three children that I breastfed for 3 months, my total amount of protection is 9 months worth of breastfeeding. However, if I up the breastfeeding time to an entire year for each child (which is what the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends), my total amount of reduced risk is 3 years! For more information and/or support on breastfeeding, please contact your local La Leche League (LLL) or call me. I love to talk about the benefits of nursing! ;)
   
2. Have a baby before the age of 25. I recall seeing this actual number somewhere, but can't find my source. However, it is known that women who wait until after 30 to have children (I realize this is not always in our control!), have a higher risk of developing breast cancer.
   
3. Avoid an abortion. This can be a touchy one to advertise given our society/culture's current stance on making sure no one feels guilty for choices they have made. I certainly am not here to say women should feel guilty for having an abortion. However, I do believe that for TRULY INFORMED CONSENT to happen in an abortion procedure, women NEED to be informed that they are increasing their risk for breast cancer down the road (as well as other negative physical, emotional and mental side effects). They need to know it is not a "quick fix" without potential consequences. For more information on the connection, visit Abortion-Breast Cancer Link. If you or someone you know are suffering the effects of an abortion, there is support out there. Please visit the Silent No More Campaign (to bring awareness to the devastating effects of an abortion on moms), Rachel's Vineyard (for healing support/retreats), and Women Deserve Better (sponsored by Feminists for Life). Women DO deserve better and they deserve to have full disclosure of the total impact of their choices on future health.
   
4. Avoid use of hormonal contraceptives/birth control, including pill form, vaginal rings, IUDs and injectable forms. Taken from this source:
   

   It is now well established that birth control medications (contraceptive steroids) increase breast cancer risk, especially if they are taken before the first full-term pregnancy, when breast cells are still immature. Birth control pills are very commonly used by young women. In one study, women who took birth control pills before the age of 20 had a more than ten-fold increased risk of breast cancer. The longer the pill is used, the higher the risk. Contraceptive steroids increase risk whether they are given orally (i.e., ‘the pill’), by injection (e.g., Depo-Provera), implantation, through the skin with a patch, intravaginally with a ring (e.g., Nuva Ring) or with an intrauterine device (IUD). Even ‘low dose’ estrogen pills have been associated with higher breast cancer risk.

   This is usually a risk written in very fine print on the 16+ page insert women receive with their contraceptives. In an ideal world, every woman would read through that before consenting to ingest these. But let's be realistic, most of the women I knew in college on contraceptives dropped it in the recycling bin. Again, doctors should be informing their patients of both the risks and benefits, not just writing a script to mask symptoms or please a patient.
   
5. Avoid Hormonal Replacement Therapy (HRT). This also goes along with increasing breast cancer risk when a woman's body is exposed to excess estrogen. Although I am not nearing menopause yet, there are natural aids to help the process.
   
6. Eat a well balanced diet full of broccoli, brussel sprouts and Omega-3 fatty acids! Again, taken from previous source:

   Indole-3-carbinol is found in cruciferous vegetables such as cauliflower and broccoli. This chemical is converted by the stomach to DIM, which causes estrogen to be metabolized into an inactive estrogen that does not stimulate breast tissue to proliferate and thereby reduces breast cancer risk. DIM is also widely available in pill form, as a nutritional supplement.

   Your mom wasn't kidding when she said broccoli was good for you!!! As for the Omega-3s, I am more convinced of their benefits with each passing month as I read and hear more about them:

   These essential fatty acids are found in fish and many vegetable oils. Postmenopausal women who eat olive oil daily reduce their risk of breast cancer by 25%. Vegetable oils rich in omega-3 fatty acids include canola, flax seed, walnut and olive oils.

   If you are not fish eaters (like me!), supplements are readily available.
   
7. Limit alcohol consumption. Not saying you cannot drink. I personally enjoy a high-quality beer now and then. Well, not now so much any more . . . but perhaps sometime after March. ;) According to the Breast Cancer Prevention Institute (BCPI),

   "By inhibiting liver function, alcohol decreases the body's ability to change estrogen into the inactive form and therefore, increases risk. "

8. Don't smoke! Again, the BCPI:

   Recent studies suggest that cigarette smoking before having children-especially among teenagers-also increases premenopausal breast cancer risk substantially. Benzopyrenes in cigarette smoke act as direct carcinogens to cells lining the milk ducts.

9. Exercise!

   Exercise is also important in reducing breast cancer risk. Overall, moderate exercise can reduce breast cancer risk by 30%. Exercise also can prevent obesity, which increases breast cancer risk. Exercise can delay the onset of a woman's first menstrual cycle, menarche, which also decreases breast cancer risk. Exercise may result in anovulatory, and therefore, low-estrogen menstrual cycles, thus decreasing risk.

All above quotes are taken from a pamphlet available from the Breast Cancer Prevention Institute. I found the Risk/Prevention section the most enlightening.

Now, there are factors in life that we can never control and one of those involves genetics. There are two types of genes that cause breast cancer, one is less agressive (BRCA-1) than the other (BRCA-2). Breastfeeding will still help lower a woman's risk if she has BRCA-1, possibly up to 45% which is encouraging. An article on WebMD reports:

The researchers reported that among women with BRCA1 mutations, those who developed breast cancer breastfed for an average of six months, compared to almost nine months for women who did not develop breast cancer.

Now ladies, trust me, I KNOW nursing can be stressful and overwhelming at times. But really, another mere three months of breastfeeding separated the breast cancer victims and healthy women. Isn't our own health worth it? I do realize there are many moms who have difficulties nursing and I believe much of that is due to our lack of familial/societal support and how differently are families are spaced these days. A few generations ago, your mom, aunt, sister and cousin were all available nearby for breastfeeding support. Unfortunately, that is now a rarity. The BRCA-2 gene, which is more aggressive, did not seem to show a significant decline even in mothers who breastfed. Given the American way of breastfeeding, I would be interested in seeing results on women who breastfeed extendedly (1+ years). The upside is that the BCPI estimates 5-10% of breast cancer cases are caused by genetics, which means that we have the power to influence the other 90-95% of the cases!

It seems not everyone is interested in prevention though . . . true to America's MO, we would much rather spend the time and energy FIXING a problem after it has happened rather than PREVENT the problem before it occurs in the first place. (Hmmm . . . that sounds strangely familiar to our current financial problems . . .) The Susan G. Komen Foundation, a huge breast cancer cure fundraiser, sponsors many events all over the U.S. After finding out they contribute financially to Planned Parenthood (over $700,000 in the last year according to STOP Planned Parenthood) some years ago, I felt I could not donate to any Komen runs in the future. At the same time, I couldn't help but see the irony in an organization fighting for a cure (Komen) of a condition (breast cancer) that gives money to another organization (Planned Parenthood) that is partially responsible for causing the condition itself (breast cancer) by their own actions against women (namely, abortion). Can someone please explain the circular logic of giving money to a cause that is going to place those same women in one of your future fight-for-the-cure runs?

Recently, at a Colorado Race for the Cure event, the Colorado Right to Life displayed a provocative banner. Does that make any sense to you? Why are the cure and prevention mutually exclusive?

One last thought to this massive post (thanks for sticking with me!), this organization struck me with their expose on the many products marketed for "Breast Cancer Awareness", some that are actually harmful to human bodies, the environment, etc. and just further contribute to the pockets of massive business owners playing off of peoples' emotions surrounding diseases/cures. I especially enjoyed their jab at Yoplait and their use of rGBH (growth hormones) in their dairy products. Why do I have to choose between affordable yogurt and my family's health?

Our health is our responsibility. No one is going to take care of us FOR us. So, let's at least arm women with accurate information so they can directly make choices to impact their own personal health, for better or worse.