Heavens! Graduate school could be increasing my risk of breast cancer! Let's hope this 'logic' isn't contagious, or else we'll have to require pregnancy as part of sound prevention of breast cancer....
Prolonged exposure to estrogen and/or progesterone can stimulate breast cancer cells to grow. [Both natural and synthetic hormones have this effect on the cells.]
Studies have found that a woman's risk of breast cancer is increased if she suffers from certain noncancerous breast diseases or if she menstruates frequently. For example, your risk is increased if you give birth for the first time after the age of 30, have your first period at a very young age, or begin menopause late in life. It is believed (mind you, believed, NOT known) that the increased number of menstrual cycles increases the breast cells' exposure to the estrogen made by the body. Because estrogen accelerates breast cell activity, there is a greater risk of random genetic errors that can lead to cancer.
Bottom line: Mr. Brind is a boob. Those who opt for an abortion are reducing their risk of death from 1:10,000 (for a term pregnancy) to 1:263,000 (for an early, up to 9 wks abx). Those who wish to reduce their risk of breast cancer can use menstrual management [all the health benefits of a pregnancy, with none of the risks :-)].
Yeah, what ema said. Most likely the risk of breast cancer is related to the number of menstrual cycles a woman has. Reduce the number of menstrual cycles by being pregnant and you slightly reduce the chance of breast cancer. Being anorexic to the point of no periods might do the same thing, but who is advocating that? How about that new birth control that gives you 3 periods a year?
Though it's marketed as such, there's nothing "new" about Seasonale (just like Ortho Tri-Cyclen is no more effective at reducing acne than any other pill, they just did the two pivotal studies first and get to make the advertising claim). You could achieve the same effect with any birth control pill by just skipping over the seven placebos and starting a new pack. European women have been doing this pretty widely for years. After three or four months, you'll likely start spotting and you take a week off to shed the uterine lining, then belly back up to the bar.
Some people are freaked by the "abnormality" of altering your own menstrual cycle like this, but what's more abnormal by evolutionary standards is not having regular 9-1/2 month breaks in your period from a young age onward.
Heavens! Graduate school could be increasing my risk of breast cancer! Let's hope this 'logic' isn't contagious, or else we'll have to require pregnancy as part of sound prevention of breast cancer....
Posted by cala | Link to this comment | 11-10-04 10:53 AM
Doesn't giving birth at a relatively young age increase the risk of cervical cancer?
Posted by ben wolfson | Link to this comment | 11-10-04 11:00 AM
Well then, they can also sign the statement that abstinence increases their risk of breast cancer.
Posted by apostropher | Link to this comment | 11-10-04 11:03 AM
Prolonged exposure to estrogen and/or progesterone can stimulate breast cancer cells to grow. [Both natural and synthetic hormones have this effect on the cells.]
Studies have found that a woman's risk of breast cancer is increased if she suffers from certain noncancerous breast diseases or if she menstruates frequently. For example, your risk is increased if you give birth for the first time after the age of 30, have your first period at a very young age, or begin menopause late in life. It is believed (mind you, believed, NOT known) that the increased number of menstrual cycles increases the breast cells' exposure to the estrogen made by the body. Because estrogen accelerates breast cell activity, there is a greater risk of random genetic errors that can lead to cancer.
Bottom line: Mr. Brind is a boob. Those who opt for an abortion are reducing their risk of death from 1:10,000 (for a term pregnancy) to 1:263,000 (for an early, up to 9 wks abx). Those who wish to reduce their risk of breast cancer can use menstrual management [all the health benefits of a pregnancy, with none of the risks :-)].
Posted by ema | Link to this comment | 11-10-04 1:55 PM
Yeah, what ema said. Most likely the risk of breast cancer is related to the number of menstrual cycles a woman has. Reduce the number of menstrual cycles by being pregnant and you slightly reduce the chance of breast cancer. Being anorexic to the point of no periods might do the same thing, but who is advocating that? How about that new birth control that gives you 3 periods a year?
Posted by Tripp | Link to this comment | 11-12-04 10:23 AM
Though it's marketed as such, there's nothing "new" about Seasonale (just like Ortho Tri-Cyclen is no more effective at reducing acne than any other pill, they just did the two pivotal studies first and get to make the advertising claim). You could achieve the same effect with any birth control pill by just skipping over the seven placebos and starting a new pack. European women have been doing this pretty widely for years. After three or four months, you'll likely start spotting and you take a week off to shed the uterine lining, then belly back up to the bar.
Some people are freaked by the "abnormality" of altering your own menstrual cycle like this, but what's more abnormal by evolutionary standards is not having regular 9-1/2 month breaks in your period from a young age onward.
Posted by apostropher | Link to this comment | 11-12-04 2:05 PM
u fucking mother fucker screw the universe
Posted by sarah | Link to this comment | 12-30-05 4:06 PM
u fucking mother fucker screw the universe
Huh. I never thought of it that way.
Posted by Frederick | Link to this comment | 12-30-05 4:55 PM