In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month, (which is in October), I will be writing a series of blogs about breastfeeding and breast cancer. Last year there were 269,730 women who were diagnosed with breast cancer. The American Cancer Society offered a sobering estimate that there would be about 275,000 cases of it diagnosed this year.
Did you know that studies have suggested that breastfeeding can reduce your risk of breast cancer?
A number of studies, although not all, suggest that there is a link between extended breastfeeding and reducing your risk of breast cancer. Some studies suggest that you could even reduce your risk of breast cancer by about 50%! Other studies however suggest there is no correlation.
How long are you willing to breastfeed?
Numerous studies also suggest that in order for the risk to be reduced substantially women must breastfeed for a substantially long time.
In one study women had a slightly decreased risk of breast cancer when they breastfed for more than 13 months. In another Chinese study women had to breastfeed for 6 years over the course of their lives! But the longer and more they breastfed, the more substantially their risk was reduced.
Before you think that 6 years of breastfeeding is not for you, remember that it is over the course of a lifetime. While I admit if you only have one or two children that might not happen, but for those of us who have 3 or more children, breastfeeding a grand total of 6 years is not that inconceivable. In any case, breastfeeding one child for 13 months has proven some benefit for you, and of course, breastfeeding is always a major benefit for baby.
How does breastfeeding protect against breast cancer?
There are several theories. The first is simply that fat soluable carcinogens and pollutants are not stored as effectively in lactating breasts.
Another theory suggests that breastfeeding reduced a woman’s life long exposure to the female hormone estrogen, which in turn reduces the risk of breast cancer. Also, breastfeeding causes hormonal changes that suppress ovulation after delivery; again reducing a woman’s life long exposure to estrogen.
There is also some evidence that suggests that breastfeeding causes physical changes to the breast cells that make them more resilient to the mutations that lead to cancer.
So, will breastfeeding protect you from getting breast cancer? It certainly helps. But not to the exclusion of all the other things you need to do to take good care of yourself. For more information on breast cancer and taking good care of yourself, check out the Heather’s fitness blog!
Related Articles:
Women’s Fitness: Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Why You Should Breastfeed for a Few Years