I love my job. To be honest, it is one of the components of my life that has kept me (arguably) sane during the last few years of turmoil AND according to new research in “Medicine & Science In Sport & Exercise” stretching muscles not only helps muscle tone, but overall wellbeing.
Well. THAT IS GOOD THEN. Because I need some help with my overall wellbeing at the moment. I have an exam on Sunday. I am working very hard to stuff bits of information into my brain and to try and focus on work.
The women I work with are a wonderfully talented and interesting bunch whom I admire hugely and over the years they have become friends as well as colleagues. I am worried about several of them at the moment though. Two of them are currently going through treatment for Breast cancer
This is now the 6th woman in the last year that I personally know to have breast cancer. Surely this is not normal. What is going on? We appear to have a breast cancer epidemic on our hands. Fifty years ago it was 1 in 20 women who were diagnosed with breast cancer and now it is 1 in 8 and climbing at a rate of 1% each year. In the UK 1000 women die from breast cancer every month. The charities are doing a fantastic job of raising money and awareness and providing all sorts of support for those diagnosed with the cancer BUT there doesn’t seem to be much about the underlying causes and why the massive increase.
Does this mean that apart from family history, environmental factors are the leading cause? If that was the case surely lots of other forms of cancer would be on the increase as well.
I don’t want to be a scaremonger, but has anybody else considered that it might have something to do with the contraceptive pill? I can’t find much information about it.
I wonder how much influence the drug companies have on what studies and reports are released on the subject?
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As you know, my mum is recovering from breast cancer at the moment. The rise is terrifying, but so hard to pointpoint a cause. How many diseases are coming to the fore because people are living longer and therefore we are seing more of them? How many in the past would have been masked my other ailments?
But I do agree that environmental factors – the sheer amount of chemicals we are exposed to every day – must ahve something to do with it.
With regard to breast cancer there is a school of thought that points the finger at the aluminium in under arm deoderants as well.
I know Mud – your poor mum – and I agree about living longer but every single woman I mentioned in the 6 I know are under 45 – one is in her 20’s.
Yes, heard about the deoderants. That is a worry too.
hi lulu have just managed to catch up with your blog being ‘nominally online” here in Oz swear to God cannot believe what has happened, you know when you read it in one go it reads a lot like Fatal……. I feel for you but feel even worse for BB. I think you have it much more together and at the end of the day you cant legislate for other people while being allowd to feel seriously pissed (excuse oz vernacular I have been here 2 wks and it gets into the typing……if its not real then it will fizzle out.hope all your friends out in blogsphere and otherwise are are support
You might try the American Cancer Society’s website http://www.cancer.org. They have a lot of great material that answers questions about cancer symptoms, treatments, and causes in easy to understand language.
Being informed is the first step towards combating any disease.
So sad and awful for them and it must affect you when you know so many.
Read your last post. My your kids are so like mine. Same ages, same issues. GCSE’s, shopaholics and a wee boy who wants brother – can relate to it all.
There are major studies that show some ‘net public health gain’ in terms of cancers from long term contraceptive pill use. http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/bmj.39289.649410.55v1
And we in this place at this point in history (even so, even so) are so fortunate in so many ways. But when you know of so many cases.. that is awful.
You’re right, it does make one think…
I did enjoy your earlier post about the kids – classic!
Cancer is exceptionally complex. Even if they arise in similar body locations, cancers can be quite diverse. Cancer research on a basic level is quite common, since us cell biologists use cells derived from cancers to work on, since they (for simplicity) are able to replicate almost indefinitely. For example in my work I use cancer cells of many different origins (from breast to prostate). Research into underlying causes is very difficult because of the diversity of cancers and what causes them. There are literally hundreds of risk factors, some genetic and some environmental. There maybe something in what you say about oral contraceptives but from my brief look into the literature it seems to be a controversial subject (see http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/336/7635/59-b?view=long&pmid=18187700 for an example).
While contraceptives are thought to have a protective effect on some cancers they may encourage other cancers. Like with most things in life you have to think about the risk:benefit ratio. The other thing to consider is that you are coming upto the age where rates of cancer start to increase anyway – age is quite a significant risk factor for some types of cancer. Which is possibly why you are noticing the higher rate of incidence. That said it is quite surprising that so many people that you know have been diagnosed in such a short period of time.
You mention that 50 years ago less women were diagnosed with breast cancer – well technology and awareness has improved massively so the diagnosis rate will have risen as well. As for research into incidence and cause – these types of studies can take years to conduct (due to the nature of what they are measuring as well as recruiting subjects for the research), which is why perhaps it feels like no one is looking into it – most likely they are but the results are taking time to come through.
As for the drug companies, there is becoming a greater transparency into their studies and clinical trials (google "clinical trials database uk" and you can find a number of sites which detail ongoing human clinical trials). The drug companies have very little, if any, say on what academia publishes on cancer research (at least to my knowledge). However, the companies themselves do have a control on what is released in the public domain about what they research and obviously they only research what they believe will give positive results and therefore profits.
Thanks Chris! I know Fatal Attraction or what?? and yes, my friends in the blogosphere have been a fantastic support Lx
Thx TBT – will check out that site Lx
Oh I hadn’t realised our kids were so close in age! RTBC 123! Glad you have some understanding then L x
Thanks for the link Frankofile – will check it out Lx
Thanks Karen, glad you liked the kids post Lx
Blimey Claire – no wonder you don’t have time to update your blog much with all that immensely clever work you’re doing – checked out that “Siren Voices” blog – you’re right, it’s very well written Lx
That is scary. What is more scary is the dramatic increase in brain tumors in children. Don’t tell me that clamping mobile phones to their heads isn’t harmful.