Want to prevent breast cancer? Give up that Ph.D.

As we mark Breast Cancer Awareness month many of us consider prevention methods. Some of us tally up how many women in our family has been struck by this disease. We give thought to what we might do, as individuals, to keep the disease at bay. Well guess what? HT to the Feminist Peace Network for finding the cure in a conservative web community:

“It’s another instance of ideology trumping science. Emphasizing the benefits of early motherhood could—gasp!—encourage some young women to give marriage more priority, and postpone their demanding career. They might decide it’s a diamond they most want now, not a PhD.”

First let's take a moment to recover from our laughing fit. The right pulling the ideology over science card? I don't think any of us have time to go through all THEIR ideology stances (EC, HPV vaccine, evolution, on and on) so let's move on.

As the wonderful folks over at the Feminist Peace Network point out, yes, having kids younger & breast feeding them longer will lower your risk, but it's not the only way. And thankfully, our former National leader, Gloria Feldt weighs in on the issue:

“(Dr Grossman) neglected to mention that there are substantial life-threatening risks from pregnancy and childbearing, especially too-frequent or closely spaced pregnancies and childbearing. Those risks would at least balance out any elevated risk of breast cancer incurred from delaying childbearing. Further, when you weigh in the risks to women and children associated with increased stress and poverty when families have more children than they can afford to care for, it’s a slam dunk that women are better off being able to plan and space their childbearing based on a number of health and social factors. Oh, and did Dr. Grossman forget to mention that using the birth control pill lowers risk of breast cancer?

Thanks Dr. Grossman, but no thanks. Besides, I didn't have my daughter until I was 28 and fell short of the one year mark on breast feeding. Hmm...wonder if Dr. Grossman is on the front lines to protect women's right to pump at work AND provide us with clean & private lactation rooms?

Go ahead and have kids when you're 25, but don't do it just because you think you're going to save yourself from breast cancer. The 70-year-old with breast cancer today? I bet she had kids young because that's what happened 50 years ago. Take care of yourself and talk to a trusted health professional about what *you* can do to prevent breast cancer.

BTW, I know a fabulous woman who did have kids young and want back for that Ph.D. It's not a matter of choosing between, but choosing when.

technorati tags: breast cancer, prevention, Planned Parenthood, Gloria Feldt, breast feeding

Love Your Breasts!

If you don't know it's Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I'll assume you haven't been to the store lately. I've seen laundry detergent, hair brushes, and even curling irons all out to find a cure for breast cancer. We also still have our old favorites of yogurt, test driving cars, and donating at the check-out lane.

Have you gone more than a year since your last annual exam? If so, then you're more than a year from a medical professional performing a breast exam. Yes, you should be examining your breasts each month (note to self), but you should also have it done once a year at your annual exam. And what do you know, Planned Parenthood does include breast exams in our comprehensive annual exams! Early detection is one way to battle breast cancer.

As you just read in the last post, our new clinic is beautiful! If you want more then a beautiful setting in your annual exam, how does $5 off sound? Yup, just download this coupon and you get $5 off your first visit.

Y-Me points us to the American Cancer Society for some basic facts about breast cancer. It's not just a worry for women who have a family history!

* Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in women and the second leading cause of cancer death in women, after lung cancer.
* One out of eight women in the United States will develop breast cancer if they live past the age of 85, a risk that in 1960 was one out of 14.
* There are 2.3 million women living in the U.S. who have been diagnosed and treated for breast cancer.
* Every woman is at risk for breast cancer, and that risk increases with age. About 77 percent of breast cancer diagnoses occur in women age 50 and older.
* Seventy percent of breast cancers occur in women who have no family history.
* More than 80 percent of breast lumps are benign (not cancerous).
* Women who begin menstruating before age 12 are at increased risk of developing breast cancer. The more menstrual cycles a woman has over her lifetime, the more likely she is to get the disease.

If you still need assistance in obtaining breast exams and pap smears (cervical cancer detection), Illinois now has a program that allows uninsured women access to these vital tests and treatment.

The Take Charge, Get Screened campaign calls on every woman to get screened, noting early detection could save a life...Effective October 1, Gov. Blagojevich made sure all women who need access to potentially life-saving cancer screenings and treatment could get it by expanding the Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer Program (IBCCP) to all uninsured women in Illinois. This expansion makes it possible for more than 260,000 women in Illinois to qualify for free cancer screenings and treatment when they need them, regardless of income.

Let's take care of ourselves, ok?

Technorati tags: breast cancer awareness, breast cancer, Planned Parenthood, pink