The "breast cancer" gene - another perspective

Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine says that mammography doesn’t save lives - in fact the number of women dying from breast cancer is exactly the same as it was when screening was introduced to the UK 40 years ago. However there is a greatly increased rate of false positives leading to additional stress and uncertainty, further testing and unnecessary treatment!

Meanwhile the media circus continues to swirl around Angelina Jolie, applauding her courageous decision to have a double mastectomy and to make it public. But there’s a sobering reminder of the real likelihood of breast cancer from What Doctors Don’t Tell You (WDDTY).

“Around 85 per cent of women whose BRCA gene is first-degree—in other words, it affects only her mother or sister rather than generations of women in the family—will never develop breast cancer.  Paradoxically, 85 per cent of women who have breast cancer don’t have the genetic malfunction. Studies have also demonstrated that genes play a secondary role in determining whether or not someone develops breast cancer.”

Scientifically proven as one of the primary role players, is HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy). About ten years ago, the Women’s Health Initiative first raised the alarm.  Confusion and debate ensured, but in March 2013 the definitive word from The National Cancer Institute. Women who have taken HRT have a much greater risk of developing breast cancer and of dying from it. A recent conversation with a colleague who has a holistic practice specialising in natural fertility enhancement provided a further reminder that we put synthetic hormones into women’s bodies at our peril! She told me that every single one of her patients who had attempted IVF (with its mega-dose chemical cocktail of hormonal stimulation), before coming to her clinic was now suffering from breast cancer. These are all women in their 30s and 40s, all women with young families. Angelina’s courage notwithstanding, breast cancer is about a great deal more than your genetic lottery! One very protective factor is prolonged breastfeeding! Read about all the other benefits for you and your children...