Breastfeeding May Reduce Risk of Aggressive Breast Cancer

A study that appears in the October 1, 2008 edition of the journal Cancer indicates that breastfeeding for at least six months may decrease a woman's risk of developing "triple negative" breast cancer, thought to be the most aggressive form of breast cancer.

Triple negative cancer is more common among younger women, and a number of published studies indicate that triple negative breast cancer is more likely to recur when compared to other forms of breast cancer.

The most common type of breast cancer is classified as "estrogen-sensitive" or luminal cancer - this type tends to grow slowly, and is more common in older women.

The study cited above indicates that estrogen-sensitive breast cancers are 20 percent less common in women who breastfeed for at least six months.

Other findings include:

• Women who began menstruating before 13 years of age have a higher-than-average risk of experiencing a third form of breast cancer - called HER-2 positive breast cancer.

• Women who enter menopause after age 55, and who take estrogen-plus-progesterone hormone therapy have a higher-than-average risk of developing estrogen-sensitive breast cancer.

Although the study involved a relatively large sample size (more than 2,500), it can't be offered as conclusive proof that breastfeeding decreases risk of breast cancer, since "observational" studies don't carry the same weight as prospective studies, such as the double-blind, randomized control trial format.

Still, the relationships between breastfeeding and different types of breast cancer shouldn't be ignored. Breastfeeding provides a number of benefits to mother and baby, and we know enough about the topic of estrogen dominance to know that at the very least, pregnancy and full-time nursing both decrease a woman's risk of developing estrogen-sensitive cancers.

My experience has been that in many cases where a mother doesn't continue breastfeeding past the first few weeks of her baby's life, it's because she doesn't have enough knowledge or support to become comfortable with breastfeeding. Since breastfeeding provides countless benefits to mother and baby, it's critical that first-time moms are educated on what to expect, and how to make it past the first couple of weeks, which most moms find to be difficult.

If you know any first-time moms or expectant first-time moms, please share the following article with them:

Breastfeeding Tips for First-Time Moms

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