Melissa:  As the Chair of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine's
Committee on Breastfeeding and Women's Health, I have been wading through
the literature about, among other things, bf and breast cancer.  I have
read the paper which the Fox Chase center refers to, as well as the
others.  The paper by no means refutes the findings of previous studies,
and the researchers admit as much.  The reference is: Michels K, Willett
WC, Rosner BA, et al.  Prospective assessment of breastfeeding and breast
cancer incidence among 89887 women.  Lancet Feb 17, 1996;347:431-6.  The
population studied was the Nurses' Health Study cohort, (from a total of
about 120,000 nurses aged 30-55 in 1976 who had completed a
self-administered questionnaire), and following them prospectively over a
period of 6 years.  The definition of bf was "never", "ever"(broken down
into < or = 3 months, 4-6 months, 7-11 months, 12-23 months, > or = 24
months.  Needless to say, in a US population of that period, the number of
mothers bf for any significant duration, was low.  Exclusivity was not
even factored in, so we don't really know how many of the mothers who bf
were doing so optimally.  I will quote from the final paragraph of the
paper:  "In conclusion, it remains unclear whether an association between
breastfeeding and breast cancer exists.  The epidemiologic evidence is
inconsistent [my comment: because the bf *definitions* are inconsistent].
Most of the case-control studies thus far may have biases inherent to
their design.  Differences in the choice of control groups may have
contributed to the differing conclusions.....While no significant
association was detected in the Nurses' Health Study, the possibility that
breastfeeding confers protection to some women, particularly before
cessation of menses, cannot be ruled out.  This premenopausal protective
effect may be stronger, or more apparent, among women of low parity.  We
advocate further studies in younger cohorts of premenopausal women."  How
Fox Chase leapt from this statement to "It's a myth" is beyond me.
Alicia.