Jeanette I'm so sorry to hear about the mother with stage IV br cancer but
she and you and ALL need to remember Breastfeeding CAN PREVENT and lessen
the incidence of breast cancer in a population of women. Yes someone can
develop breast cancer EVEN if she bf MANY children a LONG time, Because no
one is sure when she developed the first genetic or cellular "seeds" of
cancerous changes, (maybe even in child hood). In my humble opinion, the
breastfeeding while it may have delayed the diagnosis and treatment of a
cancer it MAY have also slowed the disease process down due to hormone
suppression or immune boosting etc. she may have been given the chance to
breastfeed her children BECAUSE she breastfed ! only "our higher power"
knows for sure.....NOT breastfeeding would NOT have saved her from cancer,
so what is the best for her ?       prayers for strength to cope  and
prayers of thanksgiving for all the gifts of children she has given life
to, and been given to..... i know a little about this kind of pain...my
husband has battled acute leukemia for the past 10 years and it's not over
yet. but we have been blessed with him and the children they said we'd
never have (all whom were breastfed). I often wonder if he would have
gotten leukemia if my mother-in-law had Brfed her sons ????? But does it
really matter now ??????? The only regret we should have is wasting so much
precious time having regrets.....