A woman on one of my AP lists lost her mother to breast cancer just a few
months ago. It was a horrible experience for her, as I'm sure you can
imagine. :(

She is nursing her first child, and is terrified of getting breast cancer
herself. I'm appealing to anyone who might have information on the
specifics of the breast cancer research. Please read what she wrote (she
gave me permission to forward it to you):

> Well, I found out why my nipples were so very sore on latch
> and de-latch last week.  The pain went away a couple days
> ago, and this morning (as I'd feared) I got my period back.
> Tomorrow will be exactly 6 months since the birth.  :P  I was
> hoping for a lot more of a reprieve...  It's *possible* that this
> is just a "warning" period because <the baby> has a cold with stuffy
> nose and hasn't been nursing quite as much as she normally
> does, but the sore nipples and all seem to me to indicate that
> I'm back in full cycle.  I'm the first woman in like 3 generations
> of my family to successfully breastfeed for more than a few
> weeks, so I didn't have anyone to look to as a model for when
> to expect to fall off the roof again, but I'd had hopes...
>
> I asked at my LLL meeting on Thursday if my sore nipples might
> mean my period was coming, and that brought up the subject
> of the reduced breast cancer risk to extended breastfeeders.
> I'd always heard that the cancer rate for the mother was
> reduced by *breastfeeding*, and that the longer you bf the
> greater the reduction of risk.  This was a BIG point in my
> decision to ebf, and in fact my mom INSISTED to me that I
> MUST bf <my baby> for at least a year.  (She said, "Even if she
> weans, you keep pumping for at least a year!!")  But at LLL
> they were saying that the cancer risk is reduced only because
> you don't get your period.  They talked about the theory that
> it's the constant cycling of hormones in the breast tissue that
> contributes to cancer formation, and that the more time you
> spend pregnant or breastfeeding, the less times you get your
> period, and the better it is for you.
>
> So now I'm very depressed, and worried about cancer.  I already
> felt like I was doomed to get it, but I thought I was ACTIVELY
> fighting it by bf'ing.  Now it sounds like thats not true?
>
> G-d, I don't want to get cancer.  I tried talking to my best friend IRL
> about my fears and she starts talking about the great treatments they
> have for it now, and how they're finding new ways to fight it every
> day.  I DON'T WANT IT!  Don't tell me about BSE's and mammograms
> and early detection!  My mom found the original lump in her breast
> when it was smaller than a pea, and 7 years later, after suffering
> through all the newest, most cutting-edge treatments, she was dead.
> I thought I would be fighting it, and helping my risk, as long as I was
> breastfeeding.  But now, apparently, that fight is over until I have
> another baby?
>
> I guess what I'm asking for here is information.  Anybody out there that
> can point me to some research or indications that it's not just the
> amenorrhea that combats cancer?  I've heard all kinds of stats like,
> cumulative breastfeeding for 6 years reduced your cancer risk by 95%
> or something like that... Is that only if you didn't get your period any
time
> in those 6 years?  I'm confused and very, very worried...

Please pass on any information that I can forward to her ...

Thanks,
Janice Berry
Columbus, OH