Women Aren’t Aware that Breastfeeding Reduces Breast Cancer Risk
The World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) is a leading UK cancer research organization. They recently discovered that British women are not aware that breastfeeding can help to prevent cancer.
“It is a real concern that so many women are unaware that breastfeeding can help prevent cancer,” Lucie Galice of WCRF said in a statement. “This means that many new mothers are making choices about whether to breastfeed without knowing it can help reduce cancer risk for both them and their child.”
Breastfeeding Counselor Angela White, J.D., blogger over at Breastfeeding 1-2-3, wrote a great post explaining the relationship between breastfeeding and breast cancer; in particular, that the risk of breast cancer decreases the longer women breastfeed.
I have so many questions for ya’ll … where are you from and were you aware that breastfeeding could reduce your risk of breast cancer? And, if you’re a survivor, did you breastfeed?
Tags: breast cancer, breast cancer blog, breastfeeding, health, wellness, womenRelated Stories
POSTED IN: News Items, Research
3 opinions for Women Aren’t Aware that Breastfeeding Reduces Breast Cancer Risk
Angela
May 1, 2008 at 6:30 pm
Thanks for the mention, Karen, and for helping to spread the good news about the relationship of breastfeeding and cancer prevention!
Laura
May 2, 2008 at 10:00 am
I just want to caution that women shouldn’t get a false sense of security because they did breastfeed. That’s what happened to me - I breast fed for a total of six years. Along with the fact that I had no family history of the disease I really didn’t think I was at risk. So I was pretty shocked to be diagnosed with Stage III breast cancer.
Karen Lynch
May 2, 2008 at 2:39 pm
Angela, you’re welcome. I certainly support you and the work you are doing over there!
Laura, great point, thank you for speaking up. I breastfed my first two children for six months after their birth — that didn’t prevent cancer from developing in my body.
We have to keep research like this in perspective!
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