English female students at bottom of class for knowledge

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English female students at bottom of class for knowledge

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English female students at bottom of class for knowledge HI all

I’ve moved this on behalf of Christine MH

Moderator
Breast Cancer Care

A very interesting study, led by Cancer Research UK, showing that young women are completely unaware that lack of exercise, regular alcohol consumption and obesity are well-known risk factors for breast cancer. Women in all of the nations surveyed did very badly, but England did the worst.

nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_35836.html

Of course, before anyone writes in, there are thin tee-total exercise fanatics who get breast cancer, just as there are non-smokers who get lung cancer. And for pre-menopausal breast cancer, thinness is actually a risk factor, but most BC is post-menopausal. However, these factors do worsen the odds in general.

I am particularly concerned that students don’t know the link between alcohol consumption and breast cancer, since they seem to be drinking more and more each year. One of my male students died just six years after graduation because of stomach cancer and I can’t help but wonder whether excess drink played a role.

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thanks for raising this, Christine. I read about this study as well and it concerns me greatly.

Young women seem to consume much more alcohol than my generation did when we were young. I have a student daughter and worry about her overdoing the alcohol. I will worry about my son as well when he goes to Uni in the autumn.

I’ve told my daughter about the connection that scientists have made between alcohol consumption and increased risk of breast cancer, but people, especially young ones, never think it will happen to them and probably don’t take much notice of such messages when they come from parents.

I hope that Charities like CRUK, Breast Cancer Care and Breakthrough can quickly develop effective ways of delivering the message about risks of alcohol to young people. These messages should start at school. It’s a bit late when they get to University or get jobs - their drinking habits are already well established by then.