I am a woman of 52 who has just been through chemo, surgery and rads and have found this website and the forum just so very helpful, I cannot tell you. It is all very well reading about, say, a mastectomy or chemo in a book, but to hear it from the mouths of the people undergoing these procedures/treatments is far more informative.
What amazes, and indeed saddens, me is that there are so many younger women (i.e. in their 20s and 30s) being diagnosed with breast cancer.
So the question I am asking is this - why are so many people being diagnosed so young (apart from the fact that screening techniques are more advanced than previously and women are more “breast aware” and going to their GP - initially - if they feel an abnormality)?
Is it something to do with what we are eating, or the chemicals we are exposed to in everyday life?
I’m one of the younger women affected by breast cancer. I was diagnosed last June with invasive ductal carcinoma, grade 3 with one lymph node affected and a 4 cm lump together with 8cm of DCIS and I’ve had all the treatment possible. You are right there do seem to be quite a lot of us on here unfortunately. I often wonder if it’s things like microwaves (I used mine a lot) or mobile phones which I also use a lot.
It makes you wonder does’nt It, my son nicky was diagnosed with Breast cancer Aug 28th 06 , at the age of 24, not only the age thing but being such a young man, he underwent a radical mascectomy, plus duct removal as had spread, and 6 months chemo then radio.
I still find it hard to get my head around, no one knows why it happened or much else really.
Anyway I hope everything has gone well with your treatment
I think alot of it definitely has to do with the modern way of living, the chemicals that are in various products, the deodorants etc, or whatever is going into the food chain. I’m another “oldie” at 51, but it’s heartbreaking to see the amount of young women, and young men suffering from this awful disease. There was three of us in the same corridor at work who were diagnosed at the same time. Scary.
Someone once brought up Chenobyl in Russia as being a possible cause. I know it’s years and years ago now, but it could be the after effects. I don’t believe it’s just all the preventative scanning that is throwing up all the results. All sorts of cancers seem to be much more common than they were say 40 years ago. At one time if you heard of someone with breast cancer it was rare or rareish, if that’s a word !!! Now everyone you talk to has a friend or a member of their family who has had it.
I was wondering if women in the past who got cancer just died and nobody was really sure why. I know my mother and I were talking about this and said that a few women she knew when she was a girl, just “took badly” and died quickly with no-one really knowing why. I guess the disease has been around for a long time, but not recognised or talked about in a way that is it now?
Try reading Dr Rachel Plant’s book “Your Life in Your Hands” and then pose the question “is it down to diet & lifestyle?”. Amazing book - even if you don’t believe the hype, you can’t ignore some of the facts. I have to say that I am radically changing my diet as the days go by (I had by Masectomy & Recon 4 weeks ago and start my chemo in 2 weeks). It is not a sacrifice on my behalf and is def. worth a try. I am 37 with Grade 3 IDC, 6cm lump.
I think Cathy expressed this well. BC was always around, but not such good treatment as today and nobody discussed CA openly. All members on my mother’s side have died from BC, and certainly the older members did not have much treatment at all, apart from a mastectomy when it was already too late, we certainly did not discuss it openly in the family. My mum is still with us - thank god - and at 84 has lived many years since dx at 58. But as she had a family history, she had more tests at a time when routine screening was not available and her CA was picked up very early. My sister had a preventive double mastectomy because of DCIS in one breast and numerous calcifications in the other and she is fine now, but again she was tested regularly and so was I. Personally, I don’t think it has anything to do with diet, as many young girls who have a very good diet and sensible lifestyle (i.e.not too much alcohol and no ciggies) still get this disease. But I do think that the modern screening and treatment options are very advanced now and many girls , even with secondaries, live much longer than years ago.
What none of us , who have been diagnosed with BC, must do is to ‘blame’ ourselves n any way - BC is not selective and anyone, young or old can get it and can have recurrences. Blaming yourself is not productive and only adds to the stress of a dx and can’t help much with your future. But if anyone wants to change their diet to a healthier one, obviously this can only be a good thing for general good health, not just BC.
Hi Ladies,
I,m 39 dx last May at 38 grade 2 IDC with 1 node ER pos. I had taken the contraceptive pill for 20 yrs with a couple of breaks for 2 Children. I was told on DX to stop taking the pill straight away, When I asked if that had caused my BC I was told not necessarily. I think it may have alot to do with it but they wont say in case they are sued.
Also I breast fed my 2 babies, the 2nd one for 10 months. I,ve always been fairly slim and ate a healthy diet, exercised and I gave up the ciggies 15 years ago so who knows.
Love to you all
Andrea xx
You can get Dr Rachel PLant’s book from Amazon. She has written a few but the ,ost relevant one - and the best one to read first - is “Your Life in your Hands”. As as someone quite rightly points out, a change in diet is good with or without BC. This book is aimed at people without BC but looking for prevention - as well as trying to help those of us with BC. I have now completely erased Dairy and Dairy Meat from my diet (one of my best friend’s husbands is a Director of a very large and well known Organic Dairy brand and he is trying to see both sides of the arguement!) and have significantly reduced dairy in my 3 kids’ diet too. If you really like milk, try Rice or Oat milk - not as bad as they sound!!! And easily available in good supermarkets. Ultimately, I think it is worth a punt for me anyway!
Let me know what you think - rubbish or relevant?
x
I am focusing my energy into being positive about finishing my treatment and then getting my life back on track rather than wondering what I could “blame” for getting breast cancer (I was diagnosed less than a month after my 34th birthday) however I believe in my case it is a combination of genetics (both grandmothers had cancer in their 40s one of which was breast cancer) and I confess I was a heavy smoker and wine drinker, and also I have had a lot of anxiety/stress to cope with in the last 10 years which I don’t think helps either. I have quit smoking and don’t even miss it now, the things that were “on my mind” have been resolved and I am still partial to the vino but not like a fish any more. My diet is currently ruled by what I can and cannot stomach because of the chemo making me feel sick but when I am “back to normal” I will continue eating healthy food, I have always liked a mostly healthy diet in any case. But I don’t want to become obsessive - so long as I don’t smoke, don’t drink excessively, and have a balanced diet and some exercise I believe what will happen will happen.
The book is by Jane Plant not Rachel Plant. I read it out of interest, but personally came to the conclusion that she is a bit of a crank. Maybe time will prove me wrong. Who knows.
It is interesting to see that breast cancer rates are now going up in the far east despite their diet. Some scientists think it is due to the reduction in family size and having children later. There are so many theories out there.
I was dx at 44 last year, with none of the known risk factors. I have a friend dx at 45 a few years ago, two dx at 40 and 43 three years ago and another dx last year at 47. We all live in the same village. I just don’t believe them anymore when they say it is rare in under 50s.
i havent read this book but read some reviews, who are critical because not much evidence to substantiate it. also , one reviewer remarked on the fact that she advocates soya milk, which could have adverse affects on oestrogen? I keep my mind open but as most of you have said, too many variables to getting bc to be able to pinpoint one - far too simplistic and a bit dodgy to give people false hope when there isnt much.
Whoa Toothfairy!!! Very negative!!
Give people false hope when there isn’t much?!!!
Horses for courses I say!!
In my humble opinion, to say there isn’t much hope is an opinion best kept to oneself!!
To review all the info out there and then come to your own conclusion is the most educated way of doing things isn’t it?!!
I say get all opinions out in the open and then make your own decisions. and apologies for getting the name wrong - I shouldn’t type so late at night!!! Must be the drugs!!
Let the debate rage on!!! But stay positive about it!!
don’t shoot the messenger - I was paraphrasing a review I had read and just to clarify what I meant with false hope is that encouraging people to adopt healthier living is good and beneficial, but to get them to pin their hopes on something that may never (and hasn’t been proven) to work, is in my opinion false hope. I didn’t mean to offend anyone by that, but I do remain sceptical about these so called “miracle” cures. As I said, I keep an open mind,
I read that book and a few other and I have come to the conclusion that a little of what you fancy is good for you, so the odd glass of vino once in a while and chocolate etc can do you no harm. As others have said in the past in other threads, we shouldn’t feel guilty about what we do or don’t eat. A healthy diet is good even if you don’t have bc. I was 27 when I was dx last year. I had no risk factors (don’t smoke, slim, no family history at all etc). I have dealt with the bc thing pretty well. I had a delayed diagnosis of a year nearly (I didn’t get triple assessment) and I have to say that that was more upsetting for me. I am now coming to peace with it though. I wrote a letter of complaint to the bc clinic involved and they have admitted that the cancer was probably there when I saw them. So now, I am thinking I just want to get on with living life.
Hi all, I went dairy free after reading Jane Plant’s book during chemo.I’m triple neg so felt I’d nothing to loose and possibly an awful lot to gain! My tumour was so aggressive the BC was expected to return within 10mths and I was given a 40% chance of living 5yrs.I’m 4yrs, 4mths down the line and counting! I really don’t know if its diet or luck,but I’m still NED and feeling well.Being dairy free certainly hasn’t done me any harm …and it’s helped keep the middle aged spread at bay!!!
I just wanted to add that I have a theory about why there seems to be so much more bc around, though this only applies to hormone receptive cancers and of course is not the only reason (lipstick being one!). The contraceptive pill has been widely used for the last 30 years or so and the hormones pass into the water system - I think this also explains (to some extent, of course) the decline in male fertility.
I have heard that theory too about more hormones being present in water. Also, environmental changes, global warming may have affected cancer rates? I guess like everything else, loads of different reasons.