Is There A Link Between Higher Breast Cancer Rates And Serving In The Military?

[longknife]

by War News Updates Editor @ War News Updates: Is There A Link Between Higher Breast Cancer Rates And Serving In The Military?

Photo: Warrior: 'The dog tags and camouflage are real. I am still active duty,' said Barbie, as she posed for the Scar Project to raise awareness about breast cancer

Mystery Of Soaring Breast Cancer Rates Among Women AND Men In U.S. Armed Forces... But Government STILL Won't Cover Treatment -- Daily Mail

A startling percentage of servicemembers have been diagnosed with breast cancer and experts have not been able to determine why.

Historically, rates of cancer among military members have been relatively low compared to the rest of the population, especially for diseases like lung, cervical and colorectal cancers.

But for some reason, more and more men and women in the armed forces have been diagnosed with breast cancer at young ages, as female soldiers are 20 to 40 per cent more likely to get the disease.

Read more .... Mystery of soaring breast cancer rates among women AND men in U.S. armed forces... but government STILL won't cover treatment | Mail Online

Update: Alarming breast cancer rates among troops -- Army Times

My Comment: Not everyone is in agreement that there is a link between higher breast cancer rates and serving in the military.

 

[The Infidel]

Maybe pink M-16's and pink tanks might help with awareness

 

[waltky]

Breast cancer rates increase in younger women...

Advanced breast cancer edges up in younger women
Feb 26,`13 -- Advanced breast cancer has increased slightly among young women, a 34-year analysis suggests. The disease is still uncommon among women younger than 40, and the small change has experts scratching their heads about possible reasons.

The results are potentially worrisome because young women's tumors tend to be more aggressive than older women's, and they're much less likely to get routine screening for the disease. Still, that doesn't explain why there'd be an increase in advanced cases and the researchers and other experts say more work is needed to find answers. It's likely that the increase has more than one cause, said Dr. Rebecca Johnson, the study's lead author and medical director of a teen and young adult cancer program at Seattle Children's Hospital. "The change might be due to some sort of modifiable risk factor, like a lifestyle change" or exposure to some sort of cancer-linked substance, she said.

Johnson said the results translate to about 250 advanced cases diagnosed in women younger than 40 in the mid-1970s versus more than 800 in 2009. During those years, the number of women nationwide in that age range went from about 22 million to closer to 30 million - an increase that explains part of the study trend "but definitely not all of it," Johnson said. Other experts said women delaying pregnancy might be a factor, partly because getting pregnant at an older age might cause an already growing tumor to spread more quickly in response to pregnancy hormones. Obesity and having at least a drink or two daily have both been linked with breast cancer but research is inconclusive on other possible risk factors, including tobacco and chemicals in the environment. Whether any of these explains the slight increase in advanced disease in young women is unknown.

There was no increase in cancer at other stages in young women. There also was no increase in advanced disease among women older than 40. Overall U.S. breast cancer rates have mostly fallen in more recent years, although there are signs they may have plateaued. Some 17 years ago, Johnson was diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer at age 27, and that influenced her career choice to focus on the disease in younger women. "Young women and their doctors need to understand that it can happen in young women," and get checked if symptoms appear, said Johnson, now 44. "People shouldn't just watch and wait."

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[waltky]

Lack of clinical trials aimed at younger breast cancer patients...

Breast cancer trials 'failing to save younger patients'
31 May 2013 > A lack of clinical trials aimed at younger breast cancer patients could be partly to blame for longer-term survival problems, experts believe.

The study, funded by Cancer Research UK and the Wessex Cancer Trust, analysed nearly 3,000 women under 40 in the UK with diagnosed breast cancer. It found a rapid rise in relapse after five years in younger patients with a certain type of the cancer. This contrasts with what normally happens with the disease. The data, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, showed that survival five years after diagnosis was 85%. By the eight-year mark it was 68%.

Breast cancer is mostly diagnosed in post-menopausal women, although those with a diagnosis under 40 represent fewer than 5% of all breast cancers treated in the UK. The study looked at cases involving oestrogen-receptor-positive disease, whose cancers are fuelled by the female hormone oestrogen.

Breast cancer in the under-40s represents under 5% of all cases

Underlying problem

This form of the disease is usually treated by chemotherapy followed by the drug tamoxifen for five years to block oestrogen receptors. Researchers suggested that taking tamoxifen for a longer period may help, but they said the underlying problem was that trials needed to involve more younger patients. Chief investigator Prof Dianna Eccles said: "This study adds to the evidence that breast cancer can behave very differently when diagnosed in younger women. "They may require a different approach to treatment, which isn't necessarily understood from cancer trials in older patients."

Kate Law, Cancer Research UK's director of clinical research, said: "Although in general breast cancer survival has improved dramatically in recent decades, with women now twice as likely to survive their disease for at least 10 years compared to those diagnosed in the 1970s, the same can't be said for younger breast cancer patients."

BBC News - Breast cancer trials 'failing to save younger patients'