Menopause and breast-cancer risk
Menopause occurs
when a woman’s
reproductive cycle
is over and she can
no longer produce offspring.
For many women, menopause
occurs around age 50.
While menopause itself is not
a risk for breast or other cancers,
it’s important to know that
some symptom treatments and
other factors can increase the
risk for cancer among menopausal
women.
The North American Menopause
Society says that a woman
going through perimenopause
and menopause may experience
various symptoms, which
can range from hair loss to
food cravings to hot flashes to
vaginal dryness. The National
Institutes of Health indicates
some women undergo combined
hormone therapy, also
called hormone replacement
therapy to help relieve menopausal
symptoms such as hot
flashes and osteoporosis. This
therapy replaces estrogen and
progestin, which diminish in a
woman’s body after menopause
sets in. However, NIH’s Women’s
Health Initiative Study has
found that women undergoing
this therapy have a higher risk
of breast cancer, among other
conditions.
WebMD says evidence
suggests that the longer
a woman is exposed to
female hormones, whether
it’s those made by the body,
taken as a drug, or delivered
Caribbean L 20 ife, Oct. 9-15, 2020
by a patch, the more
likely she is to develop
breast cancer. That
means that hormone
replacement therapy can
increase breast cancer
risk and also indicates that
the longer a woman remains
fertile the greater her risk for
certain cancers. Women who
began menstruating before age
12 or entered menopause after
age 55 will have had many ovulations.
This increases the risk
of uterine, breast, and ovarian
cancers, states the American
Society of Clinical Oncology.
It also may impact a woman’s
chances of developing endometrial
cancer.
Gaining weight after menopause
can also increase a
woman’s risk of breast cancer,
states the MD Anderson Cancer
Menopause itself is not a risk for breast or other cancers, but it’s important to know that
some symptom treatments and other factors can increase the risk for cancer among
menopausal women.
Center. Therefore, maintaining
a healthy weight or even losing
a little weight can be beneficial.
Women who enter menopause
are not necessarily at a
higher risk for breast cancer,
but some factors tied to menopause
can play a role. Women
who want to lower their risk for
various cancers are urged to eat
healthy diets, quit smoking and
maintain healthy body weights.
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