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
by a patch, the more likely
she is to develop breast cancer.
T
hat 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 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.
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.
NYC HEALTH + HOSPITALS/ELMHURST
SUPPORTS BREAST CANCER AWARENESS
Visit our website
to learn more about
our programs and services
Visit nychealthandhospitals.org/mammograms
Phone 1-844-NYC-4NYC
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