FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM OCTOBER 3, 2019 • BREAST CANCER AWARENESS • THE QUEENS COURIER 37
breast cancer awareness
Menopause and breast-cancer risk
Menopause occurs when a
woman’s reproductive cycle is
over and she can no longer produce
off spring. 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 fl ashes
to vaginal dryness. Th e National
Institutes of Health indicates
some women undergo combined
hormone therapy, also called
hormone replacement therapy
to help relieve menopausal
symptoms such as hot fl ashes
and osteoporosis. Th is therapy
replaces estrogen and progestin,
which diminish in a woman’s
body aft er 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.
Th at 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 aft er age
55 will have had many ovulations.
Th is 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 aft er menopause
can also increase a woman’s
risk of breast cancer, states the
MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Th erefore, maintaining a healthy
weight or even losing a little
weight can be benefi cial.
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.
/WWW.QNS.COM
