Let me get back to that email that has been circulating that rumors a bras and breast cancer connection. The American Cancer Society reports the email as stating, “Wearing a bra for the whole day compresses the lymphatic system of the breast, resulting in accumulation of toxins that cause breast cancer”. It also states, "Bra-burning is no longer a feminist issue...it is now a battle between life and death."
The truth of the matter is that there has been no valid scientific study conducted to support the idea that bras cause breast cancer. The American Cancer Society reports the emails were based on writings prepared by medical anthropologists. It is further reported that, “their study was not conducted according to standard principles of epidemiological research and did not take into consideration other variables, including known risk factors for breast cancer.”
Are you asking yourself what exactly is epidemiological research? Well, so did I and I did what most folks do…I “Googled” it. I found many related websites describing epidemiological research. I prefer to keep it simple and I chose to provide you with the following description found at: http://www.aea.asn.au/home_whatisepidemiology.htm
According to Last et al (2000), an epidemiologist is:
"An investigator who studies the occurrence of disease or other health-related conditions or events in defined populations. The control of disease in populations is often also considered to be a task for the epidemiologist"
Last J, Spasoff R, Harris S. A dictionary of epidemiology.
Oxford University Press, New York, 2000.
If this type of research interests you, the website also provides what becoming an epidemiologist entails. I think I will stick to being a health and life insurance agent. Thank you to those of you conducting such research.
Anyway, the American Cancer Society does report knowing of one scientifically conducted epidemiologist study that did an investigation trying to link the two. However, there is no known epidemiologic study that has been published in scientific journals suggesting bras contribute to breast cancer. The idea of lymphatic compression by bras causing breast cancer has not been reported as being published in scientific journals either. The mentioned study was conducted on non-bra wearers and bra wearers. The non-bra wearers were favored as breast cancer being less common among them. The study also is reported as not showing a “significant” difference between the two groups of women. The researchers themselves are also reported as expressing uncertainty regarding the correlation. They took the women’s weight and breast size into consideration but no conclusive connection was determined.
The conclusion is, whether you are a bra wearer or not, you do not need to worry yourself with the idea of lymphatic compression increasing your risk of breast cancer, at this point in time. We should be grateful that researchers are taking the time, money and resources in trying to find what are the contributing factors of breast cancer among women.
I also want to show my support with the American Cancer Society’s new campaign of being the official sponsor of Birthdays. Eleven Million cancer survivors will celebrate another birthday this year! That is amazing and yes it is definitely progress!
Facebook Members can check the following link: http://www.morebirthdays.com/morebirthdays/facebook.asp
