weight gain and breast cancer

peb

A breast cancer specialist was on extra tv stating that how much weight you have gain since high school is the higher % of chance of getting bc. According to this specialist if you have gained 10 pounds over your high school weight you now have a 10% more chance of getting breast cancer , 20 pounds =20%, 30 pounds= 30% and so on.I feel this statement is putting extra fear in women. Most all women have gained weight since high school Is this statement true? It just doesn't seem like a true statement.

Akiss4me

I for one don't buy it....
I do not buy it because until I took off work for treatment and quit somking (Where I recently gained 10lbs post diagnosis) I have been the same weight since high school, other than being pregnant. Now I was encoraged to drop my 10lb gain only because of the estrogen that is produced in the fat cells and I am ER/PR+ But I am unsure if the fat cells "store" extra estrogen and release it or "produce" extra estrogen. Question I'll need to ask my Oncologist. So if we were going by the amount of weight gained since high school, I would have 0% more risk. Hmmm....food for thought. :O) Pammy

Eil4186

Well, I don't know about the
Well, I don't know about the percentages, but research has shown that excess fat increases not only breast cancer risk but risk of getting cancer in general. Fat cells produce estrogen and many cancers feed on estrogen. Also, people that are fit tend to eat healthier, and exercise and all this enhances your immune system possibly helping it to recognize and destroy early cancer cells.

djteach

Hi Peb,
According to who you
Hi Peb,
According to who you believe, extra weight causes EVERYTHING!! I'd like to know who did the study, cause I'm not totally buying it either. I'm sure it doesn't help our health to put on pounds, we know about heart disease etc. But I don't think the research boat is in on the causes of breast cancer. There are so many variables and they are still working on a genetic component besides the BRACHA-1&2. It also makes it hard when our bodies are supposed to change from our 30's on and then again at menopause. We need more research on all of women's health.

Okay, I'm off my soapbox.
Love and gentle hugs,
Donna

lanie940

I agree. I got myself
I agree. I got myself overweight over the last 15 years. Gradual weight gain but I weighed too much for my height. So with other health issues I lost a total of 40 pounds since last fall. I'm just wondering if because I lost the weight, they could see the cancer in my breast easier or what. I wonder when it started, why it started,etc. My first emotion was anger, then disbelief. So, I just want to get all this behind me.

Basically, the high school thing? well, I was heavier in HS, like I'm now only 20 pounds heavier from HS. I lost a lot of weight from diet and excercise in my early 20's, I didn't gain much during either pregnancies. My downfall was working in Food Service!

It sometimes doesn't make sense their studies, because I had both boys before age 30, nursed both of them at least 6 months. So, you don't know what to believe anymore.

chenheart

Ya know, there are risk
Ya know, there are risk factors for everyone for eveything...and we have to sift and weigh ( no pun intended) what is important to us personally. I am one of those who never was overweight, I had no known risk factors except one~ I HAD BREASTS! And the weight gain I have experienced has been post BC. Estrogen is stored in fat, and so for those of us with estrogen positive BC it may behoove us to shed those extra pounds. But for every thin woman With breast cancer, there are at least an equal number of fat women Without!

So, I dunno! I suppose we should keep as healty as possible, "just in case"~ it seems reasonable , although not proveable by me, that if we are physically healthy to begin with, maybe, just maybe, if we do get BC, or anything else, we may have the physical strength to beat it!!

Hugs,
Claudia

survivorbc09

I don't believe that peb,
I don't believe that peb, not at all. I have weighed about the same as I did in high school. I am thin, always was.

DianeBC

survivorbc09 said:

I don't believe that peb,
I don't believe that peb, not at all. I have weighed about the same as I did in high school. I am thin, always was.

If you get right down to it
If you get right down to it and read everything out there, everything causes some kind of cancer. Seriously, just be sensible. And, it isn't healthy to be overweight anyway, not for anyone. I still weigh about the same I did in high school.

Hugs, Diane ♥

Christmas Girl

Hmmm...
Like Pammy, I maintained my "high school" weight throughout my adulthood - have always been slender and fit. Right up until I was diagnosed with BC at age 45.

My med onc often reminds me to be cautious about BC info as it's relayed by the media because it's usually not comprehensive.

Kristin N

Christmas Girl said:

Hmmm...
Like Pammy, I maintained my "high school" weight throughout my adulthood - have always been slender and fit. Right up until I was diagnosed with BC at age 45.

My med onc often reminds me to be cautious about BC info as it's relayed by the media because it's usually not comprehensive.

I weigh the same that I did
I weigh the same that I did in high school. I don't need to really watch my weight though. I eat whatever I want. I just have never gained. Lucky, I guess. But, I don't think weight has much to do with bc.

♥ Hugs, Kristin ♥