RE: “I didnt say breast cancer didnt exist before BCPs!
Look at the rate of increase 20 years after the introduction of BCPs!!!
The slope starting in 1980 is remarkable!”
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Had an exam recently myself — questionnaire asked the usual questions about BC family history and such. But I noted they asked about HRT use, and age at first menses as well as number of children, if any, and patient’s age at time of their birth.
Who knows the reasons this appears so epidemic but so much of it is obviously hormonally related. No doubt some is environmental, too.
People hate to hear my anecdotal story about my female relatives but here it is again: My grandmother and four daughters (my mother was one of them) all died of heart disease at 80+. Heart disease kills 5-6 times more women than does breast cancer, by the way.
None, except the youngest daughter, ever had a mammogram. The youngest one, over eighty now and in an Alzheimer’s facility for many years, DID have regular mammograms over time and developed breast cancer at about age 65. Go figure, eh?
I have just read that mammography now as opposed to about 20 years ago has changed dramatically, eliminating by about 5 times the amount of radiation delivered during the exam.
We are all cautioned not to get too many other types of scans due to radiation, but mammography is strongly recommended every single year for all women over 40. Hmmm. That’s a LOT of mammography. Just sayin’ .....
> “The youngest one, over eighty now and in an Alzheimers facility for many years, DID have regular mammograms over time and developed breast cancer at about age 65.”
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Sounds like the plan is working.
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