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Abortion Breast Cancer Link Introduction Abortion Breast Cancer Link In this talk every time I use the word "abortion" I mean induced abortion. In medical literature often the word abortion is also used for miscarriage, i.e. spontaneous abortion Abortion Breast Cancer Link Abortion is not the main cause of breast cancer, and I want to apologise in advance to all those who have suffered from breast cancer or whose relatives have suffered or died from breast cancer. Abortion Breast Cancer Link I do not mean to imply that any of these women have had abortions. However, abortion is a risk factor for breast cancer Abortion Breast Cancer Link • Breast Cancer is the major cause of death for women of reproductive age in Georgia Abortion Breast Cancer Link The statistical evidence The link between abortion and breast cancer is not new or invented by pro-lifers. Japan legalised abortion in 1948. In 1957 a study by Segi et al and in 1968 by Watanabe & Hirayama showed an increased incidence of breast cancer in women who had abortions. Abortion Breast Cancer Link This diagram shows the studies up to 2000. As you can see most show increased risk. Abortion Breast Cancer Link One that showed zero risk was a Danish study by Melbye in which he counted breast cancer cases for 5 years before counting the Abortions which is not valid. Abortion Breast Cancer Link One cannot count incidence of a disease for years before counting the cause - this makes no sense and you get an invalid result. Abortion Breast Cancer Link Since Segi's study in 1957 there have been another 57 studies showing an increased incidence of breast cancer in women who have had abortions. Abortion Breast Cancer Link The most recent are from China, India and Bangladesh, countries which traditionally had a low incidence of breast cancer. Abortion Breast Cancer Link There have also been 16 studies which showed no increased risk, but most of these were flawed because they combined miscarriages with abortions, or were flawed in the data that was included or excluded, like the Danish study, Abortion Breast Cancer Link In 1970 the World Health Organisation published the results of its study on the reproductive experience of 17,000 women on 4 continents in relation to the incidence of breast cancer. The major conclusion is undisputed today, 44 years later: Abortion Breast Cancer Link Women who begin bearing children at a young age are less likely to get breast cancer than those who have children later, or those who have no children at all. Being childless is a risk factor for breast cancer. Abortion Breast Cancer Link In regard to abortion, the WHO scientists said their results "suggested increased risk associated with abortion - contrary to the reduction in risk associated with full-term births". Abortion Breast Cancer Link This latter suggestion is what is disputed by the major cancer organizations, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in the US and the Cancer Councils in Australia. It is also disputed by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) in the UK. Abortion Breast Cancer Link The NCI in the US is dominated by researchers who are committed to abortion as a woman's right, while the RCOG and similar bodies have members who have a financial conflict of interest. Abortion Breast Cancer Link Biological Data Well why does a full-term pregnancy offer protection while an abortion increases risk? For this we need to look at the physiology of the breast. Abortion Breast Cancer Link At birth breast cells are immature and make up Type l lobules which are susceptible to carcinogens. These Type l lobules develop into type 2 lobules at puberty. These are still primitive and susceptible to carcinogens. Abortion Breast Cancer Link These type l and 2 lobules proliferate during early pregnancy so the woman has more cells vulnerable to cancer. This is why if the pregnancy is interrupted by an abortion, she is left at greater risk of breast cancer. Another picture of primitive immature lobules and mature breast lobules Abortion Breast Cancer Link During the 3rd trimester of pregnancy i.e. after 32 weeks, the breast lobules mature into type 3 lobules. Type 4 are formed after childbirth and produce milk. By comparison with types 1 and 2 lobules, both types 3 and type 4 lobules are less vulnerable to developing cancer. Abortion Breast Cancer Link "Estrogen" which includes a whole clase of steroids, is the hormone-like chemical messenger which changes a girl's body into a woman's body at puberty. Estradiol is the crucial hormone. Abortion Breast Cancer Link Estrogen is mainly made in the ovaries before menopause and in fat (adipose) tissue after the menopause. Estrogen is recognised as a carcinogen for certain types of cancer including breast cancer. Abortion Breast Cancer Link Estrogen stimulates breast tissue to increase cell division (mitosis). This sometimes results in cancers due to errors in cell division (mutations). Abortion Breast Cancer Link The more menstrual cycles breasts are exposed to over a lifetime, the higher the risk of breast cancer. During each monthly cycle a woman is exposed to increased estrogen levels at the preovulation peak. Abortion Breast Cancer Link Both early age of puberty and late menopause increases breast cancer risk because of more menstrual cycles, ie. increased exposure to estrogen. Similarly, surgically removing the ovaries before natural menopause decreases breast cancer risk. Abortion Breast Cancer Link In most miscarriages which typically occur during the first trimester of pregnancy, the estradiol levels do not rise even to the level of the ovulatory peak, i.e. insufficient to maintain the pregnancy. Blood Estradiol Levels Abortion Breast Cancer Link This is why most miscarriages do not increase breast cancer risk. However, second-trimester miscarriages, or miscarriages due to an accident or blow to the abdomen will increase breast cancer risk because the rise in estradiol was normal. Abortion Breast Cancer Link Premature delivery before 32 weeks can also increase breast cancer risk because the breast cells have not matured into types 3 and 4. Abortion Breast Cancer Link If a woman does not have a full-term pregnancy prior to age 35 or remains childless she has been exposed to many cycles of increased estradiol levels which have increased cell division of immature breast cells. Abortion Breast Cancer Link A full-term pregnancy and breast feeding converts these immature cells into mature, cancer-resistant types 3 and 4 lobules. Abortion Breast Cancer Link Breast-feeding also reduces the number of ovulatory cycles and the exposure to estrogen. Abortion Breast Cancer Link This is why abortion raises breast cancer risk - the early pregnancy and high estrogen levels have stimulated the breasts to result in more mitosis, i.e. cell division of the immature cells. Abortion Breast Cancer Link The abortion prevents these cells from developing into mature, cancer-resistant cells. The risk is especially high for teenagers and for childless women since their breast cells have not matured. Abortion Breast Cancer Link A teenager who has an abortion between 9 and 24 weeks has a 30% chance of developing breast cancer. Abortion Breast Cancer Link If that teenager also has a family history of breast cancer her risk appears even higher. Abortion Breast Cancer Link An Australian study by Rohan et al on South Australia showed that abortion appeared a more powerful risk risk factor for breast cancer than some of the other recognised risk factors. Abortion Breast Cancer Link Australian women were never informed of this study, it only surfaced in a meta-analysis by a French researcher 7 years later. Abortion Breast Cancer Link Birth control pills increase the risk if they are taken before a full-term pregnancy. Abortion Breast Cancer Link The longer they took the pills, the greater the risk. Even "low dose" estrogen pills have been associated with higher breast cancer risk. Abortion Breast Cancer Link I think there is a warning on pill packets about increased breast cancer risk. Abortion Breast Cancer Link What are we to make then of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in the UK denying practising certificates to doctors who won't prescribe contraceptives? Abortion Breast Cancer Link Hormone replacement therapy increases breast cancer risk and the longer the woman uses HRT the greater her risk. Abortion Breast Cancer Link One potent synthetic estrogen, known as DES has been found to increase risk in mothers and possibly their daughters - when taken during pregnancy. Abortion Breast Cancer Link Even risk factors not related to reproduction act via an estrogen-mediated mechanism Post menopausal obesity increases risk because adipose, i.e. fat cells synthesize estrogen. Abortion Breast Cancer Link Interestingly, pre-menopausal obesity causes hormonal changes which decrease estrogen production by the ovaries and can even result in infertility. Abortion Breast Cancer Link Therefore pre-menopausal obesity does not increase breast cancer risk but is not desirable for other health reasons. Abortion Breast Cancer Link Other risk factors include regular intake of alcohol which decreases the body's ability to change estrogen into its inactive form and thereby increases risk. Abortion Breast Cancer Link Jose & Irma Russo in a landmark 1980 experiment found that 77% of laboratory rats whose first pregnancy was surgically aborted developed breast cancer after exposure to a carcinogen. Incidence of Adenocarcomas in DMBA – Treated Sprague-Dawley Rats Abortion Breast Cancer Link None of the control group identically exposed to the carcinogen whose pregnancy was carried to term developed breast cancer. Abortion Breast Cancer Link Every week especially around October you will see many pictures and articles about raising funds for breast cancer research and treatment, but little about prevention. Prevention is better than cure. Abortion Breast Cancer Link Abortion is an avoidable risk factor - we cannot eliminate other factors such as age, family history and height Abortion Breast Cancer Link In reducing your risk of breast cancer, your baby is your best friend. The earlier you have a baby, the less your risk. Abortion Breast Cancer Link The more babies you have the lower your risk. The longer you breastfeed, the lower your risk. So cherish your babies all of them. Abortion Breast Cancer Link • This is one of my daughters when she was a baby. Can you imagine wanting to kill babies like this? Abortion Breast Cancer Link Abortion Breast Cancer Link • This is an Indian woman breast feeding her baby. In India many women take their infants with them when they are working in the fields. The incidence of breast cancer in India was very low until the population control and abortion industries became active. Abortion Breast Cancer Link Abortion Breast Cancer Link • This painting by Mary Cassat is in the Art Institute, Chicago. The baby is feeding, making eye contact with her mother and caressing her mother’s face all at once. This is great for the mental development of babies and different to bottle-fed babies where the baby looks away from the mother towards the bottle. Abortion Breast Cancer Link • Your best ally in lowering the risk of breast cancer is your baby. So cherish all your babies.