Breast Cancer in the news

It's amazing how often a report appears in the news about preventing or causing breast cancer.
I decided to post on this topic today. So many woman (and doctors) are confused by very common questions about the cause of breast cancer. And no wonder. The mountains of conflicting news stories and research IS confusing. One day you read not to drink coffee the next you should drink coffee and so on.

Below is a sample of stories to appear in the news during October --breast cancer awareness month.

A woman's risk of breast cancer is not increased by consuming caffeine, concludes a report published in the October 13 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

A study published in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, suggests a possible role for nicotine in breast tumor development and metastases.


researchers at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute, and the University of Santiago de Compostela reveals that regular use of Non Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) is associated with a 12 per cent relative risk reduction in breast cancer compared to non-users.

A separate analysis for Aspirin showed a 13 per cent relative risk reduction in breast cancer and an analysis for Advil showed a 21 per cent relative risk reduction.

So for this month anyway let's all meet at Starbucks for coffee and Advil because caffeine is not bad and NSAIDs are good. And of course, let's stay away from smoking and smokers.

Until next month, that is, when the story may be different.
Stay tuned.