Breast Cancer
Prevention and Treatment
by R. L. Reed, Ph.D.

Fibrocystic breast disease, for many women, is very treatable and preventable. For years, doctors have recommended that women avoid caffeine, high fat diets and so on, and even to take drugs with strong side effects. In some cases this helps, in others it doesn't. However, recent research has offered new hope because it has shown a strong connection between the wearing of bras and benign fibrocystic lumps, cysts and pain. For example, Dr. Gregory Heigh of Florida has found that over 90% of women with fibrocystic changes find improvement when they stop wearing their brassieres. This exciting new "treatment" has NO side effects, costs nothing, and is something that women try for themselves by making a personal and ALL-NATURAL clothing choice. After this introductory section, this article is comprised of six case histories written by women who found relief of fibrocystic by going bra-free.

There is scientific support for the plausibility of this connection with breast disease. Two published studies have shown that women who wear bras have much higher breast cancer rates than women who don't wear a bra. A husband and wife research team published a study of almost 5000 women in the book Dressed to Kill The Link Between Breast Cancer and Bras (ISBN # 0-89529-664-0, Avery Publishing Group, 1995, also available from Amazon Books. They found that the more hours per day that women wear bras, the higher their rates of breast cancer. Their theory is that bras can bind and constrict the lymphatic circulation. This prevents the natural flushing out of accumulated cancer-causing wastes and toxins from the breast. Fluid pooling could then result in fibrocystic changes (benign lumps, cysts, and pain). This gives a breeding ground for various problems, including cancer. For a bibliography of medical research on this, see http//web.arcos.org/mtardif/bcrefs.htm.

Another possible mechanism is that bras prevent the natural movement of the breasts and thereby also hamper circulation. People experience something similar when their feet swell and their legs "go to sleep" on long airplane flights (lack of movement, and pressure on the legs). By the way, contrary to a common myth, going bra-less (many women prefer the more positive term "bra-free") will not make you sag more. In fact, some women actually find that they sag less, presumably because their chest ligaments and muscles improve their tone and strength when they must do the work of supporting the breasts (one doctor said it is a matter of "Use it or lose it.") Medical research gives plausibility to this theory, since research shows that ligaments depend on weight-bearing and movement for maintaining proper structure and function. For more on this, including quotes from medical doctors, see http//web.arcos.org/mtardif/brasag.htm.

Last year, the Natural Health and Longevity Web Site posted my book review of Dressed to Kill (http//www.all-natural.com/bras.html) Since then, many women from around the world have written to tell of their dramatic results from going bra-free. (By the way, I am not an expert in the field, just an interested lay-person with an interest in prevention. Women should ask their doctor questions about breast disease.) Some of these women who wrote expressed an interest in telling other women about the results that they found, so women would have more all-natural choices in prevention and treatment of fibrocystic disease. This may not be the answer for all women, but many women have found dramatic results. Admittedly, the research is preliminary. But, until further research shows the exact extent of this possible connection with breast disease, women can try this choice and be their own judge about whether it helps them. So, the following is a collection of personal case histories from the experts, the women with experience.

Dear Webmaster. NZ Health Net.

I would be delighted to have you put them up as articles at your site.  Also, I would be glad to write additional articles on aspects of this subject that you would like, and publish them at your site.  For the article that you mentioned (about fibrocystic, you may reproduce the article as an article at your site.  I can send you a fresh e-mail copy of the article if that would be useful.The theory on the connection between bras and breast disease has still not been researched fully, but the evidence that is available is compelling.   My place in all this is as a volunteer.  Although I have a Ph.D. in biochemistry, I am not an expert in human cancer.  However, I have collected a large amount of information on the subject.  I am not selling anything; I am giving away freely any and all information that I have collected.  I wish to inform women of their options, and most importantly, to encourage further research.

Here are the web articles that are up at present: www.all-natural.com/bras.html (basically a book review of "Dressed to Kill" by Singer and Grismaijer). www.all-natural.com/fibrocys.html (mostly a collection of case histories written by women who have eliminated their pain and cysts of fibrocystic breast disease by eliminating bra wearing)
www.arcos.org/mtardif/bcrefs.htm (an extensive bibliography of articles showing the plausibility of the bra/disease connection)
www.arcos.org/mtardif/brasag.htm (and article that debunks the myth of bras preventing breast sagging) (I'm planning on writing an updated version of this article.  Would you like to have it at your site?)
I have much more information on this subject, including a varitey of similar web-links from other sources.  If anyone at your organisation has an interest, I would gladly give them all that I have found. Comments and questions are welcome and useful.
Best wishes for good health, naturally, and
Kindest regards,
Ralph
R.L. Reed, Ph.D. reedr@ucs.orst.edu

June 30, 1999

(Medical Tribune Article) - While it's common for cancer patients to go through bouts of depression, some women with breast cancer may be at particular risk for major depression due to their cancer treatment, research suggests.

Breast-cancer treatment often causes women's estrogen levels to drop sharply, and this hormonal upset can bring on symptoms of clinical depression, according to researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

Following 21 breast-cancer patients over two years, researchers led by Dr. Laura Sheingold Duffy, a psychiatrist, found that eight (38 percent) developed major depression within six months of beginning treatment with chemotherapy or the drug tamoxifen.

"Many women have menopausal symptoms like hot flashes and insomnia," said study co-author Dr. Donna Greenberg, a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. "Some go beyond that and develop what a psychiatrist would recognize as clinical depression."

Her team's findings appear in the current issue of the journal Psychosomatics.

Clinical depression, Greenberg explained, differs from the episodes of depression that cancer patients commonly face in that patients lose the ability to feel pleasure or to take interest in the things they normally would.

Through years of treating emotional symptoms in women with breast cancer, Greenberg said, she and Duffy noticed an association between these problems and menopausal-like symptoms.

Many women who develop breast cancer in their 30s or 40s go through early menopause due to the effects of chemotherapy on the ovaries.

Older breast-cancer patients who've gone through menopause can also experience hormonal fluctuations due to treatment, according to Greenberg. For instance, women who go on estrogen-replacement therapy (ERT) after menopause must discontinue it if they develop cancer since ERT can promote breast tumors. And tamoxifen, an anti-estrogen drug for breast cancer, can bring on menopausal symptoms.

In periodic interviews with the study subjects, the Boston researchers found that among the 15 who had not gone through menopause before cancer treatment, 14 stopped menstruating or developed hot flashes within six months of beginning therapy. They determined that four were clinically depressed, as were four of six postmenopausal women.

These findings, the researchers reported, suggest that cancer specialists closely monitor signs of depression in women who are likely to become estrogen deficient during treatment.

That breast-cancer patients become depressed is no secret to the oncologists who treat them, said Dr. John Carpenter, a professor of medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Carpenter estimated that one-quarter of the breast-cancer patients he sees suffer emotional problems that require attention. That usually means short-term treatment with an antidepressant, a highly effective strategy, according to Carpenter.

"There are only a few who really get into trouble and need a referral to a psychologist or psychiatrist," he said.

The breast-cancer specialist questioned whether the study subjects suffered clinical depression. He said that he saw no evidence that the women had anything beyond common depressive symptoms — an "important problem" that he said the study brings out.

Carpenter did note that it's "reasonable" that estrogen deficiency is connected to depressive symptoms in breast-cancer patients. He pointed out that antidepressants can sometimes ease premenstrual syndrome, suggesting a link between menstrual symptoms and those of depression.

In the Boston study, three of the eight women with depression fully recovered after treatment with antidepressants. One improved with psychotherapy and two with no treatment. That treatment met with success is an important finding, according to Greenberg.

"Patients have mental anguish," she said, "but it can be treated."

Psychosomatics (1999;40:304-08)

The Medical Tribune News

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