| |
Cancer
Fibrocystic Breast
Disease
Case Histories
#1. JANE, FROM MICHIGAN, AGE 39
"I am 39 years old and have been diagnosed with
fibrocystic breasts. My mother was diagnosed with
breast cancer at a very young age and had one total
masectomy on her right breast. She had a lumpectomy
on her left breast. I like to try and stay informed
on anything that relates to breast cancer and
fibrocystic breast disease.
"The end of May 1997, I purchased a magazine
called Natural Way. There was an article in the
magazine connecting bra wearing with cancer and
fibrocystic breast disease.The article made so much
common sense. I think the thing that stood out most
was how the lymphatic system wasn't able to work
properly cleaning out the breast tissue of toxins
when wearing a bra. This caused a back up of toxins
in the breast tissue, causing lumps and pain.
"I am not a big busted woman but my breasts
would get so sore and lumpy that some days I couldn't
even walk down a flight of stairs without noticing
the pain in my breasts. I could not sleep on my
stomach. I wouldn't let my husband touch them unless
I was making him check my lumps. It scared me. It
also scared my husband. It would gradually get worse
when my period was due. I tryed taking the Motrin the
doctor prescribed. I tryed cutting things out of my
diet such as caffiene and fats etc. . . . Nothing
relieved the pain and the lumps.
"The article in Natural Way suggested going
bra-less. At the time I did not know what a huge
difference this would make in my life. I thought I
would give it a try because it couldn't hurt. I
noticed a significant difference the month of June.
My breasts were dramatically less painful and I had
no lumps. The month of July I had absolutely no pain
and no lumps. I could usually tell when my period was
due because I would have such bad pain and would get
lumps. I had none of that and I haven't had any
since. It's absolutely amazing to me. There is no
doubt in my mind it was my bra.
"A couple of weeks ago, my daughter and I
decided to do an all day shopping trip. I debated
whether or not to wear a bra. I knew I would be
trying on clothes and I wasn't sure if I would feel
comfortable taking my clothes on and off without some
coverage. I decided to wear the bra and figured I
could take if off if it bothered me. I was fine for
the first couple of hours. I really didn't notice the
bra because it was one of those no wire or no padded
kind. It was just one of those that just covers you
and does nothing else but keeps you in place. As time
went on I noticed small pains along the side of my
breasts, going into my armpits. It wasn't like I was
consciously waiting to see if I would get the pain
back by wearing the bra. As a matter of fact, for the
first few hours, I fell right back into bra wearing
with the same casualness as I had before I stopped.
The pain was real. I took the bra off. The pain left.
"In my situation, there is no doubt my bra
caused my problem. The connection between bra wearing
and fibrocystic disease is real for me. I urge every
woman who has this problem to try going bra-less for
a month. It couldn't hurt."
#2 MARILYN, FROM OREGON, AGE 42
"I am writing to tell you about my recovery from
fibrocystic breast disease and the incredible peace
of mind I now enjoy knowing that my breast health is
as optimal as I can achieve.
"My mother died at age 59 from metastatic breast
cancer. The year she died, I was 32 and became
pregnant with my first child. During the first
trimester, my fibrocystic condition became quite alot
worse with marked tenderness of the breasts and pain
during physical activity. I found a mass on the side
of my left breast which seemed to be growing rapidly
over a 3 month period of time. A mamogram was
inconclusive and an ultrasound showed a mass rather
than a cyst which could be drained off. I underwent a
biopsy which was negative. The rest of the pregnancy
was completely uneventful albeit painful with regards
to breast tenderness, etc. I nursed my son for 9
months and this helped my fibrocystic condition a
GREAT deal. The tissue was much softer and
non-tender.
"Three years later, I had a second child.
Pregnancy proceeded in exactly the same manner with
the same amount of tenderness, etc. as the first
time. Fortunately, no distinct masses formed however.
Once again, nursing helped decrease symptoms and I
found that my breasts were much better than they were
even before my first child.
"Throughout the course of both pregnancies and
during the next 2 years thereafter, I was being
followed by a local surgeon specializing in breast
diseases. I had been given the diagnosis of
fibrocystic breast disease which came with unlimited
followup medical exams, annual mammograms and no
cure.
"A few years ago I came across a book entitled
Dressed to Kill which points out cultural differences
among women around the world and correlates one
fashion culture in particular, the wearing of bras,
with the increased incidence of breast diseases in
those countries. I took his advice and removed my bra
permanently. At that time I was developing a small
lump on the lateral aspect of my right breast, very
similar to the one that had been removed from the
left breast. Within a week or so of discontinuing bra
wear, I noted that this lump was shrinking in size; I
also noted that the tenderness I usually associated
with pre-menstrual changes was absent. The condition
of my breasts at this time based on subsequent
followup exams (by a different doctor now) is
"excellent".
"I work in the medical field and often relate my
experiences to my female patients who seem to have
similar symptoms. It is interesting to note that only
a handful actually follow my recommendation of not
wearing their bras for a period of time. Of note,
however, 100% of those that have followed this advice
have noted improvement.
"Thank you for your efforts to educate women
with regards to this very treatable condition."
#3 SHELLEY, FROM WASHINGTON, AGE 39
"As I think about writing this, I realize I am
now the age at which my mother had a benign cyst
tested for breast cancer. I remember watching
"The King and I" on the hospital waiting
room TV on my 11th birthday. Somehow the concern
becomes more personal.
"Where to start: First the personal history. I
started wearing a bra when I was 13. I didn't find
them very comfortable, and was easily influenced by
the Women's Movement of the era to not wear one if
possible. As I entered the professional workforce, I
was required to wear one during the day, but it
became part of the ritual of homecoming to remove it.
"For most of my life, I had a very good warning
system for when my period was about to begin. A week
before, my breasts would begin to swell, as much as
another cup size, sometimes to the point of aching
and being extremely sensitive to contact. The ache
came from the glands swelling and hardening. Various
doctors were concerned by this if I didn't schedule
my annual examinations to be other than "that
week". I would return for a follow-up in two
weeks, and the hard lumps were gone, and the doctors
would relax. I came to expect the cycle. The
"sometimes" turned into
"typically" about five years ago. One week
a month, I was somewhat miserable. But when the
tenderness in my breasts disappeared, in the space of
less than an hour, I knew my period was beginning.
Sometimes I could get some relief by having my
husband massage my breasts. What seemed to help the
most was a deep, hard massage, like working out a
charley horse. Something to get the "juices
flowing" through the tissue.
"One day at work, in the midst of my tender
week, I felt a sharp, severe pain in my right breast,
on the outer side. A lump was centered in the pain.
Massage did not help. I make an appointment, the
doctor suggested a connection to caffeine and sent me
for a mammogram. I called the next day for my
mammogram results (nothing shown). She said to call
back if pain in my breast happened again.
"As sore as my breasts were, I wanted to keep
them from moving and would wear my underwire bra.
Yes, I had red marks and sore spots from the wires,
but isn't that what every woman has to deal with? I'd
rather just not deal with bras any more than I had
to.
"The next spring (just last year) was when I
heard about the bra research. Within a couple weeks,
I got a copy of Dressed to Kill and read it on the
bus commute. As I read, I became more aware of the
sensations of my bras. It became the ritual to remove
the bra before leaving work, so I wouldn't have to
wear it on the bus home, already unpleasant in the
unair-conditioned space in the summer heat. At the
end of the week it took me to read the book, I made
the decision that I would no longer wear a bra. I
know the book stated the most risk is from wearing a
bra for more than 12 hours per day, but as mentioned
before, I am easily swayed to not wear bras. I had a
week left before I was scheduled for a 4 week
vacation. I would dress in such a way as to hide my
"swing" and deal with the issue when I
returned.
"I have now not worn a bra since July 1996. To
deal with the work dress issue, I have purchased silk
camisoles for a layer of warmth and to obscure the
view. (I wanted to deal with it before anything was
said.) The physical side effects? Dramatically less
swelling on a monthly basis. The glands will firm up,
but not into the hard masses they used to become. The
tenderness is much less noticeable, definitely not
the contact sensitivity that used to occur. Several
months ago, I noticed one morning the beginning of
the tenderness, expecting it to increase over the
next few days. That afternoon my period started! I
have learned to keep a closer eye on the calendar,
since my early warning system has shut down. My
periods are just as regular as they ever were, being
somewhat susceptible to stress, plane flights,
workloads, etc.
"All in all, I am happy with my decision, and am
very glad to have heard about the bra survey. In
talking with female friends, I have lent the book to
some, just discussed it with others, and some have
taken to wear a bra less. One friend knew of a friend
in nursing who has noticed a connection between the
cancer patients and bras, but wasn't sure how to put
anything together. I will try to follow up on that;
both women may find it interesting. And in memory of
Ellie Mae Clampett (from the Beverly Hillbillies),
let me know if you hear of someone needing a
lace-covered, double-barreled sling-shot, I have a
few left!"
#4 JULIE, FROM AUSTRALIA, IN
HER 20's
"I first saw Sydney Singer, co-author of Dressed
to Kill (Avery Press, copyright 1995) on the Today
show (australia's) a year ago (1996). It was six
months before I found the book or discovered more on
his and Soma's fascinating theory, but it remains to
my mind, extremely valid and possibly one of the most
valuable scientific insights in recent years.
Immediately after seeing Singer on television I
stopped wearing bras (I took to wearing vests over my
t-shirts at college). I had a lump in my left breast
that wouldn't go away and was particularly painful
every month. The doctor considered biopsy but was
reluctant. After seeing Sydney on television and not
wearing a bra for 4 or 5 weeks, it was gone. I
suspect there will be numberous other
"coincidences" as Singer's theory
eventually gains more credibility.
"I have discovered that since reducing my
bra-wearing to the point where I no longer wear one
at all, and replacing it with a much looser and
kinder undergarment, that much of the lumpiness and
discomfort in my breasts (which I had come to accept,
due to medical advice, as "normal") is
gone. It seems to me that doctors take it for granted
that breast tissue is naturally lumpy. Is it --
really? Or only because of bras? A couple months back
I was still wearing a bra a few hours a day and
loosely, and even in spite of these reductive
measures my breasts were still experiencing tissue
discomfort, especially pre-menstrually. When I
stopped wearing bras, the "natural"
lumpiness of the breast dissappeared.
"Recently I discovered the cropped jockey-type
singlets (similar to ones worn at aerobics); the ones
made for nightwear seem the best and least elastic,
and provide modesty without the discomfort of bras.
The crop tops I have chosen to wear are fairly free
of elastic tension, nevertheless I reduce my wearing
of said undergarment to just the few hours of the day
when I am out and about. It certainly is a fantastic
improvement of lifestyle, given my previous
almost-religious wearing of a tight D-cup bra 12
hours a day. After wearing bras for so long I don't
understand how I possibly could have; when I put one
on today the sensation of discomfort is instant. I do
know I won't now :-)
"Today I try to convince all my women friends
and whomever I meet that bras are dangerous to our
health. Conversion, given our western culture and
social pressures, is not immediate but many of the
women I speak to agree that bras are uncomfortable
and place dangerous pressure on our bodies. Presently
I am working on an article for a magazine or
alternative newspaper based on bra cancer, and hope
to have it completed in the next few months. Singer
and Grismaijer's research has changed my life - and
my health - and I am certain it will continue to do
so, for millions of women. Given personal
experiences, bra cancer definitely warrants further
investigation."
Page 2 -
Breast
Cancer - The Bra and Breast
Cancer - Anti Persirants as a
cause.
|
|
|
|
