Cancer Connection

Vegetarian Times, July, 1999 by Cristin Marandino

The threat of breast cancer is a serious and terrifying issue for every woman. Last year alone, 180,000 new cases were diagnosed in the United States and 43,500 women died from the disease. The story may be even bleaker than that. According to researchers at the University of California-Irvine, women under 50 who have survived breast cancer have a 30 percent greater risk of being diagnosed with ovarian cancer than women who have never had breast cancer or were diagnosed with it after age 50. And that's a deadly statistic, because in 1998 nearly 50 percent of the 26,000 women with ovarian cancer died from it.

The reason for the connection is not completely clear, though researchers have their theories. "We know that there is a link between breast and ovarian cancers because they appear to respond to similar environmental, behavioral and genetic influences, such as early onset of menstruation, never having given birth and ethnic background," says Wendy Brewster, M.D., one of the study's authors. "Breast cancer survivors may be more susceptible because [they started off with] these shared risks."

Such findings highlight the need for women to obtain proper--and early--screening. "It's especially important for younger women and those with high-risk ethnic backgrounds [Hispanic and Asian Americans] to be aware of their risks and talk to their doctors," stresses Brewster.