Jakarta (ANTARA) – An oncologist from Dharmais Cancer Hospital, dr. Walta Gautama, Sp.B(K) Onk explains the reasons behind why a woman who has never been pregnant and breastfed is at risk of developing breast cancer.
“Another risk factor related to hormones is women who have never been pregnant and breast-feeding, because every pregnant and lactating woman turns out to be resting from estrogen in her breasts,” said the head of the central board of the Indonesian Association of Oncological Surgeons in a virtual event about breast cancer, Wednesday.
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When a woman is pregnant, her breasts will rest because estrogen is used by the uterus to develop or enlarge. This is the reason the uterus becomes elastic to the size of the fetus and never tears. Menstruation stops during pregnancy thereby reducing exposure to estrogen and progesterone.
A similar condition occurs when women breastfeed. Findings from the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) and the World Cancer Research Fund (WCFR) in 2017 showed that lactation reduces lifetime exposure to hormones such as estrogen, which are linked to an increased risk of breast cancer.
Another reason, after breastfeeding the breasts release a lot of tissue which can also get rid of cells with damaged DNA that can cause cancer.
On the other hand, when women are in the breastfeeding period, there is a role for the hormone prolactin which fills the breasts due to the stimulation of sucking by the baby on the mother’s nipple, the hormone prolactin is stimulated so that it floods the breast and produces milk.
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“But because of continuous exposure or never taking a break, a mutation process occurs, so that people who have never been pregnant and breast-fed are at risk of developing breast cancer,” said Walta.
As quoted from Medical News Today, breast cancer occurs when abnormal cells in the breast begin to multiply and form tumors. Although men can also get breast cancer, the disease almost always occurs in women. In addition to pregnancy and breastfeeding, increasing age and being overweight can also increase a person’s risk of developing breast cancer after menopause.
In Indonesia, about 70 percent of breast cancer patients who come to the hospital are already in an advanced stage. In fact, if breast cancer is detected early, there will be more treatment options and the chance of survival will also be greater, even reaching 95 percent if detected at the first stage.
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Reporter: Lia Wanadriani Santosa
Editor: Ida Nurcahyani
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