Tall women more likely to get cancer, study finds

FireKracker

I never heard that high heels cause breast cancer...when did that happen and what is the connection?????

Cyborg

I'm 5'9". Hmmmm. I remember a lady telling me there was an article that there was a significant amount of tall women in the pop of ILC.

Romansma

Ok, I'm 5'9"....probably fit into the tall category. Mom is 5'1" and grandma 4'11". I'm loving all the sarcasm, BUT, this study has some merit. I've often thought that, in some cancers, something gets triggered during development when you're young that allows the cancer to happen later in life. Tallness might not be that trigger, but maybe environmental factors that contribute to tallness......pesticides, growth hormones, etc. I don't know, but maybe this will lead to something of value.....hopefully. Curing it after it happens is not that much fun, as most of us know all too well. Mammograms and pink ribbons don't prevent breast cancer....lets find out whats causing it!

anonymice

Grannydukes, I was just kidding, heels don't cause cancer. 

And Romansma, you're absolutely right. The results are pretty amazing, although not likely to be all that practical.  

kira1234

There is one thing that has me intrigued about this study and that is why we keep getting taller each generation. I'm wondering if the hormones in the food we eat has something to do with it. I know our kids are maturing sooner.

lago

Kira initially we got taller because of how we ate. When food was scarce children didn't eat as well (or eat the foods they needed to grow.)

lrr4993

These studies crack me up.  You could pick just about any variable, retrospectively look at a group of women diagnosed with BC, and find that one side has more BC than the other.

Women who wear cotton briefs are more likely to get BC than those wearing thongs.  

Women who prefer CSI Miami are more likely to get BC than those who prefer CSI New York.

You name it . . . someone, somewhere will reach a conclusion about it. 

jancie

I am 5' 1/4" so I guess that 1/4" is what caused my BC? 

Mimidi

I am 5' 8",  I was wondering why BC happened to me.  I won't pass this information on to my granddaughters. 

lago

Average height in the US is 5'4". Not sure how this translates to other countries where people tend to be shorter or taller.

JoanDavies

I'm 5'2". My dad WANTED me to be taller, so maybe that's it...

coraleliz

I always wanted to be tall. Thank you BC(and skin cancer). I'm 5'5", shorter than my mom or sisters. and who got the BC?........

CoolBreeze

I'm 5"3 but a lover of heels.  Of course, now that I am on leukine and chemo I can't wear heels, so I guess that means my cancer will be cured?  

Leah_S

OK, someone said that for the purpose of this study "tall" meant over 5'. How many women do you know who are under 5'? Not too many.

I'm 5'2".

Junk science indeed.

Leah

diana50

hmmm..i think it has more to do with having breasts.  but, i am 6'1 so who knows. 

FireKracker

Leah---I was waiting for your comment......i wonder if midgets get bc??????no offense but as you said how many people do any of us know that are under 5ft......

junk science indeed.all that $$$$$$$ wasted...find a damn cure.this is really pissing me off. 

otter

My great-grandmother never reached 60 inches.  She also died at the age of 98, never having had any sort of cancer.  I missed out on her genes, obviously.

otter

MsBliss

I dismiss these "media" notions now; remember the "if you're not married by 30, you'll never be married (all of my friends were over 35 when they married), or the baloney about diminished fertility after 40 (yeah, pregnant at 46 with no medical intervention, and have many acquaintances who have had children after 40).  Now, it is your fault if you are tall and get cancer????  All of this is the creation of bored editors.

My beloved mother, who was 5'1", had three children by the time she was 26, the first at 23 years old, breast fed each of us for nine to 10 months, ate yogurt, wheat germ, salmon, no smoking, no alcohol, and we lost her to breast cancer before she turned 64.  I am 5'4" tall, with a BMI of 19 and athletic conditioning, and I developed triple neg cancer when I was 51.  Fooey on this.

anonymice

Well in defense of the study, they were only reviewing data submitted through a program that was designed to find commonalities - like height.  They didn't design a study to test if height is a predictor of cancer.  

It's basically just interesting information and nothing actionable obviously, but things like this may be surprisingly valuable one day - genes that control height might control some cancers, etc.   

hymil

err ... socio-economic factors, anyone? In the UK at least there is a very demonstrable link between higher socio-economic status and increased risk of BC.  Apparently being able to afford food means that (a) you will probably grow taller than the average 8year old,  and (b) you will probably live long enough to get BC. Witness the lower rates of BC in the third (developing) world. Who gets paid to write this stuff?

Bad news about the link with cotton knickers though. I could never get on with thongs. So it's thrush (candida albicans) or BC? well, what a choice!  

Ed. Otter I jiust saw your post on page1 sorry, it must be going barefoot that protects. C'mon everyone, shoes off now...

anyway if tall is bad, how come the average woman, who is shorter than the average man, has such a much increased risk of BC, huh. HUH?? Maybe they get the higher altitude atmosphere with its extra pollution but they don't inhale it so deeply?

anonymice

Hymil, not sure if there is a clear link between socio-economic status and bc in the states (although there may be).  Actually it seems intuitive that poorer people would have a higher risk because of lifestyle factors, as they have other health risks such as higher rates of obesity and smoking.  Most people in the states have enough food to fill their bellies, but cheap food is crap food and fresh veggies and lean meats are more expensive.

Bren-2007

The poor and uninsured are less likely to seek treatment early or use preventative means.  They are also more likely to be diagnosed with later stage cancer from the beginning. 

Bren

lago

Pamonymous higher tax brackets can use be exposed to more toxins used for their gardens and cleaning. Everyone is eating more processed food.

FireKracker

This is all BULL.Its a crap shoot.rich,poor,short,tall,fat,skinny all this adds up to if your gonna get it your gonna get it.Period.

elimar86861

Really?  Really!  Hahaha! 

I was very impressed with you making a "sarcasm link."  I just know I'm going to want one now.

hymil

You mean I could have ate all the candy I wanted and drunk like my goldfish and still not got it any worse...?? And had me a gorgeous tan and freaky hair too? rats, now they tell me! If I had only stopped growing a few years younger! But then, If I hadn't have got taller than big sis, I would never have had any new clothes of my own...  hello yes I come from hand-me-down city...   You're right, sometimes life sucks.

We have the same problem in UK with late diagnosis, even though the screening and treatment is all free, higher income bracket is much more likely to actually attend for screening and much more likely to report a lump early. But your experience with the aggressive triple neg tumours being found more in younger American-African ladies, that's scarey.