Are you a DES daughter?

teachermom4

Hello.

Someone on another thread mentioned being a DES daughter--exposed to DES in utero and I started wondering, how many of us who have BC are there?

I remember starting PAP tests at 13 (ugh) and being told that I was at a greater risk for cervical cancer throughout my 20's. I don't recall any doctor mentioning breast cancer. I was diagnosed at 51.

Anyone else?

doxie

My mom thinks she may have had DES when carrying me, but the doctor was long gone by the time the information about DES and cervical cancer came out. She didn't follow through with finding the medical records.

There is a research paper out there showing an increased risk for BC if exposed to DES. It is relative to dose and when it was administered. Looked at this years ago. There was a DES national organization http://www.desaction.org/ It has links to research, but the government sites' information is sadly out of date.

You are also at risk of vaginal cancer. The vagina is not typically swabbed during a pap exam, so you have to ask for that specifically. Also beware of vaginal/cervical cancer as you age. The reason the 20's are noted as the risk period is that that was when it was first noticed that women in their 20's were getting vaginal/cervical clear cell carcinoma. The risk continues as you age. This old research is noted over and over again without adding that women exposed to DES never are free of the risk of this rare cancer.