Triple Negative Poll on Breast Feeding

Steph, my onc. here was granted $ to research the link of breast feeding and the risk of metastasis. Apparently I'm wrong that all those months of nursing helped ward of cancer. I think her study if aimed at women who are already at risk for bc and nursing. Have you heard something? LT

I have three children, breast fed the first two for a year, and the third for six months. didn't help me much ....

I read this recently and you might find it interesting. It's from an interview of Barbara Parker, a La Leche League Leader and breastfeeding mother:

Back when you were diagnosed, we didn’t hear much, if anything, about LLL Leaders getting breast cancer. In fact, we tended to feel rather immune because of breastfeeding... Was that your state of mind when this happened to you?
Absolutely! I felt protected because of my life style choices. I breastfed three children a total of 10 years, exercised, maintained a normal weight, ate a low fat diet, and drank little/no alcohol. But after I got over my shock, anger, and sense of betrayal, and started to learn more about risks, I realized that the top two risks—being female and growing older—were ones I have no control over. The other things I listed above can reduce risk, but are no guarantee.

For instance, at least a year of breastfeeding can reduce risk of developing breast cancer in pre-menopausal years by about one third, but two thirds of the risk is still there! And we cannot tell any individual woman what her specific risk is, we can only give aggregate information: “Out of 100 women who have breastfed at least a year, one third of them are less likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer pre-menopausally.” http://alumnae.llli.org/Alumnae/Life-Parker.htm

I didn't vote because I am ER/PR+, but I breastfed my first child until she was 3 and my second until shortly after I was dx'd when he was 22 months old. Before reading this interview, I was under the impression that bf'g afforded greater protection than it does.

I would be interested in knowing how many of us were breastfed. Supposedly, having been bf offers protection as well, but I wonder how much.

Cynthia

I breastfed all 3 of my children. My mom also breastfed me.

God Answers Prayers

Teresa44

I breastfed my two children for about 6 months each time.  They are five years apart....

I breastfed my two sons for a total of 6 years.  They're in their 20's now and I was dx'd in Jan. '07, at age 57.  I mentioned the breastfeeding to my surgeon, and she said I might have gotten bc earlier if I hadn't breastfed.  But who knows?  There are so many risk factors involved, it's hard to tell how everything balances out.

I breast fed all 3 of mine for a total of 5.5 years.  But I guess I was perimenapausal when I got bc at 55, so maybe I got some protection.  There is absolutely no history of any other cancer in my family...

dc

Hi!

I'm new here, and hope it's okay my bringing up this old thread, but this is the one thing that had puzzled me more than anything else when I was diagnosed (at 48).

I too had been hearing over the years (decades!) that breastfeeding decreases BC risks, and I'd thought I was going to be okay after having had 6 kids, breastfed them (in order of their birth): 3 mos, 8 mos (twins), 4 mos, 33 mos (twins). 

Not to mention all the other risk-lessening factors, not least of all no family history.

Hi all,

I breast fed my girls for ca. six months each. I was living in West Africa at the time, and the heat tended to dry up milk production naturally after that lapse of time. I did go on breast feeding, however, for as long as my breasts cooperated.

Love to all,

Annie

Hi fellow breast feeders!  It is very discouraging to read how little protection breastfeeding offered all of us.  I also breastfed my daughter for 4 months.  I was thinking maybe I screwed something up by not doing it long enough.  Looks as if that is not the case.  My daughter is 5yo and I was diagnosed before her 5th b-day at age 35 .  I am also negative BRCA 1/2.  There is no hx of it in my family either.  Makes me think its in the water.  My neighbor had triple negative BC a few years ago as well. She had mastectomies done at times of diagnoses.  She also told me she had two dogs that both died of cancer at diffferent times, one with breast cancer.  How strange and rampant is that?  I hope they figure it out.  Until then my prayers are with you all.  We will get through this and be the surviviors others look to.  

 Thanks,   Treesie

smithlme

The DCIS you have is unrelated to IDC, right? So it is not a recurrence. What did you doc say?

I have 4 biological children.  I was unable to get my babies to latch onto my flat nipples, but I pumped breast milk as their exclusive food for the first 3 months for each child, for a grand total of 12 months of "breastfeeding".  As my English aunts would say, "fat lot of good that did you!".  Got BC anyway.  Oh well, as VickyG said, at least the children reaped the benefit of all that lactaion.

It has occurred to me that TNs might not benefit from bfing like ER/PR+s do... I believe that the reason it is felt to reduce the risk of bc is because during pregnancy and/or bfing our cycles are interrupted, and the fewer the cycles we have the lower the risk.  Since we are not sensitive to ER/PR receptors, though, it makes sense that maybe pregnancy/bfing does not make a difference to us?  Just a thought... not even sure why I was thinking about it, but it just struck me out of the blue while I was in the bathtub this am lol.