Bras Linked to Breast Cancer?

Back in college I worked at a copy place, and a rep from Playtex always came in to have stuff copied. Anyway - we were chatting and she mentioned some nut who was always sending info on how bras caused breast cancer. This nut also was a member of a go-braless and topless club hence the nuttyness when it came to bras.

The story went that bras prevented the natural flow of fluids in the breast such as lymph, and that flow change lead to the development of cancerous tumors. Interesting... but we all dismissed it and had a laugh as we looked at his pamphlets with bare breasted women.

It always stuck in my mind, and lately as I find myself wearing two bras to the gym to keep the girls from getting too crazy on the eliptical machine, I wondered if there was anything to this. I did a quickie google search, and found this site that mentions it: www.all-natural.com... It's a for-profit site though, and that makes me immediately skeptical of the information contained within. Not much else about it though. Thinking about it though, isn't having large breasts one risk factor of the development of cancer - and don't large breasted women wear a bra more regularly and often than their more vertical sisters? I know larger women who wear bras to bed.

Has anyone else heard of the link between bras and the development of breast cancer? Think there is more to this than a campaign by a bunch of guys to see more braless women?

I think thats silly.

Letting it all hang out is bad for black eyes when you go jogging.

I agree with DGTempe. However, recent research has shown a statistically significant correlation between breast cancer and breasts.

Originally posted by RedBalloon
Thinking about it though, isn't having large breasts one risk factor of the development of cancer - and don't large breasted women wear a bra more regularly and often than their more vertical sisters? I know larger women who wear bras to bed.

Ummmmmm, whew, okay (biting lower lip), how come you would wear a bra to bed? What is the benefit?

It doesn't sound so far-fetched to me, though I wouldn't be comfortable going around bra-less (the black eye thing). Deodorant (containing aluminum) is said to add to the risk.

Originally posted by Muckwa

[Ummmmmm, whew, okay (biting lower lip), how come you would wear a bra to bed? What is the benefit?

You must be a guy. lol... I'm "well endowed" you could say. Wearing a bra to bed is a lot more comfortable. Larger boobs (is it okay to say that? lol) are VERY heavy and wearing say, a sports bra keeps them close to your body. It hurts when you lay on your side and they seem to want to go all the way to the bed.

So if women with larger breasts are more likely to get cancer, can having a reduction done help lower the chances of getting cancer?

velouria3, Yep, I'm a guy. Guess that says something about the women I have been with.

Thanks for being open and sharing. Hopefully someone qualified can answer your question about the reduction.

M

double post

[edit on 4/10/2005 by Gools]

Originally posted by RedBalloon
Has anyone else heard of the link between bras and the development of breast cancer?

Actually I have heard of this but I never really looked into it.

I did a quick google and came up with several sites claiming the same thing. For example:

www.007b.com...
www.nzhealth.net.nz...


All of them (like the site you linked) refer to the same "study" by Singer and Grismaijer who are the authors of the book being promoted on the nzhealth link above.

The authors are are profiled here:

www.selfstudycenter.org...

Then I went to PubMed and did a quick search using the authors names and breast as a keyword but came up empty.

So it doesn't look like it's a peer reviewed study. It may have been published in an obscure medical journal but if PubMed doesn't have it then I don't know where to look.

FYI Soficrow is an expert at diggin up scientific articles maybe ask her for help.
.

The shelf bra. A brassiere that upholds but does not opress. Cupless. The ultimate nursing bra, too...

Any time you add heat to a protein-based system you increase cancer risk (friction, hot coffee, smoking, burns, Jockey shorts). And bras hold in heat. And wood floats. And so on...

I'm a guy but I've heard these stories too.

Just like men wearing "tighty whities" underwear, the claim is the tight fitting cloth holds in body heat which causes the cancer. Don't know how true that is though. Maybe some medical experts can jump in.

I've also heard that bras can stop the development/strengthening of natural muscles that are meant to support the breast. But again, I'm no medical expert.

If i had to wear a bra to bed, i'd lay there looking up at the ceiling thinking when will morning come so i can rip this bra off.!

In fact, the bra is the first thing that goes as soon as i set foot in my house.
You know, the magic act with the bra, slide down one arm then the other then YOU"RE FREE.

I received a chain email about this a few years ago and if I remember correctly, the problem with the study (found in a book called "Dressed to Kill") was that the researchers didn't control for other cancer-causing factors. There is already a high incidence of breast cancer in most major cities--and then they compared these high breast cancer rates to those already low rates in Fiji, and made a huge assumption that because these women didn't wear bras, it was the bra that was causing cancer. That would be like blaming the high rates of breast cancer in NYC and other large cities on the tall buildings or living in apartments.

I don't think that it has anything to do with the bras the Fijian women are not wearing. More likely, a smaller/different gene pool, the lack of pollution, chemical waste and natural diets probably have something to do with it.

BTW, breast size alone isn't a factor for cancer risk--but weight is. There is a corrolation between bigger breasts and overweight, but being at a healthy weight & having large breasts will not increase your cancer risk.

I have been told by an Internist and Surgeon that bras inhibit the lymph glands from draining and cause pooling of fluids, which could lead to breast cysts. Cysts can be benign or cancerous, depending on their rate of growth.

The Surgeon said underwire bras are notorious for causing breast cysts, but also said that all bras are dangerous.

Personally, I've had surgery twice to remove benign breast cysts, and it's a very painful recovery. However, I believe they use lasers now, so the pain isn't so bad. I went from wearing an underwire bra to wearing a sports bra, and haven't had a cyst since. That's the only proof I can offer.

edited typo

[edit on 11-4-2005 by OhioNutcase]

Originally posted by Off_The_Street
I agree with DGTempe. However, recent research has shown a statistically significant correlation between breast cancer and breasts.

say what

I had no idea, never heard of it before. I'll have read up on this some more.

While I hate bras, and would rather go free, it's nearly impossible to do any sporting activity without causing self injury while braless. Plus who wants eyes googling them all day. I refuse to wear underwire bras even though i need the support. I end up paying alot $$$$ for good quality bras that don't have them.

Originally posted by worldwatcher

Originally posted by Off_The_Street
I agree with DGTempe. However, recent research has shown a statistically significant correlation between breast cancer and breasts.

say what

I had no idea, never heard of it before. I'll have read up on this some more.

Errr.. he was making a joke. Anyone who has breasts can get breast cancer (even men get it, by the way.)

No, there's no link between bras and cancer. That's like saying there's a link between underwear and cancer or jeans and cancer or tee shirts and cancer.

...unless, of course, you happen to make a habit of smuggling plutonium in your undies. Then you're in trouble.

Originally posted by Byrd
No, there's no link between bras and cancer. That's like saying there's a link between underwear and cancer or jeans and cancer or tee shirts and cancer.

Although there is a link between tight underwear and impotence, which can be a precursor to prostate and/or testicular cancer...

the link between tight undies and cancer isn't proven yet... but it's coming, sooner or later.

dgtempe

You know, the magic act with the bra, slide down one arm then the other then YOU"RE FREE

I know of what u speak, not cuz i wear em...LOLOL
I have always been utterly(no synonym pun intended) amazed at the speed of which my mom, sister and ex-wife could remove it once the door closed behind them. And us guys worked on our removal technique for yrs to get just the snap portion..

Originally posted by Qwas
I'm a guy but I've heard these stories too.

Just like men wearing "tighty whities" underwear, the claim is the tight fitting cloth holds in body heat which causes the cancer. Don't know how true that is though. Maybe some medical experts can jump in.

I've also heard that bras can stop the development/strengthening of natural muscles that are meant to support the breast. But again, I'm no medical expert.

Sorry I don't know anything about the increased chances of cancer but I do know wearing tight fitting underwear also decreases your sperm count, heres why, they the testicles are hanging free from the body for a reason, to be kept at a cooler temperature and when pushed up against the body by the tight underwear the sperm count actually decreases from the increased temperature. Showers are also better than baths as sitting in the hot water also decreases sperm production. this is good info to know if someone is trying to start a family. Also I used to be in nursing school and one of the things they talked about is how men should learn how to do a monthly testicular exams just like women do a monthly exam of their breasts. You should be able to find info on how to do a self exam on the internet, it is a very important thing to do to stay healthy and pretty simple to do.

Originally posted by Byrd
No, there's no link between bras and cancer. That's like saying there's a link between underwear and cancer or jeans and cancer or tee shirts and cancer.

Bras and underwear are very different, though. Underwear's job is not to bind and shape with metal wires and straps that dig grooves into your shoulders. Bras constrict and bind rather tight. I have huge deep red marks when taking mine off, and disrupting lymph seems like it could cause a problem. Lymph doesn't flow like blood - it gets moved by pressure and muscle movements pushing it upwards and back into the circulatory system. To prevent that could logically cause some problems.

I'm not sure if you were just guessing there was no link, or if you had seen studies about this issue? if so, please post! The idea that there is a link keeps poping up, and many of the arguments suggesting a correlation make sense and seem based in good science.

edit: typo

[edit on 12-4-2005 by RedBalloon]