Is my bone density raising my risk for breast cancer?!


Question: Is my bone density raising my risk for breast cancer.?
I had a free bone density test done at the health fair, and both my scores were a positive 1.5. I've been looking things up online, but the closest that I got to confirmation was that anything from +1 to +4 was considered high. However, I wasn't sure if the risk associated with breast cancer was like +2 or higher or something. I would really like to know! I am only 19, and I would like to be aware of these risks as early on in life as possible so that I can do all that I can in order to either prevent them or stop them while they're early in their progression. So, if anyone could tell me whether or not I need to worry, I would appreiate it! I am slightly overweight (currently working on that), with large C-cup, to D-cup breasts (I always heard that larger breasts were at higher risk for cancer, too). Thank you!! And I would really like to receive only serious, intelligent responses, please!Health Question & Answer


Answers:
Hi.
It is true that some recent investigations have found a link between bone density and BC, however, they don't know if there's a cause-effect relation between both. This study show a higher likelihood for developing BC in women with high bone density, however, most of this women had an overweight/obesity problem, which is well know to be a risk factor for BC (overweight people produce more estrogen in their fat cells, estrogen in a long term may induce BC), so whether this effect is due to obesity or the bone density itself, is not known.
Second, you had a 1.5 what.? Z-score.? T-score.? T score is a comparison of your bones to the rest of the population bones; Z-score is adjusted for sex, age, weight and ethnicity. However 1.5 is ok, you're very young, so your bones should be strong.
I wouldn't worry about BC yet, breast size has nothing to do with BC.
What you can do to prevent BC is: be on your ideal weight, exercise, do not smoke, and have children and lactate before age 24, that's protective.Health Question & Answer

Here's an article in the Washington Post talking about how researchers used the Gail model and hip BMD to shed the light on the risk of breast cancer. It's actually very informative if you have the time to read it.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/con...

Here's a link to the Gail model.
http://www.cancer.gov/bcrisktool/Health Question & Answer

There are several kinds of bone density tests--one that only x-rays your leg bone and doesn't give a true report, and one that x-rays your leg, pelvis and spine so you get a true rport of how your body is distributing calcium. As far as breast cancer, they still haven't got a sure way of predicting who will have breast cancer. Some are genetically related and weight related, but not always. At 19, your hormones are still giving you a certain degree of protect. And they're learning more about breast cancer and how to treat it, and hopefully one day in the not too distant future they will be able to prevent it (or at least be able to more definitely predict it). For now, you should be just living and finding as much happiness as possible and not worrying about things you have no control over. Talk to your gyno about what types of things are currently suggested to lower your chances of breast cancer.Health Question & Answer



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