Alarming breast cancer rates among troops reported

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Military Times

Alarming breast cancer rates among troops reported
Jon R. Anderson, Military Times

12:26PM EST October 2. 2012 - If you think breast cancer is just something for your grandmother, mom and aunts to worry about, think again. Not only is breast cancer striking relatively young military women at alarming rates, but male service members, veterans and their dependents are at risk, as well.

With their younger and generally healthier population, those in the military tend to have a lower risk for most cancers than civilians, including significantly lower colorectal, lung and cervical cancer rates in certain groups.

But breast cancer is a different story.

"Military people in general, and in some cases very specifically, are at a significantly greater risk for contracting breast cancer," says Dr. Richard Clapp, a top cancer expert at Boston University. Clapp, who works for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on military breast cancer issues, says life in the military can mean exposure to a witch's brew of risk factors directly linked to greater chances of getting breast cancer.


Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2012/10/02/breast-cancer-troops/1608293/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+UsatodaycomNation-TopStories+%28News+-+Nation+-+Top+Stories%29

[PDJane]

1. Not really a surprise.

Testicular cancers in young men who were in the military is up, too, the last time I looked.

[marlakay]

2. I wonder if it has anything to do with milk

And the hormones in it. My daughter whose husband is in air force last 12 yrs used to buy her milk on base because it was cheap. I talked her into changing about 6 yrs ago to organic milk.

The meat is probably full of it too and other dairy since they get the cheapest stuff.

[jbnow]

4. Probably more due to the water than the milk

The linked article in op mentions the cluster at Camp Lejeune and the toxic water. It was 1st thing I thought of because once you've read or seen info on that horror so casually allowed to continue you just cannot forget
Article and others also mention that bases at many bases are contaminated, there just hasn't been the cluster or attention paid

[hootinholler]

8. LeJune is a mess not just breast cancer...

It's also a cluster for throat cancer.

[KT2000]

3. the clues are there

they just need to buck the powers that be and come forward with the fact that exposures are causing this.
They won't - they will not fund the necessary studies or admit the causes in order to protect everyone from liability.

[TexasProgresive]

5. I wonder if the rise could be from DU

Depleted Uranium not Democratic Underground. Many troops were deployed to Iraq where the contamination with DU is widespread. Like Agent Orange the VA and DOD contend that DU is safe. I don't think so.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

9. that was my first thought too. nt

[dixiegrrrrl]

10. My first thought also was DU.

But also the well known contamination of military bases, which usually are not discovered until
those entities wanting to buy the now closed base find out how much toxicity there is.
Re: the naval base on Angel Island in SF Bay
the closed Naval Base in Half Moon bay in Cal.

[jumptheshadow]

6. Key question

Is any hormone/chemo/drug effective in women who contracted breast cancer in this way? Does anybody have links to pertinent articles? Please PM me if you have heard anything more. Thanks.

[sybylla]

11. There are over 240 different kinds of breast cancer - all with different causes and treatments

Your best bet is to check with the NIH for treatment recommendations and options on a specific type of breast cancer.

[marions ghost]

7. Theories (from the article)

"Officials aren't sure exactly why military women face a greater risk of breast cancer than their civilian counterparts, but it's no secret that military service brings with it a number of risk factors associated with the deadly disease. Among them:

-- Radio emissions. A slew of studies have linked breast cancer with men and women working as radio operators, electricians, telephone repair people and other jobs involving exposure to electromagnetic radiation.

-- Chemicals. Army enlisted women younger than under 35 who worked regularly with at least one volatile organic compound -- such as solvents, paints and exhaust -- were 48% more likely to develop breast cancer than those who didn't, according to a 2005 military study.

-- Aircrew work. Repeated and prolonged exposure to harmful solar radiation may be why female civilian aircrew members have higher rates of breast cancer. While no studies have been done on female military fliers, research on male Air Force crew members has found similar spikes in other cancer rates.

-- Toxic bases. Many of the worst Superfund toxic cleanup sites, often linked to all kinds of cancer clusters, are located on current or former military bases. Camp Lejeune, N.C., for example, has witnessed an alarming number of male breast cancer cases.

-- Shift work. A 2012 study of Danish military women is just the latest connecting night-shift workers with breast cancer -- for both those in uniform and their families. Researchers found those working the swing shift were 40% more likely to face diagnoses. They suspect the suppression of melatonin that comes with sleepless nights may also inhibit the body's ability to fight off cancer-causing cells."