The breast/thyroid cancer connection isn’t really such a ‘mystery’

The bad news can hit so hard – and suddenly – that it can feel like a case of whiplash.

You’ve survived round after round of grueling radiation treatments, and your doctor says your breast cancer is finally gone.

But before you can pop open that bottle of champagne, the other shoe drops. You have another tumor on your thyroid – and you’re right back in the hospital where you started.

It’s almost too terrible to imagine. But researchers are warning that women who survive breast cancer are now coming down with thyroid cancer in droves.

And one of the most popular mainstream cancer treatments around may be causing the problem.

 

The cancer comeback

 

Just because you’re done treating your cancer doesn’t mean that cancer is done with you.

That’s the message that Dr. Raymon Grogan and his colleagues from the University of Chicago are sending after crunching the data on 37 studies on breast and thyroid cancer.

It turns out that once you’re treated for breast cancer, you’re actually one-and-a-half times more likely to develop thyroid cancer down the road.

And, unfortunately, it works in the other direction, too. If you’re a woman who’s had thyroid cancer, you have a greater chance than ever of ending up with a breast cancer diagnosis.

The cross-over between the cancers should “become one of the common discussions between a patient and her doctor,” Grogan said.

But, unfortunately, the discussion that too few doctors are having with women is why the problem is happening to begin with.

And that comes down to one thing – radiation.

The number of thyroid cancer cases in America has tripled over the past 30 years. But you know what else has been happening during that time – the mainstream has started zapping with radiation every breast tumor it finds.

And that includes small tumors that may never pose a threat to your health or your life.

Even the American Cancer Society – which has practically never met a mainstream cancer treatment it wouldn’t push – admits that radiation can cause leukemia and bone marrow cancers.

So the idea that it could cause thyroid cancer, too, shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone.

And there’s even been research in the past proving that the radioactive iodine used to treat thyroid cancer can cause breast tumors. Case closed!

The number of secondary cancers Americans are getting has gone through the roof ever since radiation became a mainstream cancer treatment – in fact, you’re twice more likely to get one today than you were just 30 or 40 years ago.

The real tragedy here is that lots of cancers today are being over-diagnosed and over-treated, and many women are getting radiation who don’t need it.

And that goes double for breast cancer.

A study published just last year in the Journal of the American Medical Association Oncology found that women who were getting treatments like radiation for some early types of breast cancer weren’t living any longer than women who were never diagnosed in the first place!

That’s why it’s so important when you or a loved one is diagnosed with any type of cancer to get a second or even third opinion. Learn about all the options you have available and ask tough questions about whether treatment is truly necessary at all.

And if you’ve had radiation in the past, there are some simple supplements you can try that may reduce your risk of fighting cancer again,

• Vitamin D: Studies have found that those with higher levels of this “sunshine” vitamin have significantly lower rates of numerous cancers, including breast cancer.
• Curcumin: The active ingredient in turmeric is an amazing anti-cancer agent. Turmeric is available as both a spice and a supplement.
• Omega-3 fatty acids: Found in fish oil and flaxseed, these essential fatty acids have been found to be very beneficial in lowering chronic inflammation, something that damages DNA leading to cancer.

Sources:

“Breast cancer survivors vulnerable for thyroid tumors, and vice versa: Study” February 5, 2016, HealthDay, nlm.nih.gov