Thank you for Deborah Spector Siegel’s story about her battle with breast cancer, her family’s killer (WomaNews, Oct. 5). I was galvanized by her power, thrilled at her remission and especially touched by her description of nursing her son, Noah, to the age of 1 year on her remaining breast.
Although, sadly, it was not the case for Deborah, women deserve to know that breast-feeding’s protective effect against breast cancer is real. A 1995 study showed that in women under 45, having been breast-fed was associated with approximately a 10 percent reduction in breast cancer risk. A 1994 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine estimated that if all women with children breast-fed for 24 months or longer, the incidence of breast cancer might be reduced by nearly 25 percent.
In addition, a 1994 study found that having been breast-fed was associated with decreased risk of breast cancer, thus showing that we can help protect our daughters too.
In an age when we are asked again and again and again to play the scary game of “odds,” our passionate fight for the truth–about our bodies, our options, our abilities to protect and save ourselves–is, as Deborah Spector Siegel has shown, our sword and shield.
