Pregnancy does play a role in lowering some breast cancer risks later on
November 10, 2008 by Marijke Durning, RN
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
It’s been bandied about, whether having babies has any impact on later risk of developing breast cancer. Researchers have found that a hormone that is released early in pregnancy, human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) helps lower the risk of breast cancer. HCG is the hormone that is tested for when you go for a pregnancy test.
According to the research, there is up to 25% less of a chance of getting breast cancer with one pregnancy and the risk drops with more pregnancies. Over 500 women were followed for 14 years by the researchers, who found that the level of HCG played a role as well. The higher the HCG level during the early part of pregnancy, the lower the breast cancer risk.
Interesting findings, I think.
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Image: iStock
Tags: cancer blog, pregnancy and breast cancer, breast cancer, HCG, human chorionic gonadotropin
