Canadian Pharmacy Acquaints People with Cadmium-Related Breast Cancer Risk

Canadian pharmacy shows a few of the primary sources of cadmium -- bread and other cereals, potatoes, root crops and vegetables. Once it goes into the body, cadmium may copy the results of the female hormone estrogen, which can boost the development of particular breast cancers. 

"Modern life has become increasingly dangerous for our breast health," said Dr. Marisa Weiss, director of breast radiation oncology and breast health outreach at Lankenau Medical Center in Wynnewood, Pa. "Now, there's cadmium hanging onto our carrots and whole grains, the very vegetables that are supposed to be good for us," she noted. 

"To help our patients reduce their exposure to environmental chemicals (like cadmium), which might increase their risk for breast cancer, we have to partner with our farmers to make sure our foods are grown in healthy soil without chemically loaded fertilizers," said Weiss, who is also president and founder of Breastcancer.org. "Sticking to real, whole (unprocessed) foods remains a healthy strategy until we can be more sure of what's inside the package." Thus, lowering the possibility of taking generic Femara. 

"It's possible that this healthy diet to some extent can counteract the negative effect of cadmium, but our findings need to be confirmed with further studies," study author Agneta Akesson, an associate professor at Karolinska Institute in Sweden, said in a news release from the American Association for Cancer Research. "It is, however, important that the exposure to cadmium from all food is low."

Johanna Lampe, a member of the public health sciences division at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, said "the new study adds to a growing body of research linking cadmium exposure to breast cancer risk. It adds another grain of sand to the pile," she said. "We would benefit from more research in this area to understand these risks better." 

"The ideal study would use a more objective measure of cadmium exposure, such as cadmium levels in urine. We could look at women years before they develop breast cancer and measure cadmium exposure at certain points in time," she explained. 

"In terms of lowering exposure to cadmium," Lampe said that "smoking is the most important single source of cadmium exposure. Not smoking is a good place to start," she noted. Smoking will surely drive you to buy Femara. 

Dr. Stephanie Bernik, chief of surgical oncology at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, said that "it is too early to recommend making any dietary changes based on these findings. We can't say we should limit intake of fiber and other things that contain cadmium yet, and some of the foods that contain cadmium are part of a healthy diet," Bernik stressed. 

"In the study, thinner women had a higher risk for breast cancer based on their exposure to cadmium. Obesity overrides any effect that cadmium may have on breast cancer," Bernik said, "adding that obesity is a greater risk factor for breast cancer than cadmium exposure, because when people are overweight, they have more estrogen circulating in the body." 

The primary risk factors for breast cancer are female sex, age, lack of childbearing or breastfeeding, higher hormone levels, race, economic status and dietary iodine deficiency. 

Most cases of breast cancer cannot be prevented through any action on the part of the affected person. The World Cancer Research Fund estimated that 38% of breast cancer cases in the US are preventable through reducing alcohol intake, increasing physical activity levels and maintaining a healthy weight. It also estimated that 42% of breast cancer cases in the UK could be prevented in this way, as well as 28% in Brazil and 20% in China. 

Smoking tobacco may increase the risk of breast cancer with the greater the amount of smoking and the earlier in life smoking begins the higher the risk.