Abortion, miscarriage can cause breast cancer

Dr Partey-Newman

 The Chief Executive Officer of Ladybits Health and Wellness Clinic,Dr Victoria Partey-New­mansaysabortion and miscarriagecould put a woman at risk of developing breast cancer.

According to her, a miscarriage or termination of a pregnancy halt the process of breast enlargement which is occasioned by the increased levels of the estrogen hormones.

“So miscarriage or abortion will expose the mother to high concentra­tions of estrogen and it can give some type of breast cancer.”

Dr Newman said this in an interview with The Spectator on Thursday at herresidence in Dome, Accra.

“During pregnancy there are hor­monal changes, one of the hormones that increases is the estrogen which helps with the increase in breast size, a process known as cell differentia­tion,” she said.

She said cell differentiation usu­ally occurs in the second half of the pregnancy with miscarriage normally occurring in the first half.

She explained that when estrogen is released without the differentiation, it could put one at risk of developing breast cancer, especiallywhen the pregnancy was miscarried at that stage.

“It is the same with abortion; when one does not go full term with the pregnancy and the fetusis aborted before the first half of the pregnancy and there is an increase in estrogen without differentiation, it can lead to breast cancer.

“So we can say the hormonal chang­es of estrogen in the first half of pregnancy that affects the undifferen­tiated breast cells can put one at risk of breast cancer,” she stated.

DrPartey-Newman therefore urged women to constantly examine their breast and also called on government to take up the cost of treatment.

She encouraged men to support their partners when they are diagnosed of the disease and not abandoned them.

DrPartey-Newman said sucking the breast by men may reduce the risk of breast cancer among women.

She explained that the hormones re­leased during breastfeedingwhich have been found to prevent breast cancer were also released during sucking.

However, she indicated that studies had not confirmed whether sucking of breast by men can reduce the risk of cancer likebreastfeeding.

“When a woman breastfeeds a child, there is the release of a hormone known as oxytocin. This hormone is what forms the bond between the mother and child. It is also released during love-making between a man and a women when the breast is sucked,” she said.

DrPartey-Newman saidthere were no confirmed studies on sucking of breast but sucking it has the tendency to reduce breast cancer just because of the release of hormones.

 By Jemima Esinam Kuatsinu