Wednesday, November 13, 2002

In vitro seen a success in older women"

By Alice Dembner, Globe Staff, 11/13/2002

Menopause is no longer a bar to healthy women over 50 who want to have children, according to a study released today that indicates science is again pushing back the tide of human aging.


In the largest study of its kind, fertility specialists at the University of Southern California report that 42 out of 77 women ages 50 to 63 who underwent in vitro fertilization at their center gave birth to healthy babies. And three of the women had a second child in a subsequent pregnancy after 50. All of the women used eggs from younger donors." The JAMA report abstract [No mentions of if these women were successful in their efforts to breastfeed. note the c-section rate was 68 per cent for singletons.- JC]
NEWS.com.au | Alcohol boosts cancer risk (November 14, 2002) HOME?> "
Alcohol boosts cancer risk
By Jenny Hope in London
November 14, 2002

DRINKING a single glass of wine a day increases a woman's risk of getting breast cancer by 6 per cent, according to a cancer research study.
It shows that every year thousands of women could be saved from the trauma of the disease by giving up drinking.

The huge Cancer Research UK study reveals that heavy alcohol consumption is particularly dangerous, with women drinking more than a bottle of wine a day at 40 to 50 per cent higher risk of the disease.

Rising levels of drinking by women have already contributed to more cases of breast cancer in recent years ? and the toll could go higher if the trend continues upwards.

The study estimates around one in 20 breast cancer cases each year can be blamed on drinking. Its results, which come at a time when young women are drinking more than ever, could lead to revised guidance from the Department of Health which currently recommends women drink no more than the equivalent of two to three small glasses of wine a day.



Professor Valerie Beral of Cancer Research UK's cancer epidemiology unit at the Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford, said: "This research tells us there is a definite link between alcohol and breast cancer and the evidence suggests that the more a woman drinks the greater her risk." She said drinking had contributed to rising numbers of breast cancer cases, although other factors such as the trend for women to remain childless or have smaller numbers of children and not breastfeed had probably had a bigger effect." [So, which will become the most common message, "breastfeed to reduce your cancer risk" or will they say "stop drinking to reduce your cancer risk."? - JC]