Women Who Have Children More At Risk For Breast Cancer For 23 Years, But Then It Flips And Becomes Protective

CNN: Increased Breast Cancer Risk Might Last Decades After Childbirth, Study Says
Compared with women who have never had children, women who have given birth may have an increased breast cancer risk that continues for up to 23 years after their most recent birth, according to a new study published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine on Monday. "What we saw was this pattern where risk was highest about five years after birth, and then it gradually declined as time went on," said Hazel Nichols, an assistant professor of epidemiology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Gillings School of Global Public Health, who was first author of the study. (Howard, 12/10)

CNN: Breast Cancer Testing Genetic Guidelines Out Of Date, Says Study
The current guidelines for genetic testing of breast cancer patients limit the number of women who can get tested. Because of these restrictions, these tests miss as many patients with hereditary cancers as they find, according to a study published Monday in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. "Unfortunately, insurance companies pay attention to these guidelines," said Dr. Peter Beitsch, co-author of the study and a cancer surgeon practicing in Texas. Insurance companies and other payers reimburse genetic testing -- or not -- based on the guidelines. (Scutti, 12/10)

In other women's health news —

NPR: Questions About Treatments For Pregnant Women Arise From Study Exclusions
Jenna Neikirk was nearing the end of her first pregnancy when her blood pressure shot up to dangerous levels. "I started feeling splotchy and hot, just kind of uncomfortable, so I took my blood pressure at work and it was 160 over 120," she says. Neikirk's a physical therapist in Atlanta and knew that level was alarmingly high. She left work and walked over to her obstetrician's office, which was in the same medical complex. (Kodjak, 12/10)