Myrl Jeffcoat wisgroup_leader@yahoo.com

All - I found this article interesting, in light of the fact, there have been studies linking suicide risk to breast implants. Now, that they are also linking it to breast cancer, I'm wondering what percentage of breast implant women, who have been suicides, were also breast cancer women??? It would be interesting to know.

Myrl
http://www.webstarmagic.com/wisletter.htm

Breast Cancer Survivors and Suicide

Posted by Lillie Shockney, R.N., M.A.S.

Recently, I read about a study showing there is an increased suicide rate among breast cancer survivors. According to the study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, breast cancer survivors can carry this higher risk of suicide for up to 30 years after diagnosis!

The researchers examined the suicide risk for 723,810 breast cancer survivors diagnosed between 1953 and 2001, as reported in numerous cancer registries. They identified 836 breast cancer patients who committed suicide, including 245 women in the U.S.

They found that the cumulative risk of suicide 30 years after breast cancer diagnosis was 37 percent higher than expected based on general population rates. That risk increased with a higher stage of breast cancer.

Wow, that was a scary statistic to learn! Now it's time to figure out why. I have to tell you that I have never known any of our patients to commit suicide, and I've been involved in the care of thousands of them.

What do you think would contribute to a higher risk of suicide? A couple of reasons that occur to me right off the bat are the effect of breast cancer on body image and the drop in estrogen levels caused by chemo and hormonal therapy that may contribute to clinical depression. What are your thoughts?

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