I was doing some quick web searching about breast cancer, and I found this NIH study, which takes it as a given that “higher family income” was a “well-established risk factor” for breast cancer. Is this something that’s considered fact?
And if so - this is the big question - how would family income affect breast cancer?
WAG – Wild A** Guess :
Higher income people can afford more stuff that relates to getting breast cancer, or cancer in general. Based on some of the reported causes, it’s not a tough call.
More money means you can afford more of the “bad” stuff. More alcohol, more cigarettes, more foods that taste good enough to kill you, etc. You don’t have to work as hard, necessarily (especially if you’re a stay at home mom), so you’re maybe not getting as much exercise.
Lastly, you can afford all those pleasant drugs they’ve been pumping out without the best testing, meaning that hormone replacement drugs probably contributed, early birth control helped, etc.
Basically, it’s not the fact that you had the green, but what you bought with it that made the difference. On the other hand, there’s a good argument that the reason higher income women have a higher incidence is because they are more likely to be checked out. A poorer person may get sick and die, without knowing why–and attribute it to old age.
The two general reasons are not mutually exclusive, BTW.
As a cook, I’ve always heard that increased fat intakes (plus alcohol consumption) can up your breast cancer risk. Rich people can afford more steaks and booze (to oversimplify).
Sounds reasonable to me.
I didn’t think it meant that having money in the bank causes cancer, but I was curious to see what environmental and lifestyle factors were being associated with having money. Like I said, what I’ve seen here thusfar seems eminently logical.
I’d guess that rich women are more likely to lay around in tanning beds all day, which probably causes cancer.
I’d say the smoking thing too but it’s common knowledge that poor people smoke a lot more than the rich.
You don’t have to work as hard, necessarily (especially if you’re a stay at home mom)
Say what?
If you’re a SAHM who has a nanny you pay to raise your kids while you go get a manicure (a la “The Nanny Diaries”), maybe this would fly.
If you’re at home alone with the kid all day, no way. You’re busting your ass. Not only do SAHMs run themselves ragged watching the kids, since they’re “at home anyway” guess what? They’re expected to do all the housework too!
No one really knows why certain high income areas have higher breast cancer rates, but the most commonly cited reason is that higher income women are more likely to delay having children, which is known to be a risk factor. One other possibility is that higher income women are more likely to have used hormone replacement therapy, which may also be a risk factor.
Here’s a good article about the problem in Marin County, California.
If this were true, then there would be a correlating increase in breast cancer in female welfare recipients. The poor probably get less excercise than the wealthy. The rich go hiking, swimming, and join health clubs because it’s fashionable. The poor tend have transportation problems and, of course, little discretionary cash for joining a Tai-bo class.
The diet of the poor is even worse than that of the rich. The rich get a greater variety of foods, especially fresh vegetables, while the poor tend to eat more processed foods. I remember reading once that poor African American children are the number one consumer of hot dogs, for example.
The poor have the ability to drink just as much as a rich person-- the only difference will be the lable on the bottle. Hell, you can get a gallon jug of wine at the grocery store for less than ten bucks, and I’ve seen twelve packs of beer for less than five on occasion.