Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Breast Cancer and IVF

This week on The Today Show, Guiliana Rancic reported that she is in the early stages of breast cancer. I am truly sorry that she received this diagnosis. HOWEVER, I am not buying into the fact that her two previously failed attempts at IVF have nothing to do with her cancer. I don't give a shit what the doctors are saying. I'm an RN, those shots RAISE a woman's hormone levels and estrogen IS a big factor in many types of breast cancer. Go get someone else to drink the Kool-Aid. 


If there was NO connection whatsoever, her doctor would not have forced her to get a mammogram before he started the IVF. It was either in her history (she has an aunt that's a breast cancer survivor), OR he thought.... "Hmmm, two rounds of IVF, there's a better than average chance she could have developed breast cancer......" To a nurse, this is one of those DUH moments that make us crazy. Snaps to the doctor for insisting. Shame on the morning news pundits that say there is absolutely NO CONNECTION. You idiots have more than once had egg on your faces and been forced to retract your earlier statements to say "Wellllll, at the time, there was no connection." Nope, there was always a connection, assholes, it was simply never studied. 


To someone who knows a bit about the body, how could the medical profession ever have thought there would never be a risk of breast cancer when receiving IVF.... how? how? how? Oh, that's right, the medical profession has only in the last several years recognized that the women's health practice cannot be based on the male model of health and physiology. That's not a lie.


Wonder how much doctors started writing grant proposals to the NIH already? Probably none, right? Because there's no connection. Pfft!