| "It's not that people are ignorant, but that they know | | | | In fact, young women who develop breast cancer |
| so many things that just ain't true." | | | | when they are pregnant may, indeed, have a worse |
| MARK TWAIN | | | | prognosis and a decreased survival. We've not |
| The banner headline on the Susan G. Komen For The | | | | studied enough women to be certain about this. Dr. |
| Cure website homepage, "Pregnant Women with | | | | Beadle went to great lengths to make sure the |
| Breast Cancer Do Not Have Worse Outcomes" is | | | | reader understood that there are still some missing |
| unfortunately somewhat misleading. Perhaps the | | | | pieces to this puzzle, still many things to learn and |
| editor should have read the paper published by Dr. | | | | discover about breast cancer that occurs in young |
| Beadle more closely. What Dr. Beadle actually | | | | women when they are pregnant. |
| reported in her article published in the March 15, 2009 | | | | Overall, all young women who develop breast cancer |
| issue of Cancer was: | | | | have a dismal prognosis. Pregnancy may or may not |
| "The lack of a statistically significant correlation | | | | make things worse. I hope that Dr. Beadle and other |
| between the diagnosis of pregnancy-associated | | | | researchers will be able to clarify the true character |
| breast cancer and a worse outcome does not | | | | of pregnancy-associated breast cancer in the near |
| necessarily preclude a true association." | | | | future. But at the present time we simply do not |
| Which is to say, Dr. Beadle cannot say for certain | | | | know for sure whether or not a pregnancy confers a |
| that young women who are diagnosed with breast | | | | worse outcome for young women with breast |
| cancer when they are pregnant have the same | | | | cancer. |
| prognosis as non-pregnant women their same age. Dr. | | | | The news media and their ambitious headlines |
| Beadle goes into great detail to explain the many | | | | typically try to grab for a hook that will capture a |
| flaws in her otherwise excellent study of 652 | | | | reader, but in their clamor to be noticed they often |
| women, less than 35 years old, who were treated at | | | | fall short of the mark of accurate reporting. We may |
| M.D. Anderson Cancer Center between 1973 and | | | | forgive CNN for these hungry oversights for we |
| 2006. Dr. Beadle was very thorough in explaining that | | | | know they are going for the sensational, not the |
| the data, though suggestive, were not definitive. | | | | substantive. But when the leading breast cancer |
| Indeed, it is too soon to jump to conclusions. We've | | | | foundation falls short in reporting the results of an |
| been down that wrong road before - with hormone | | | | important paper such as this it leaves all women less, |
| replacement therapy and, more recently, with daily | | | | not more informed. It is a disappointment, to say the |
| use of alcohol - and it is not yet clear what the true | | | | least. |
| story is regarding pregnancy and breast cancer; so, | | | | (c) 2009, Dr. Kathleen Ruddy. All rights reserved. |
| beware banner headlines that proclaim conclusions | | | | Reprints welcomed so long as article and by-line are |
| that are not yet certain. | | | | not edited and all links are made live. |