I also knew that I was a very likely candidate.
Let's go back, family history: my sister died of breast cancer, I had a paternal aunt who did and my mother, we were never quite sure what she died of but it was certainty gynaecological cancer, ovarian possibly, but you know it was all a bit mysterious. So that's the family history.
I had my babies latish, my first baby was born when I was almost 29 which doesn't sound late today but believe me it's later than it should be.
I couldn't breast feed them, at least the first one I couldn't, because she was a little prem, and I couldn't get my hands on her in time.
And out of some misguided sense of what is better for, I wanted to treat all the children the same so I didn't breast feed the boys either.
I had thyrotoxicosis when I was a girl. I had my thyroid removed. And that for some unknown, I don't know the details of it, but that is a predisposing factor, a bit.
And I'd been on HRT for many, many, many years. I'd done that as a gamble. I knew perfectly that HRT does have a slightly, and I mean slightly, increased risk of breast cancer. But I also knew that it did protect more slightly again coronary thrombosis and cerebral haemorrhage. And I thought right I would, on balance, I would rather cope with breast cancer than cope with a stroke or a heart attack. |
