The connection between breast and ovarian cancer

Sometimes, cancer can be a numbers game. If 1 in 20,000 has cancer, then 1 in 20,000 cancer patients could suffer from multiple cancers. This condition isn’t unheard of. But there are some cases where the risks of developing two types of cancers are higher. Take, for example, breast cancer and ovarian cancer. Specialists such as Dr. Matthew Boente MD believes that there is a strong correlation between breast and ovarian cancer.

An average of 12% of women develops breast cancer, which is deeply rooted in other body parts like the ovaries. Doctors haven’t quite narrowed it down, but risk factors in ovarian cancer raise a woman’s chances of getting breast cancer. Likewise, the same risk factors in breast cancer can also increase a woman’s chances of developing breast cancer.

Some experts believe that the correlation lies within the body’s way of producing estrogen. Given that most female hormones of pre-menopausal women are produced in the ovaries, the problem begins when they stop the production of estrogen. Even when the ovaries cease their production of hormones, the body still requires the same amount of hormones to function properly. The task is passed on to adipose or fat tissue.

The production of estrogen by adipose or fat tissue is one of the reasons why most women who reach menopause begin to gain weight and makes it harder to lose weight. Dr. Matthew Boente MD states that this additional cell activity can cause problems when hormonally driven breast cancer is formed by certain cells in the breast.

Ovarian cancer expert Dr. Matthew Boente MD has served in the National Comprehensive Cancer Center-(NCCN) Cervix and endometrial cancer screening task force for two years. Visit this website for more insightful reads on women’s health.