Weight and breast cancer
One of the best established factors affecting breast cancer survival is body weight. Women with breast cancer who are near their ideal body weight at the time of diagnosis are more likely to survive than are women with higher body weights. And although weight gain often occurs after diagnosis, studies suggest that women who avoid weight gain after diagnosis tend to have longer disease-free survival.
The link between lower body weight and better survival may relate to estrogens, female sex hormones that can encourage the growth of cancer cells. In essence, body fact acts like an estrogen factory, producing estrogens from other compounds coming from the adrenal glands (small organs situated atop each kidney). As a result, women with more body fat tend to have higher amounts of estrogens circulating in their blood, compared to leaner women.
~ Dr. Neal Barnard, The Survivor’s Handbook: Eating Right for Cancer Survival
