deodorants and breast cancer link

[chewy]

Does anyone have any info about this ? I'm scared about using antiperspirants/deodorants now !!
Also, I'm over 40 and am alarmed to see that breast screening is now recommended for 40+ year olds(not on the NHS). Scary ...

I'm almost cetain that there is a thread giving info/advice about this somewhere on mn. Give me a few mins and I'll try to link.

this link might help . I have to admit that it isn't as informative as I remembered but it's a start.

BBC News piece .

But, as I probably said on the thread WSM linked too, I have never used deodorant (being naturally fragrant) and still got breast cancer. So, you know...it's all statistics. I don't think they've advised not to use it.

Chewy, this thread has info, too. You can't add to it as it's been archived, but it might be worth a read.

Oh, I didn't! There must be another thread somewhere....

Here are a couple of links I got from doing a search on aluminium salts & breast cancer....

Link 1 . This has a fairly reasuring tone.

Link 2 should be found here but have cut and pasted info instead, takes a while to trwal through the other stuff otherwise.

"Urban cancer myth?
Source: Times 2
Date: 22 Jan 2002
Can deodorants cause breast cancer? Dr Phillipa Dabre, a biochemist at the University of Reading, concluded that this was caused by parabens, preservatives commonly used in cosmetics, food and drink, which in 1998 were demonstrated by Brunei University to have a weak oestrogenic effect when injected under the skin of animals. Darbre's theory states that aluminium salts in antiperspirants damaged the DNA of breast cells and that parabens, stored in the fatty tissue of the breast, made the damaged cells grow. Darbre analysed figures from the Office for National Statistics for upper outer-quadrant tumours in England and Wales and discovered that in 1979 47.5 per cent of breast cancer was found there. "

Just to say that that second 'link' came from the BMJ online (British Medical Journal, well respected medical publication)

Oh, that'll be the one, thanks JJ

btw - 3 years on, all-clear-touch-wood!

I use a 'crystal' which I got from a health & vitamin shop, it looks a bit like a roll on deoderant but it is a hard crystal which you pop under some water to dampen and then rub on then dry the crystal off before putting the lid on it. I have gone through one in a year and a half. It is also very effective as lots of deoderants & antiperspirants don't work at all for me. I had it recommended by somebody who was very worried about reports like this which have been circulating for a while about deoderant.

Watch out for parabens in moisturisers, soaps & toothpastes, too. It's in our cheapo toothpaste from Superdrug, I noticed. I'm not going to worry about it since DH & I use it & spit it out, but will avoid buying in the future if I can.

Parabens are no longer used in any major brand of deodorant/antiperspirant so the research seems to be rather outdated to me.

gosh, thanks all of you - will check out the links.Am using a Tom's of Maine deodorant stick now, but don't think it works as effectively as my usual roll-on,though smells pretty nice when first on.Aloha, is that right,that parabens aren't used in deodorants anymore ? where did you find that info ?

Hey, JanH, that's good news! I reread that thread and thought about you.

All good news today.

Aloha -- the Philipa lady who did the work was on the radio saying that she went out and easily found brands of deodorant containing parabens on shop shelves; of course, I haven't gone label-reading to check myself, but she seemed to think such products were still easily to be found. Worth labelchecking, methinks.

I think "research" is a bit too strong a word for it frankly. The word "crock" certainly springs to mind. They looked at breast tumours and found parabens. Did they look at any other tissues? No. Did they have any non-tumour controls? No. In science you are meant to test hypotheses; bad scientists seek to prove their pet theories. There is no evidence of any causal link at all. Don't worry about it. By all means read labels and avoid parabens if it worries you, but I don't think there's any reason at all to be alarmed on the basis of this study.

It's reckoned that 90% of deodorants and antiperspirants are paraben-free and have been for about four years. The Cancer Help UK website has a page of reassuring info on this very subject. It think obesity, drinking, fatty diets late childbearing, lack of breastfeeding and longer lifespans have probably got a lot more to do with the rise in cases of breast cancer than deodorants. And in other cases, of course, it's just pure bad luck.

And early puberty is another, aloha. Most of us are "guilty" of one or more of the causative factors which tends to make me think, like you, that unless it's a hereditary type it's more bad luck than anything else.

Thanks for the smileys, JJ! I feel like that too!

Oh, I missed what you said JanH! Fantastic news, that's so good. A few more from me too

Just want to back up that JanH is 'naturally fragrant' I sat next to her on Saturday and can fully support that statement! Not smelly at all, my mums the same, never used deodorant in her life, and she's 77 soon.
I however am not and do need a bit of chemical help

Parabens are in loads of cosmetics/healthcare products. If that worries you - you'll need to read the labels when you buy such products. That scare has been around for at least 6 years - IMO not much has change, the story comes up once in a while.

I heard something along these lines a couple of years ago, from a baby-masseuse (sp?) She had heard reports of women with breast cancer finding that there were traces of deadorants in the cancerous cells. But she seemed to think that it was due to sprays, not roll-ons, as there is force in the application. Does this make sense? My memory isn't too good!! But I also remember that she talked about the use of talcum powder, and that it wasn't good for anyone, especially women who use it after a bath, in their pants, to feel fresher. She seemed to relate this to some form of cancerous cells in cervical cancer. Not sure if this is really relevant, but the thread rang a bell with me!!!

Just thought I'd tell you I changed from antiperspirant to a deoderant bar from Lush, it seemed to make sense that stopping sweat might not be good (not that it ever did for me) & I do feel I'm using something a bit more natural, but best thing is, it smells really gorgeous & makes me happy just putting it on. I think it works too...

hmm, the list of ingredients for Tesco's Ultra Soft baby wipes includes methylparaben and propylparaben amongst many other mean sounding chemicals. Off to buy another brand tomorrow!

I thought they had found parabens in more cancer sites than breast cancer. I have yet to do a thorough literature search but for the time being do not use any products with parabens in at all or on DS whcih eliminates most of the known brands of face make-up, kiddies bubble bath etc. am sure there are other 'nasties' in what I am using but sometimes ignorance is bliss....