Bras and Breast Cancer. Is There A Link?

about 15 years ago or so, while living in seattle, i saw an archeologist give an interview on television about a study she had done on women who wear bras and breast cancer. it was a bit of an accidental study. the inspiration came about during one of her travels, this time to an island in the pacific. she was inside her hotel room. the housekeeper was busy cleaning in the bathroom. in time, the housekeeper came into the main room, holding the archeologist's bra with a look of confusion on her face. she asked what it was. at first, the archeologist thought she must be joking. nope. housekeeper hadn't a clue what it was and had in fact never seen such a thing before.

so the archeologist told her what it was then asked if women on their island ever wore them. nope. the archeologist then asked her about breast support, especially for the more full-figured gals. the housekeeper simply continued to look at her as though she hadn't a clue what she was talking about.

well this got the archeologist to thinking about the possibility that perhaps bras were less of a necessity and more of a fashion statement. (for those who want to think men invented this contraption, wrong. it was a woman.) as she studied the locals on this particular island, she noticed that there was a near 0% incidence of breast cancer. she also concluded that even full-figured women could do just fine without a bra. they relied on the muscles underneath the breast to provide support, which again according to the archeologist, strengthen when a bra is not in use to provide such support. after spending a good year or so studying the issue, she concluded that those countries where bra wearing was either non-existant or rare, the women overwhelmingly had very low breast cancer rates as compared to nations where bras are the norm. this included mexico, which have high levels of pollution. other factors such as diet and ethnicity did not have nearly the bearing as did whether the women wore bras or not. (i wish i had written down this woman's name. i need to do some research and see if i can find her study.)

after seeing that, i essentially stopped wearing a bra. i had always found them uncomfortable and unnecessary, irregardless of whether they were the proper fit or not (and as most bra websites proclaim, most of us gals have been wearing the wrong size). now and then, when i feel it is necessary, i will wear one. but most days, nope. i'm carefree and loving it. in fact, i support legislation allowing women to go topless, just as men do. there'd be a lot of weirdness at first, but we'd get used to it. it's just a body afterall. when it's hot i want as few clothes on me as possible, just like the guys do.

several weeks ago i was watching the tyra banks show. she had on a medical doctor and the two of them were talking about bras. the medical doctor actually RECOMMENDED wearing a bar 24 hours a day for full-figured gals. my god, i thought. how many women, especially young women watched that and are now not only wearing these contraptions 12 plus hours a day but all night, too? so........the other day i was thinking about this as i strapped one on. i wondered if there was anything else on the internet about a possible link between bras and breast cancer. my search was quick and easy. there were lots of studies, but this one, which appeared first, caught my eye. it has no shock value and is very straight forward in presenting the findings. check it out.

the American Cancer Society proclaims there is no scientific proof of such a link.

it does make sense that there may be such a link. the lymphatic system is necessary for removing toxins from the body. when they are restricted in any way, they cannot do their job properly. imagine the results when the lympathic system is restricted on a daily basis for hours on end.

irregardless of whether there is or is not a link, i will not be returning to my bra days.