I wonder if there's a connexion

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Elizabeth Edwards has breast cancerMrs. Edwards had a needle biopsy performed at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, where Dr. Barbara Smith confirmed the cancer, Ginsberg said.

He said the cancer was diagnosed as invasive ductal cancer.

That is the most common type of breast cancer, and can spread from the milk ducts to other parts of the breast or beyond.

More tests were being done to determine how far the cancer has advanced and how to treat it, he said.
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Did Elizabeth Edwards use donor eggs?
Edwards has publicly stated that she "used fertility treatments" and "took hormone shots" in order to have Emma Claire and Jack. (She wouldn't comment for this story.) That doesn't really explain much since any fertility expert will tell you that "taking hormone shots" is part of nearly all high-tech fertility treatments used today.
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Breast cancer is so common, it is often hard to elucidate why one particular woman gets breast cancer when another is spared. Being pregnant ealry and often, with prolonged breastfeeding between pregnancies, seems to be protective. Treatment with synthetic female hormone analogues such as birth control pills and Premarin seem to contribute. The jury is out on the massive hormonal treatments associated with assisted reproductive technology, but I would have to consider that there is at least a potential risk involved.
Anyhow, please pray for Mrs. Edwards and her family.

3 Comments

I was so sad to hear about Mrs. Edwards. Despite our doctrinal differences, she was without a doubt my favorite person in the Kerry/Edwards Campaign, and one of the most sincere in my mind. Obviously, even if she had been despicable, no one deserves breast cancer. But because she was so genuine and because she seems so normal, it makes it all the worse in my mind.

I also feel bad for Sen. Edwards. They lost their teenage son in a car accident a few years ago. I'm praying that this doesn't become another deep loss for them.

It must have been an utterly awful day for them--he concedes the election and then they head off to the doctor for the biopsy. :-( I hope she'll pull through. Cancer is so tough--tough on the patient, tough on the spouse.

I'd never heard any kind of connection between breast cancer and assisted reproductive technology, keeping in mind that I've read a bit about it in the mainstream media. I wonder how many people would change their minds about ART if that were a disclosed side-effect, though? Many people are just so set on having "their own" baby that they monofocus on the potential baby and don't want to think about the risks or the cost.

Alicia, I immediately thought of her fertility treatments too when I heard the news and wondered if there was a connection.

I sure hope she can pull through for the sake of those little ones!

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This page contains a single entry by alicia published on November 4, 2004 10:22 PM.

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