Brassieres, Breathing and Breast Cancer

1. Follow a predominantly raw living food diet.
2. Choose Organically Grown Foods
3. Consume Only Purified Water
4. Minimize Your Exposure to Toxic Chemicals
5. Avoid Alcohol
6. Exercise Regularly, and Reduce Stress
7. Pray or Meditate
8. Eliminate ANY constriction from brassieres.

Relieving the Trauma of Mammography

From Mike:
a woman in California is doing just that while working her way through a Ph.D program she is fitting bras at Victoria's Secret. She sees variation in bra cup sizes as a significant issue. I pointed out to her the aspect of constriction from the strap.

From R:
For this reason, I feel that it is not possible to make conclusions about the relative hazards of different types of bras. Many people have concluded that the problem is "tight bras" or "ill-fitting bras" but these conclusions are at best speculation. Some people have decided that the problem is the underwires, but again, we have no data on this, only speculation. Sure, if the major mechanism of the bra/disease connection is constriction of lymphatic circulation, then one could assume that tighter bras could be *worse* than looser bras. However, even in that case, there is no evidence that loose-fitting bras do not cause damage.

There are other possible mechanisms of actions of bras in terms of disease. Two major ones are breast immobilization and elevation of breast temperature. They are separate issues, and either one could be a major mechanism of disease causation. We know from the case histories that some women have problems even when wearing very loose, all-cotton, "nothing bras." We know that the problem was bra-related, because the pain and cysts were eliminated after bra-wearing ceased (see case history #2 at: http://www.all-natural.com/fibrocys.html Other women have complained that even wearing stretchy lycra tank tops has caused them problems in terms of tenderness and breast pain, in comparison to wearing a loose camisole or undershirt. The effect of these looser garments could be from increased breast temperature, or from the decreased lymphatic circulation due to relative immobilization.

For thousands of years, women's' breast lymphatic circulation has been spurred along from the breast movement that happens with every step, whether walking or running. Immobilization and constriction are not natural.

Last month, I made a partial transcript of the audio track of the British film documentary, which aired on British T.V. the first week of November, 2000, and which chronicled the British bra and breast pain studies. I will send it in a separate e-mail. I did my best to quote it word for word, but some small mistakes are possible. One of these days I will gear up and make a few dozen copies of the tape, but for now, I hope that you will find the partial transcript interesting. There is a substantial portion of the film that is devoted to breast heating. This would occur regardless of the presence of underwires.

I hope that I don't sound like I am "splitting hairs." I very much like your article and appreciate your interest in this important health topic. I especially like your connecting other forms of binding with the bra topic, such as foot binding. I recall that the authors of the bras and sagging research study also discussed corsets and foot binding in the introduction to their published scientific article. (In case I haven't sent that one to you, I'll send another copy tonight.

My main concern about the "tight bra" issue is that women might be led to assuming that looser bras are safe. Currently, all we know from research is that bras in general are linked with disease.

Recently, I made a list of a time line of research on this topic. I will also send that by e-mail tonight. As usual, I would love to hear your comments. Perhaps you know of some missing links.

Kindest regards,
R

From R:
A few of the highlights of the history of research on the link between bras and breast disease...

• About 1930 a paper was published making a connection between corsets and increased breast cancer rates.

• 1978 An M.D. in California published an article in a medical journal linking bras with elevated breast temperature, and he suggested that this might have a connection with breast cancer. He studied several hundred women in a medical practice and also observed that the heavier the bra material, the hotter the breast, and that bra-free women of all sizes had cooler breasts. (The Lancet, November 4, 1978, P. 1001 Dr. John M. Douglass, Department of Internal Medicine, S. Calif. Permanente Med. Center Los Angeles, California) see also item #8 for more about breast temperature.

• 1991 Researchers at Harvard University publish a medical journal article on breast cancer risk. As a side issue of their paper, they mention that the women in their study that did not wear bras had a 60% lower rate of breast cancer than the women who wore bras. (Hsieh, C.C. and D. Trichopoulos, D. Eur. J. Cancer 27:131-5, 1991 "Breast size, handedness and breast cancer risk")

• 1991 Researchers in Japan published a study on bras and sagging, in which they proved that a bra can actually increase breast sagging, rather than the opposite. This effect was most noticeable in larger breasted women. They compared bras to foot binding in their discussion section. ("Breast Form Changes Resulting From A Certain Brassiere" Journal of Hum. Ergol.(Tokyo) 1990 Jun; 19(1):53-62. Ashizawa K, Sugane A, Gunji T Institute of Human Living Sciences, Otsuma Women's University, Tokyo, Japan)

• 1995 Sydney Singer and Soma Grismaijer of the Institute for the Study of Culturogenic Disease published their book, "Dressed to Kill: The Link Between Breast Cancer and Bras," (Avery Press). Their study included almost 4600 women, half of whom had breast cancer and half of whom did not. They found that the more hours per day that a bra is worn, the higher the rate of breast cancer and that women who do not wear bras have a dramatically reduced rate of breast cancer. Singer and Grismaijer have a website at: http://www.selfstudycenter.org/.

• 1995 through the present. Many women, who had concerns about breast cancer risk and/or breast pain, quit wearing bras and then found that their pain and cysts of fibrocystic breast disease was dramatically decreased or eliminated. Several of these women wrote their own personal case histories, which appear on the web at: http://www.all-natural.com/fibrocys.html

• May 1999. A landmark study was published in the prestigious British medical journal, The Lancet. This study showed that pre-menopausal women with fibrocystic breast disease have an almost 6-fold higher risk of future breast cancer. This study firmly refutes the advice of some doctors who have said that fibrocystic carries no increased risk. In all, there are now over 30 published medical and scientific research articles showing a connection between fibrocystic and increased breast cancer risk. (Lancet 1999 May 22;353(9166):1742-5 "Risk of breast cancer in women with palpable breast cysts: a prospective study." Edinburgh Breast Group. Dixon JM, McDonald C, Elton RA, Miller WR Edinburgh Breast Unit, Western General Hospital, UK.")

• 2000. Two British breast surgeons conduct clinical trials at two breast clinics in England and Wales. They study 100 women to see if going bra-free (a more positive term the physicians used for braless) could lessen breast pain. Their study concluded that the majority of pre-menopausal women found decreased pain during a three-month bra-free study period. The women were instructed to not wear a bra for three months, and instead to wear a loose and non-restricting camisole if they desired an alternative undergarment. For comparison, they then returned to wearing bras for the another three months. For additional study control, another group of women did the reverse and were bra-wearers for three months, then bra-free for three months. A half-hour documentary was filmed in conjunction with the studies and was shown on nationwide television in England in November, 2000 on Channel 4 UK. Several of the women were interviewed and discussed the life-altering improvements in their breast health, such as being able to now pick up their children or hug their spouse without pain. (Simon Cawthorne, M.D. surgeon at Frenchay Hospital, Bristol, England and Prof. Robert Mansel, M.D., Surgery Dept. Head, University of Wales Medical School, Cardif, Wales.)

  Doctors interviewed in the film commented about how breasts in bras are hotter than bra-free breasts and the possible connection of this breast heating with breast cancer. Prof. Hugh Simpson discussed his published research, which has previously proven that pre-cancerous and cancerous breasts are both hotter than normal breasts. The documentary included video thermography of women with and without bras, proving that bras cause localized heating of breast tissue.

• 2000. A group of researchers in Japan published their studies showing that wearing a girdle and bra lowers the levels of the hormone melatonin by 60 percent. (Chronobiol Int 2000 Nov;17(6):783-93 "The effects of skin pressure by clothing on circadian rhythms of core temperature and salivary melatonin." Lee YA, Hyun KJ, Tokura H, Department of Environmental Health, Nara Women's University, Japan.) Melatonin is intimately involved with sleep cycles and is used to prevent jet-lag. Numerous published studies have suggested that melatonin has anti-cancer activities, that it is an antioxidant and can prevent DNA damage, and that it is intimately involved in the immune system and can bind directly to T helper cells. Researchers in Spain have published an article outlining the possible use of melatonin in breast cancer prevention and treatment (Histol Histopathol 2000 Apr;15(2):637-47).

• December 2000. A medical doctor published his findings on shoulder pain treatment in women with large breasts. In this five-year study, it was suggested that patients remove the weight from their shoulders for a period of two weeks, either by going braless or by wearing a strapless bra. Only one woman chose a strapless bra and all the others went braless. quoting the article, "Long-term outcome was presence or absence of muscle pain and tenderness. Seventy-nine percent of patients decided to remove breast weight from the shoulder permanently because it rendered them symptom free." (Ryan, EL, Clin J Pain 2000 Dec;16(4):298-303, "Pectoral girdle myalgia in women: a 5-year study in a clinical setting.")

Introduction

"Artificial deformation of a part of the body has been practiced by many peoples of the world from the early times of human history. Many deformed skulls were found in Inca civilizations sites and head bandaging was practiced in medieval Europe. Widely in China, women's feet were bound before the Liberation. In present times, we find this kind of restriction in women's foundation garments and shoes. Until the 1930s, many women suffered with pains apparently caused by thorax-deforming garments. Even now, women often have difficulty in walking, and many have to have operations on their hallux valgus. It is suspected that long-term use of narrow, high-heeled shoes causes this trouble. So we can say that female garments and shoes are tools of torture. The reasons why humans deform their own bodies and why women endure this torture are of interest to psychologists, aestheticians, or ethnologists. But there is no report measuring objectively, both morphologically and physiologically, the effect of deformation.

Taking anthropometry and photographing moire fringes on the anterior trunk, we measured the change of breast form of women wearing a particular type of brassiere for 3 months."

Abstract

"Eleven adult female subjects aged 22-39 years wore a certain brassiere for 3 months while anthropometry and moire fringe photographs on the anterior trunk were taken regularly once a week. After the 3 months, the brassiere was not worn for another 3 months. Then the measurements and photogrammetry were repeated for comparison using superimposed moire configurations. The results are summarized as follows. Regardless of slim or obese trunk, subjects with pendent breasts showed the highest degree of breast form "correction" from wearing the brassiere. In all subjects, after 3 months of brassiere constraint, the underbust circumference was smaller but the chest circumference became enlarged, the distance between the right and left nipples became wider, and the breasts tended to hang down. This change was more marked in obese subjects with pendent breasts. And when this type of subject wore a "well-fitted" brassiere for a long time, her breast form became developed, that is, her breasts hung down more." -(quoted word-for-word from the U.S. National Library of Medicine)

[Medline record in process]

OBJECTIVE: To determine the part played by drag on the pectoral girdle muscles of women in the production of pain in these muscles from breast weight being carried at the shoulders through the brassiere straps.

DESIGN: When patients presented with pain in the pectoral girdle musculature, breast weight was recorded. The sites of pain and tenderness were also recorded because tenderness in the trapezius has been shown to correlate well with muscle ischemia. The patient was then asked if she would be willing to remove breast weight from the shoulders for two weeks, as a trial, to see whether pain was relieved. The Student t test was used to determine whether breast weight was significant in producing symptoms and signs in the pectoral girdle musculature and, if so, where these sites were located.

SETTING: Private surgical practice with patients initiating the consultation randomly.

INTERVENTION: Removal of breast weight from the shoulders for a period of 2 weeks. The choice of method was left to the patient. Most chose brassiere removal; only one patient chose a strapless brassiere.

RESULTS: Presence or absence of muscle pain after the trial period. Long-term outcome was presence or absence of muscle pain and tenderness. Seventy-nine percent of patients decided to remove breast weight from the shoulder permanently because it rendered them symptom free. The following article was published in Nov 2000. It clearly establishes that clothing can have chemical and physiological effects on the human body.

Lee YA, Hyun KJ, Tokura H

Department of Environmental Health, Nara Women's University, Japan.

[Medline record in process]

The present experiment investigated the effects of skin pressure by foundation garments (girdle and brassiere) on the circadian rhythms of core temperature and salivary melatonin. Ten healthy females (18-23 years) maintained regular sleep-wake cycles for a week prior to participation in the experiment. The experiments were performed from June to August 1999 using a bioclimatic chamber controlled at 26.5 degrees C +/- 0.2 degrees C and 62% +/- 3% RH. Ambient light intensity was controlled at 500 lux from 07:30 to 17:30, 100 lux from 17:30 to 19:30, 20 lux from 19:30 to 23:30; there was total darkness from 23:30 to 07:30. The experiment lasted for 58h over three nights. The participants arose at 07:30 on the first full day and retired at 23:30, adhering to a set schedule for 24h, but without wearing foundation garments. For the final 24h of the second full day, the subjects wore foundation garments. Rectal and leg skin temperatures were measured continuously throughout the experiment. Saliva and urine were collected every 4h for the analysis of melatonin and catecholamines, respectively. Skin pressure applied by the foundation garments was in the range 11-17 gf/cm2 at the regions of the abdomen, hip, chest, and back. The main results were as follows: (1) Rectal temperatures were significantly higher throughout the day and night when wearing foundation garments. (2) The nocturnal level of salivary melatonin measured at 03:30 was 115.2 +/- 40.4 pg/mL (mean +/- SEM, N = 10) without and 51.3 +/- 18.4 pg/mL (mean +/- SEM, N = 10) with foundation garments. (3) Mean urinary noradrenaline excretion was significantly lower throughout the day and night when wearing foundation garments (p < .05), but mean urinary adrenaline excretion was not different. The results suggest that skin pressure by clothing could markedly suppress the nocturnal elevation of salivary melatonin, resulting in an increase of rectal temperature

LONDON - Wearing a bra exposes women to a "statistically significant" risk of increased breast pain, cysts in the breast and might even be linked to the development of cancer, according to a study in Britain.

The research by two medical experts found a link between bras and clinical breast pain, a condition that affects 40% of women.

A hundred women who regularly suffered from breast pain or cysts were asked to go without a bra for three months and then return to wearing one for three months to see if there was any difference. The researchers found that pre-menopausal women not wearing a bra experienced a 7% reduction in the number of days they suffered breast pain.

However, little benefit was found for post-menopausal women.

Robert Mansell, a professor of surgery at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff who conducted the research with Simon Cawthorn, a consultant surgeon at the Frenchay Hospital in Bristol, said more research is needed into the findings on breast pain and to determine if wearing a bra results in any long-term damage.

The scientists suspect problems are caused by bras suppressing the lymphatic system -- the network of vessels that flushes toxic waste from the body. They plan further research into what happens if the lymphatic system is blocked, and whether this leads to an accumulation of toxins in the breast tissue.

Prof. Mansell said the work is of particular concern because the garments appear to be compressing the body at the outer upper part of the breast -- the area where 80% of the lymph flows.

He also believes the constricting elastic straps of a bra could contribute to the development of cysts.

"One of the theories of cyst formation is back pressure on a little duct in the breast, which makes the milk-producing bit at the end swell up," he said.

Seven per cent of British women suffer from cysts and most of them wear bras.

Breast-cancer levels in Britain are two-thirds higher today than they were 30 years ago and the scientists say their findings might support the theories of an American medical anthropologist, Sydney Ross Singer, who has long claimed there is a distinct pattern of risk associated with the length of time a woman wears a bra and her chances of developing breast cancer.

Fortunately, many doctors feel that fibrocystic is a real disease that needs to be dealt with. Dr. Richard Santen, M.D., says: (at http://www.ivanhoe.com/docs/backissues/benignbreastclinicqa.html) - (unfortunately, this web link is no longer active) "If a (breast) duct becomes blocked it will fill up with fluid and it is very much like a balloon filled with water. It is a round area filled with fluid that represents a blocked duct. That's the cystic component of fibrocystic disease. The area around that blocked duct then has the tendency to form scar tissue and that's the fibrous component of the fibrocystic disease." "Benign breast disease....let's consider this as a medical problem and focus on trying to treat the patient rather than saying it's not cancer let's forget about it."

Dr. John McDougall, M.D., states in his recent book titled The McDougall Program for a Healthy Heart, on p.246, "After repeated bouts of inflammation, the breasts develop scar tissue in many places, and some of the milk ducts become plugged, forming cysts. Fibrocystic breast disease, not surprisingly, is associated with a higher risk of breast cancer."

Michael Schacter, M.D. writes:

(at http://healthy.net/library/articles/schacter/breast.d.htm) incomplete article "Any activity which will help to remove accumulated toxins in the breasts will help to reduce the chances of developing breast cancer." "It is the job of the lymphatic system of the body to help drain toxic substances from tissues and poor lymphatic drainage may play a role in breast cancer formation." "(Lymph flow) is very sensitive to constricting external pressure which can impede its flow. Bras and other external tight clothing can impede flow." "So, the take home message to women is to wear bras as little as possible and when wearing them try to choose one that is least constricting."

Researchers at the University of Texas S.W. Medical Center have found that bra straps can "cause headaches and lead to serious nerve damage." "Tight bra straps are especially hazardous for full-busted women, but all women are susceptible."

Nevada physician, Dr. Theodore Potruch, M.D., writing about breast pain, ... states: "I suggest that you switch to a looser fitting bra, and the (breast) pain might even disappear."

Dr. Christiane Northrup, M.D., Univ. of Vermont College of Medicine author of "Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom," writes "Stop wearing an underwire bra. Too often this kind of bra cuts off circulation of both blood and lymph fluid around the breast, chest wall, and surrounding tissue."

Dr. Jesse Hanley, M.D., (in her book called "What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Premenopause," Warner Books, 1999), writes "Dr. Hanley encourages her patients not to wear underwire bras or even tight bras, except for special occasions because they block the lymph glands underneath the breast. Lymph glands play an important role in draining toxins from the breast."

Thirty published medical and scientific studies have shown a connection between fibrocystic and an increased risk of breast cancer; the most recent was published in 1999. (available on request, just e-mail me at reedr@ucs.orst.edu). Medical anthropologists Sydney Singer and Soma Grismaijer, in a study of over 4000 women, found that women who *do not* wear bras have a much lower risk of breast cancer ("Dressed to Kill: The Link Between Breast Cancer and Bras" Avery Press, 1995).

Fortunately, many women have found that by wearing undergarments less restrictive than bras (camisoles, tank tops, etc.) they can dramatically reduce or eliminate fibrocystic cysts and pain. Seven case histories, all written by women who have experienced this, are available at: http://www.all-natural.com/fibrocys.html Singer and Grismaijer have found that most women with fibrocystic improve when they quit wearing bras. This has now also been supported by studies at two British hospitals, involving 100 women, which showed that the majority of pre-menopausal women with breast pain found less pain during a three month bra-free clinical trial.

No one is saying that bra abstinence will eradicate breast cancer, or even all cases of fibrocystic. However, the evidence for a connection is certainly sufficient for further study by the medical community. Meanwhile, individual women with or without fibrocystic conditions have promising alternatives to consider.

Nina L. Diamond in her book Purify Your Body: Natural Remedies for Detoxing from 50 Everyday Situations recommends

• Wear the correct bra size. Make sure it's not too tight.
• Never sleep with a bra on.
• Go braless as often as possible.
• Wear a bra less than 12 hours daily.
• Do self massage of the lymph glands under each arm, next to your breasts, at least a few times a week.

"Bras, the Bare Facts" A documentary by Channel 4 UK, aired November, 2000.

Narrator -- In the 60s ad 70s, women took off their bras as a gesture of liberation. We got a hundred more women to do the same thing for science. All their lives women have been told that bras are good for their breasts and good for their looks, but is it true? Tonight, some are going to find that the effect of taking off their bra can be surprising.

Lorenza Nicholls-- "When to take your bra off at night it's such a relief."

Narrator -- Breasts weren't designed by nature to be harnessed by a bra. For years women have had their breasts pushed around in the name of fashion and beauty. From every direction, women are giving the impression that wearing a bra is good for them. Meanwhile, breast problems are on the increase. 2 out of 5 women suffer from pains in their breasts. 7% suffer from lumps in the breasts called cysts. And breast cancer levels in Britain are 2/3rds higher today than they were thirty years ago. Most researchers looked for explanations in hormones, genetics, and diet. But one man has gone out on a limb with a simpler solution. Singer noticed that breast cancer rates were lower in Fiji where many women don't wear bras. His later survey of 5000 US women led him to claim that bras cause cancer.

Sydney Singer -- "Throughout the world, the only cultures where there is breast cancer is where there are bras. Bras are actually a form of breast binding. Just as the Chinese bound feet in the name of fashion, and for hundreds of years distorting feet and causing broken bones and everything. Bras are breast bindings. Their purpose is to change the shape of the breast. There is nothing good about them. In fact, there is nothing good in the medical literature saying that women should wear them, that there are a benefit in any way at all. They're just a fashion accessory, and the problem is that our culture has turned breasts into fashion accessories. The fact that a bra snaps shows how tight it is. This pressure is here too (he demonstrates on a woman wearing a bra), all along this part of the breast. And it will go under the armpit. Now if you lift your arm, you will see right here how her body goes in with these straps. If you lift this (side band) up, you will marks left by the bra, right here. And then this under wire here is putting marks right in the skin. Lymph nodes are little factories for white blood cell production; they're essential parts of our immune system. They're fed by lymphatic vessels, which go from the tissue and go to the lymph node, flushing the tissue. Now the lymph nodes, most of the lymph nodes for the breasts are in this part of the body (near and in the armpit). So this is where 85% of the breast drains to. So when you have a bra with the strap cutting it off right here (near the underarm), that's constant chronic constriction."

Dr. Simon Cawthorne -- "Well, I'm sure women choose their bras for the shape rather than the comfort. And I say that because I invariably see women, when I'm examining their breasts, who have deep marks on their breasts where their bras have been digging into the flesh." He said the following while speaking to the women who volunteered for the study: "We have enormous cues of women when you come to the clinic waiting to be seen, so from our point of view it would make our life a lot easier, but from your point of view, from your perspective, it clearly would be a major advantage."

Dr. Robert Mansel -- "When one looks at where there's positive evidence that bras are good for health, that evidence does not exist, because the groups that don't wear bras, the civilizations of people who don't wear bras, tend to be from the groups having lower breast cancer incidences. There is no positive evidence that bra wearing is good for the breast. Cysts and pain are areas where the facts really are quite sparse. I think the right thing is to do the experiment and see if there's any effect, and that's exactly why I've gone into this enterprise.

Breast pain is a major problem. We've been studying it for 25 years now. It's very common - something like 60 or 70 of women at some time experience it. And it's very hard to treat and so those features alone makes it a very important problem."

Narrator -- What could link the work of these doctors with Singer's is not cancer, but much more common though far less publicized complaints like breast pain and cysts.

Dr. Marlene Schuytvlot, registrar of the Bristol Breast Care Center -- "All the lymphatic flow seems to come from the breast towards the skin and then out into the lymphatic drainage systems. By wearing a bra that is constricting, that could constrict the main flow from the lymph to the draining system, then can therefore accumulate in the breast, which in theory could cause cyst formation."

Rae Marsh, childcare worker, suffers from cysts and severe breast pain. She says, "Having breast pain is really hard to live with, because it affects you on so many different levels. Just things like picking your children up. If your breast pain's bad, picking your children up just makes it hurt so much more that you just can't hug the children the way you'd hug them if you didn't have the breast pain. Walking along a street, it hurts to walk, it's not about having large breasts, it's about having just every step hurt. And it can just be so uncomfortable that you just feel miserable all the time, and it's just an ongoing ache."

Narrator -- So Dispatches (the documentary program from Channel 4-UK) asked Prof. Mansel in Cardiff and Mr. Cawthorne in Bristol to devise a study to test the proposition that there might be a link between breast pain and cysts and the bra. A six-month trial, which is what they proposed, could not explore any immediate link with cancer, since that takes much longer to develop. The doctors are going to ask women who attend their breast clinic to join in, women either with cysts or regular breast pain. And with cysts always comes the fear of cancer.

Lynne Holliday -- "There is always anxiety. You can never quite be sure that it's just a cyst."

Marian Gooden -- "I just seem to grow them, like people grow weeds in their garden. It's almost like a toothache in your breast. They become incredibly painful. You sort of walk around almost holding your breasts, because you are trying to ease the pain in your breasts."

Narrator:
1. For the study, they want a hundred women to wear a bra for three months and go without one for another three months. The women will also have ultrasound scans to see what's happening to their cysts, and keep daily records of their pain.

2. Bras are marketed on sex appeal and as essential for support. Yet there is no medical evidence to support the widely held belief that bras prevent the breasts from sagging.

Dr. Mansel - "We've got stretching of the breasts ligaments and drooping in later life, that occurs very regularly anyway, and that's a function of weight, often of the heavy breast, and those women are wearing bras, but it doesn't prevent it."

Playtex (a bra manufacturer in England) executive, John Dixey -- "We have no evidence that wearing a bra could prevent sagging, because the breast itself is not muscle, so keeping it toned up is an impossibility. What it can do, particularly for larger-breasted women, is obviously to provide the comfort and the support. So, if a woman wants a particular breast profile, she will buy a particular brand, and that is what they're designed for. There's no permanent effect on the breast from wearing a particular bra. The bra will give you the shape the bra's been designed to give while you're wearing it. Of course, when you take it off, you go 'au natural.' " Narrator -- After three months living without a bra, some of the women have noticed a difference. 1. Elaine Kirton -- "I've noticed less pain since I've started going braless. It's like a bruised achy pain that I get. Well that's lessened definitely." 2. Rae Marsh -- "I started going brafree 9 or 10 weeks ago. And at first, you felt awful that you were the (first) people to be on the study going brafree. And as the weeks have gone on, it's become much much easier to be without pain. I get the odd days of twinges rather than days of absolute agony. I'm finding more concern about having to go back to the end of the trial to wearing a bra for the final three months. So, from dreading being braless, I'm now dreading being a bra wearer."

Narrator -- As the second half of the trial gets underway, Prof. Mansel draws our attention to another potential problem with wearing a bra, the effect it has on the temperature of the breast.

Dr. Mansel -- We know that wearing a bra, the breast is hotter, and there have been studies done of measuring breast skin temperature and it can show hotter areas and cancers are associated with hotter areas of course."

Narrator -- One way of measuring the temperature of the breast is by thermography. Using a heat sensitive camera, a specialist in this technique, Prof. Francis Ring, uses thermography to show that a breast without a bra is cooler.

Prof. Ring (pointing to a live video thermogram of a woman while she is wearing and then not wearing a bra) -- "You can see a buildup of heat here at the lower edge of the garment, which is caused by pressure on the skin. When the garment is removed, the areas of pressure are shown as hotter areas and a band is visible on the side view showing where the maximum pressure was in this garment. There is some increased heat approximately overlying the area of the seam, where of course the material has more than one thickness."

Dr. Cawthorne -- It may be that the bra is producing a heating effect on the breast resulting in the breast secreting more fluid. At the moment we don't know, but it is possible that a cooler is a healthier breast from the point of view of producing less fluid, producing less cysts and producing less pain."

Narrator -- Another three months have gone by and the trial period is over. Several women who have taken part now have a radically different attitude to wearing bras.

Lawrenza Nicholls -- "I think that the advertisements, you know, they say "comfort, control and support" on the packaging. And so you just continue wearing the bras, don't you. You don't think for one minute there's the possibility that the bra could be giving you the pain. But after three months of not wearing a bra, the conclusion that I've come to is "contain, restrain, and pain" wearing a bra."

Lynn Holliday (who has gone back to wearing bras even though her condition had improved while braless) -- "I know I shouldn't be wearing a bra. I know I shouldn't, just like I know I shouldn't be eating the things that I eat. But, it's habit; it's being the same as everybody else. I don't want people to look at me and think, "She isn't wearing a bra, strange woman at her age, what is she doing?" So, I conform, I suppose."

Rae Marsh (who is shown taking off her blouse and showing off her burgundy-colored camisole, and then shown taking it off, putting her old bra on, and then taking off the bra in disgust) -- "I actually feel nicer in this (camisole) than I ever did in this (bra). It's sexier; it's nicer; it's a nicer feel. It (the bra) does sorta pull your boobs around for you. And the long-term aches and pains, this is the sort of, you know, the "underwire, hold-it-all-still type" bra. It's just so uncomfortable that you soon lose the novelty value of wanting to wear it (the bra), so for me that's been the answer - get rid of bra."

Narrator - The daily records the women have kept show a marked difference between post-menopausal women and those still having periods. Women with periods who used to suffer pain wearing a bra, found that they had significantly more pain-free days without one. The percentage of days when the pain was moderate to severe was halved. For some individuals like Rae, it feels even better than that.

Rae Marsh - "The results of this breast study has given me back my freedom. I can pick the children up whenever I want to. I can do anything and the breast pain has now for me gone more and more into the background. I'm not anxious about my breast lumps because the pain's not there so you don't have it constantly on your mind and worrying about it. I get on with life; I enjoy life more. I don't have to have a constant pain all the time."

Marian Godden - "For me, this whole trial has been magic, absolute magic. I would have never have thought that leaving one part of my garment, my underwear off, would have such an effect on my life. It's magic. I can't see me ever wearing a bra again."

Narrator - On average in the pre-menopausal group the study reveals that the number of totally pain-free days went up by 7 percent, which the doctors regard as significant for a problem that is otherwise so hard to treat. On the other hand the study yields no useful statistics about cyst formation.

Nicholls -- "The positive result was that the pain is a lot easier. It was a definite difference by not wearing a bra."

Narrator -- The trial does point to a possible link between wearing a bra and breast pain among the women still having periods. That could have wider significance. Several other studies have shown a link between breast pain among pre-menopausal women and breast cancer. Researchers in Paris, for instance, have found that women with monthly breast pain have double the risk of getting breast cancer. Statistically, they say, pain is as significant a risk factor as a family history of cancer.

Prof. Jean-Christophe Thalabard, Univ. of Paris Hospital - "The reason why we were astonished by the results (is) the fact that usually when we look at some risk factor for breast cancer, the order of magnitude is 1.1 or 1.2. It's not so high, I mean. When you go to 2 and above (double the risk, which is what they found for breast pain), it usually deals with familial factors, personal history of breast disease, but not for, I mean, common clinical symptoms. So it was for us something which was astonishingly high."

Narrator -- The trial in Bristol and Cardiff indicates nothing about the onset of cancer, only that breast pain might be relieved by not wearing a bra. But even that could be useful.

Dr. Thalabard -- "I would say that reducing breast pain is an objective by itself, because you need to have a normal life without pain. And if it turns out that it is really connected with a reduction of breast cancer, it might be very important from a public health point of view."

Narrator - The fact that the bra can contribute to making the breast hotter could also have wider significance. Prof. Hugh Simpson, a cancer specialist in Glasgow, invented something called the Chronobra, specifically to measure changes in breast temperature during the menstrual cycle.

Professor Hugh Simpson, Glasgow Royal Infirmary -- "The temperature difference, the circulation difference between the pre-cancerous breast, the breast that going to get cancer, (and) the normal breast is a half a degree centigrade. The pre-cancerous breast is a half a degree warmer. And this enables us to pick up the women who we know are at high risk with about a 90% certainty. But the constricting things (like bras) which raise the temperature of the breast too high are theoretically a risk factor for breast cancer. I think anything which increased the temperature of the breasts must raise our eyebrows slightly."

Dr. Mansel -- "The fact that the breast is hotter wearing a bra may have a theoretical effect and it may be a very small effect, so I find it very difficult to give women definite advice based on the current data."

Cawthorne -- "But not forget that the vast majority of women who come to breast clinics don't have breast cancer. And a lot of those are suffering from pain, and perhaps don't need to suffer, simply by avoiding wearing a bra."

Narrator - Though limited, the research responses suggest the need for further studies into what the bra could be doing to the breasts. But the general manager of Playtex does not believe that they are in a position to do that research.

John Dixey, Playtex executive -- "I don't think it's possible to actually do research into the medical side of wearing a bra because it's not really, we're not doctors, but we certainly listen to any advice that comes across or anything associated with wearing a bra, but categorically I could state that we've no previous knowledge of any medical problems with anybody wearing a bra, and I think that it's just hearsay from people who are non-professional."

Narrator - Simon Cawthorne is confident that the research they have done has shown enough of a link between breast pain and bra wearing to justify further studies.

Dr. Simon Cawthorne -- If we were to extend this study, which we intend to do, for women suffering with severe pain, and we demonstrate a similar or even greater reduction of pain from avoiding wearing a bra, then it could have a big difference. It could save a lot of women unnecessary visits to breast clinics, which would save the NHS a lot of time, and also give us more time to care for the women who've got breast cancer, more serious problems. There certainly were women for whom the simple maneuver of removing of their bra seems to have changed their lives."

Rae Marsh -- "I had no idea that for me to get rid of the pain was to get rid of wearing bras. It was a huge breakthrough."

Mike, thanks for the informative, thought-provoking article. Makes sense. Also, about two years ago, an e-mail was making the rounds that mentioned that the aluminum in women's antiperspirants could possibly be a cause of cancer, as well as the fact that it basically stops the natural flow of body elimination. Well, I decided "it couldn't hurt" NOT to use the "normal" antiperspirants. I had a heck of a time finding just a DEODORANT (I guess women aren't suppose to have any type of natural odor). I finally found them at health food stores. Obviously, they are not as potent as regular commercial ones. However, I started using it and promptly forgot about the fact that I was using just a deodorant and what effect (other than odor) it would have. I realized some months later that I no longer had the monthly breast pains that only holding a warm, wet washcloth on my breast could help ease. I still do not have any to this day. I know this isn't a "clinical study", but I find it useful for myself.

-- BM

A concentration of toxins leads to cell mutations, a.k.a. CANCER. Yes, ANTIPERSPIRANT. Most of the products out there are an antiperspirant/deodorant combination, so go home and check. Deodorant is fine, antiperspirant is not. Here's why.

The human body has a few areas that it uses to purge toxins from the body -- behind the knees, behind the ears, the groin area, and armpits. The toxins are purged in the form of perspiration.

Antiperspirant, as the name clearly indicates,prevents you from perspiring, thereby inhibiting the body from purging toxins from below the armpits. These toxins do not just magically disappear.

Instead, the body deposits them in the lymph nodes below the arms since it cannot sweat them out.

Nearly all breast cancer tumors occur in the upper outside quadrant of the breast area. This is precisely where the lymph nodes are located. Additionally, men are less likely (but not completely exempt) to develop breast cancer prompted by antiperspirant usage because most of the antiperspirant product is caught in their hair and is not directly applied to the skin.

Women who apply antiperspirant right after shaving increase the risk further because having causes almost imperceptible nicks in the skin which give the chemicals entrance into the body from the armpit area.

PLEASE pass this along to anyone you care about. Breast cancer is becoming frighteningly common. This awareness may save lives. If you are skeptical about these findings, I urge you to do some research for yourself. You might just arrive at the same conclusions.

Thank you.

Katrina Scott
Asst. Director of Sports Marketing
University of Maryland
P.O. Box 295
Cole Field House/Campus Drive
College Park, MD 20741-0295
In Defense of Antiperspirants

This is yet another hoax warning you about some supposed threat. Some of these hoaxes contain elements of truth but this one, does not. It simply preys upon peoples fears. There are a number of variants on this hoax but here is the most common version:

Here's some good information. Some time ago, I attended a Breast Cancer Awareness seminar put on by Terry Birk with support from Dan Sullivan. During the Q & A period, I asked why the most common area for Breast Cancer was near the arm pit.

My question could not be answered at that time. This email was just sent to me, and I find it interesting that my question has been answered. I challenge you all to rethink your everyday use of a product that could ultimately lead to a terminal illness. As of today, I will change my use.

A friend forwarded this to me. I showed it to a friend going through chemotherapy and she said she learned this fact in a support group recently.

I wish I had known it 14 years ago. I just got information from a health seminar that I would like to share. The leading cause of breast cancer is the use of antiperspirant.

What? A Concentration of toxins that leads to cell mutations: a.k.a. CANCER. Yes, ANTIPERSPIRANT. Most of the products out there are an antiperspirant/deodorant combination so go home and check your labels. Deodorant is fine, antiperspirant is not.

Here's why: The human body has a few areas that it uses to purge toxins; behind the knees, behind the ears, groin area, and armpits. The toxins are purged in the form of perspiration. Antiperspirant, as the name clearly indicates, prevents you from perspiring, thereby inhibiting the body from purging toxins from below the armpits. These toxins do not just magically disappear. Instead, the body deposits them in the lymph nodes below the arms since it cannot sweat them out. Nearly all breast cancer tumors occur in the upper outside quadrant of the breast area. This is precisely where the lymph nodes are located.

Additionally, men are less likely (but not completely exempt) to develop breast cancer prompted by antiperspirant usage because most of the antiperspirant product is caught in their hair and is not directly applied to the skin.

Women who apply antiperspirant right after shaving increase the risk further because shaving causes almost imperceptible nicks in the skin which give the chemicals entrance in to the body from the armpit area.

PLEASE pass this along to anyone you care about. Breast Cancer is becoming frighteningly common. This awareness may save lives. If you are skeptical about these findings, I urge you to do some research for yourself. You will arrive at the same conclusions, I assure you.

From Mike:
I think this attitude is very short-sighted. ANYTHING that hinders circulation is negative. the body MUST be allowed to circulate. That is it's function. Movement and pulsation needs be at a cellular as well as a physical level. My #176 Rapidly Improving Your Breathing Video uses straps that release the constriction in the chest completely around the entire chest. I believe circulation (including detox) and nutrition are the keys to optimal breast health. "The Breast Defense" Call 510-526-6657 ~ TTh 415-456-1300

You need this workshop if you have:

• Excess body fat and limited exercise
• Menses before 12 and finished after 51
• No children or your first after 35
• High fat diet with limited vegetables
• Never breast fed a child
• Prolonged use of oral contraceptives
• Synthetic hormone replacement therapy
• Family history of breast cancer
• Two or more alcoholic drinks per day
• Do not have your bra fitted