When my babies were born, those who promote breastfeeding as the only effective method for nourishing a child and preventing illness urged and pushed and prodded me to embrace their beliefs. I did believe them, never doubted them, and sometimes felt guilty I wasn't able to nurse my children -- a previous breast reduction surgery disabled my milk flow.

I got over it. Bottles and formula worked well for my family, allowed my husband to share middle-of-the-night feeding duties, and grew my two little boys into sturdy, healthy beings.

What I haven't completely gotten over is that breastfeeding could have done a whole lot of good for me too. It could have prevented the breast cancer I developed just after my second child stopped drinking formula from his bottle.

Research indicates breastfeeding can decrease the risk of breast cancer for women who have their first baby after age 25. I was 31 when my first child was born.

Previous studies showed that having a first baby before the age of 25 or having no children protected against breast cancers fueled by hormones. It did not, however, stop the less common, harder-to-treat tumors not fueled by hormones, like mine. It seems even breastfeeding would not have prevented my cancer.

That was then. This is now.

New studies show women who give birth after age 25 are twice as likely to develop either type of breast cancer. Therefore, breastfeeding really protects all women bearing children after 25 from both forms of the disease. It turns out breastfeeding could have helped me. But I couldn't do it. So it didn't.

What's done is done. I'll get over it. And I may just become one of those women who urge and push and prod others to embrace the benefits of breastfeeding.

The ABC building in the Brisbane suburb of Toowong -- subject of a December 2006 post -- has been officially vacated following an investigation that turned up a cancer cluster among female employees.

Over the past 11 years, 10 women from this one building have been diagnosed with breast cancer. Eight of the women worked in the ABC newsroom, and most had been there for more than five years. The breast cancer risk for these women was six times higher than for the general population of women in the area. And while the investigation continues and clues are beginning to connect, the big question -- Why? -- has still not been answered.

It has been determined it is highly unlikely the increase in breast cancer was caused by exposure to radio frequency, low frequency electromagnetic radiation, or chemical contamination. According to experts, had any of these factors been at play, there would have been a rise in cancer among male employees as well as female employees. Therefore, it appears something specific to women has caused this cluster.

Perhaps clues will emerge from an analysis of lifestyle influences -- like smoking, diet, and alcohol and medication use -- and already women have answered questions pertaining to body weight, height, level of physical activity, and reproductive history.

One common theme among women is the use of oral contraceptives for periods varying from two to 18 years. Other interesting findings include the average number of babies born to the women -- 1.6 -- and the breastfeeding practices of the women -- each woman with a child breastfed for an average of 2.3 to 12 months -- and the educational background of the group -- of the 10 women, six have college degrees.

Experts says these are important factors. Early puberty, late menopause, lack of breastfeeding, use of oral contraceptives, and the trend of older mothers having fewer babies all can influence breast cancer risk. And so can level of education. Research shows increased rates of breast cancer in women with white collar jobs -- which is related to socioeconomic status and late childbearing.

Everything is important really -- because as breast cancer rates continue to skyrocket, all possible reasons need to be considered.

One in eight women in Australia will be diagnosed with breast cancer before the age of 85. About 13,261 women were diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006. And it is predicted that 14,818 will be diagnosed in 2011.

There are various risk factors that can contribute to the development of breast cancer. Being female is the single biggest risk factor that on its own puts all women in jeopardy. But there are other risks -- many beyond our control and some more significant than others -- that can help explain why some women are diagnosed with the most common cancer in women in the United States. And why others are not.

It is a well-known research-based fact that women who breastfeed have a decreased risk for developing breast and ovarian cancer. Which makes the story of Victoria's Secret nebulous breastfeeding policy and the unfortunate experience of a breastfeeding mother from Wisconsin relevant.

Rebecca Cook was shopping with a friend at a Victoria's Secret store last week when she asked if she could use a dressing room to breastfeed her baby. The store clerk told her no and led Cook and her infant to an employee restroom. Cook says when the clerk opened the bathroom door, the inside of the bathroom was disgusting. At that, Cook told the clerk "No, I don't eat in the bathroom and my daughter doesn't eat in the bathroom."  According to Cook, the stork clerk told her that using the dressing rooms for the purpose of breastfeeding would be unsanitary because people change in them.

Cook, with other nursing mothers, staged a breastfeeding sit-in protest outside the Victoria's Secret store. They believe that a company that has made their fortune from breasts is discriminating against nursing mothers. In addition to the protest in Wisconsin, similar protests were held in front of Victoria's Secret stores in several states by nursing mothers who have been denied the right to breastfeed in a public place.

Breastfeeding being unsanitary is absurd and I have to question the attitude and motive of the sales clerk who handled Cook's request for a dressing room, or even just a place to sit in the back of the dressing room hallway, by leading her to an unclean employee restroom as the only place to breastfeed her infant. Victoria's Secret needs to make it abundantly clear they support nursing mothers who shop in their stores. If breastfeeding is a health benefit for the mother in cancer prevention, and she chooses to breastfeed her baby for the many benefits to her baby's health and her own, is she supposed to stay home for a solid year or more until she is done breastfeeding? What do you think?   

Thanks to a tip from a reader, I have just ordered my free Pink Ribbon 25-cent coin from The Breast Site. The Royal Canadian Mint, in partnership with the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, has produced the 2006 Pink Ribbon Coin as a symbol of hope for a future when breast cancer does not take the lives of our loved ones. Thirty million coins have been produced and are only available in Canada, at participating Shopper's Drug Mart stores and through the Royal Canadian Mint -- and now through The Breast Site too. One free coin, the first of it's kind and available since April 2006, is offered to each reader who requests one.

The Breast Site serves as a guide for breast health products, services, and information. Featured on this site are facts and tips and news about breast cancer, breast surgery, breastfeeding, bras, and breast-themed books. What a valuable website with a valuable offer for a valuable coin.

Thanks to Anna for the tip!

Multiple pregnancies for women who carry the inherited mutations in BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes appears to reduce the risk of developing breast cancer, according to researchers from the German Cancer Research Center. The International BRCA1/2 Carrier Cohort Study set out to examine if the same breast cancer protective factors of multiple births and breastfeeding provided to women without the genetic mutations extended to women with the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes. 

According to the study, women with one child have the same breast cancer risk as childless women. The risk of developing breast cancer after age 40 was lowered by 14 percent with every child. Interestingly, women with a BRCA2 mutation had twice the cancer risk if they had given birth to their first child after age 20 compared to those who had become mothers before age 20. For carriers of BRCA1 mutations, it was the exact opposite. The risk of getting breast cancer was lower in women who had given birth to their first child after age 30. The only thing about research -- it is only correct until the next research study. I only say this because I hear over and over from women who are surprised by a breast cancer diagnosis when they did not have any of the risk factors or they fit the profile of a woman with reduced risk. If you have the inherited BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes, the study results are a generalization, and your individual situation might differ. I would not sit here and read into this study that you are going to get breast cancer because you only gave birth to one child -- or that you didn't have children at the optimum age.

In a newspaper feature, Cathy Zimmerman begins by asking, milk -- could it be possible that it does a body bad? As part of a session of classes on foods that fight cancer at Wild Oats in Portland, Oregon, she quotes Dr. Amy Lanou, a nutrition scientist and professor of health and wellness at the University of North Carolina at Asheville and board member of the Cancer Project -- a nonprofit group of physicians, naturopaths and educators -- as saying, "There is a large body of evidence that dairy products do more harm than good. Whole milk, full of lactose sugar and unsaturated fats, is the number-one source of fat in children's diets." Concerned adults are attempting to stop the growing problem of obesity for children by reducing less-nutritious or fat-laden foods that lead to weight gain. Obesity can lead to a number of diseases later in life -- including cancers.

According to The Cancer Project, other mammals quit drinking milk after infancy, but not humans, who started drinking cow's milk in northern Europe about 1,000 years ago. The proteins, fat and sugar in milk promote fast growth, as well as dozens of hormones that nourish infant development. But that's mother's milk. And babies drinking it. Dairy milk is too rich for an adult body. Previous research on dairy has shown that it can increase the risks for some cancers. What about calcium? Contrary to popular belief, dairy is not the best bet for getting the calcium we need to maintain good health. Calcium can be obtained from a diet of green leafy vegetables, beans, peas and legumes. Fortified juices are another source of calcium. Does milk do a body bad? You decide.