The Miracle of Breastfeeding
By: Jose Angelo Lorenzo S. Gomos
Gaia Athena* is a 74-year-old resident in Kauswagan, Cagayan de Oro City. A widow and a mother of seven children (now adults and professionals in their respective fields), she testifies on breastfeeding each of them immediately after they were born. Breastfeeding them for a year, she comments on the satisfaction this act had done to her and her children.
“I felt satisfied because I was able to feed my children with my own milk,” she says, stating the natural feeding process a mother can contribute to her offspring.
Now in her elderly life, Gaia is bent by old age, needs a cane to walk minimal distances in her house, and has troubles hearing and seeing as her eyes are tainted with cataracts. But apart from all these physical difficulties old age has brought on her, Gaia was never diagnosed with the most common disease women in the world are at risk of.
Breast cancer is considered the most famous type of cancer among women. Incidents of this disease have grown rapidly throughout the years. This is developed by the uncontrollable multiplication of breast cells until they begin to form into a malignant tumor. This cancer is caused by heredity, obesity, alcohol consumption, radiation exposure, and old age. In the Philippines, it is reported in the Philippine Society of Medical Oncology in 2012 that an estimation of 3 out of 100 women will become victims of this disease and 1 out of 100 will die from it before turning 75. One breast cancer victim shares her experience.
Cleofe C. Saniel is one of the daughters of Gaia Athena. Born on March 1, 1964, Cleofe never married and stays single to this day. Residing in Cebu City, Cleofe was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009.
“I felt no symptoms before I was hospitalized. I only felt a lump in my breast,” Cleofe says. Symptoms of this disease include: persisting abnormal lumps in breasts or armpits; pain and bruises in the breasts; a change in nipple size (or nipple retraction); and a burning sensation or ulceration in the area around the nipple.
Coping with breast cancer, Cleofe underwent modified radical mastectomy and then passed through 6 cycles of chemotherapy. She is currently on anti-estrogen therapy (tamoxifen).
“I didn’t know what caused this to happen. Nobody really knows the causes of breast cancer, but there are several risk factors associated with the disease,” she remarks. She also adds that she spent most times crying during the advent of her discovery and that it was difficult to accept. But she stays focused on her relationship with God in helping her survive this phase.
However, like most illnesses, breast cancer can be prevented. In the context of Gaia Athena’s life, she was never diagnosed with breast cancer due to her experience in breastfeeding. One scientific breakthrough makes mothers more aware of the effects breastfeeding can give them in their health. Perhaps this is one of the most well-known maternal benefits.
In the 2010 Journal Perinatology paper, Eleanor Schwarz noted that for every 12 months a woman breastfed, her risk of breast cancer dropped 4.3%. An analysis of the data shows that even though women have a family history of breast cancer, they have more chance of not acquiring the disease once they have breastfed for more than 12 months.
This analysis was supported and proven by another research led by a Spanish doctor named Emilio Gonzalez-Jimenez of the University of Granada. Published in the Journal of Clinical Nursing, the research entails breastfeeding for over 6 months would produce a decrease in oestrogen level and protect women against breast cancer. Not only that, this would also delay the onset of the disease by 10 years.
“Breastfeeding for periods of six months not only provides children with numerous health benefits, but also protects the mother from serious disease such as breast cancer,” Dr. Gonzalez-Jimenez remarks. The doctor also stresses the miraculous gain of mothers by decreasing the chances of breast cancer risks through breastfeeding.
To say that only mothers who are capable of breastfeeding can prevent breast cancer is just one side of reality. Single women who aren’t mothers and who can’t produce milk can also prevent breast cancer by living a healthy lifestyle. The possibility of breast cancer can be thinned further by moderating alcohol consumption, engaging in physical exercise, constantly partaking healthy diet, and attending regular check-up.
***
All women have the right to live in this world. Whether a woman is a mother like Gaia Athena, or someone living the life of singularity like Cleofe C. Saniel, she is given the privilege to take good care of her health in a way that it doesn’t affect her from living her life to the fullest and achieving things that can be done out of her capabilities. Breast cancer is the antagonist that currently corrupts the lives of all women at risk on the planet. Through breastfeeding and other preventive measures, women will find a way to cease the villainy of such disease.
#
Footnotes:
*not her real name
