In a message dated 3/4/2005 9:51:12 A.M. US Eastern Standard Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:

Hypothyroidism Means Less Breast Cancer Risk
Discovery Could Lead to  Direction for Treatment, Research

Women with a common thyroid gland  disorder appear to have a reduced chance
of developing invasive breast cancer,  according to a study published in the
March 15 issue of the journal Cancer.  >>>
The most that one can say about a correlation is, "Mmm, that's  interesting."
A correlation simply means that 2 things tend to occur together,  not that
those two things are necessarily related.

People who wear bras have about half the rate of heart attacks  of people who
don't. That is a correlation. Does it mean that we should start  dressing our
Cardiac patients in Maidenforms (a brand of bra)? Or does it simply  reflect
the fact that the people who wear bras tend to be pre menopausal women  who
enjoy some degree of protection from heart attacks due to that  estrogen?

Likewise, while Hypothyroid women may have less breast cancer,  does this
reflect the fact that Hypothyroidism protects one from breast  cancer? Or does
that mean it simply doubles or triples the rate of  arteriosclerotic heart
disease, and fewer women live long enough to get  breast cancer?Should we make more
women hypothyroid to protect them from  the ravages of breast cancer?
Remember, if they were to die early of  heart disease, that would be counted as a
victory for our "protective  hypothyroidism."

Hmm, that is interesting.

Doc Don

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