PCOS and Cancer Risk

I have PCOS and my father has prostate cancer. I'm 25, and concerned about my increased cancer risk throughout my life. Mostly, I'm worried about knowing what to do to catch any cancer early. While it's unlikely I will get cancer in my 20s, as I get older, it becomes more and more likely.

It has been demonstrated in numerous studies that women who have not achieved a pregnancy have two to three times the risk of developing endometrial cancer compared to women who have been pregnant. Anovulatory cycles result in chronic estrogen exposure to the endrometrial lining and an increased risk of developing cancer.

Women who are 21 to 50 pounds overweight have a three fold increase in the risk of endometrial cancer. And diabetes increases a woman's risk of developing endometrial cancer by greater than two fold.

What worries me most is that routine pap smears are inadequate for screening purposes. Transvaginal ultrasound as a screen for endometrial cancer is also of questionable value in finding the cancer in women who do not have periods.

Approximately 90 percent of women with endometrial cancer have vaginal bleeding or discharge as their only presenting complaint.

Does Vitamin D Deficiency Cause PCOS?

Not getting your period regularly? That could be because you're not getting enough sun. I'm not kidding you.

According to the latest research on vitamin D, presented at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine conference in San Francisco, women with ovulation problems or PCOS were far more likely to be lacking in vitamin D than the other women.

The study, led by researchers at Yale University, involved 67 women, of whom 18 had problems ovulating.

Apparently, 93 percent of women who are infertile are deficient in Vitamin D. Yikes!

"Of note, not a single patient with either ovulatory disturbance or polycystic ovary syndrome demonstrated normal Vitamin D levels; 39 per cent of those with ovulatory disturbance and 38 per cent of those with PCOS had serum 25OHD levels consistent with deficiency." -- Dr. Lubna Pal of Yale, quote in the Telegraph

Not surprised on this one. Vitamin D is super important for our health. And few of us get enough of it.

So how can us PCOS gals get more Vitamin D?

(On a side note, I find this subhead about the vitamin quite comical: "Getting enough of this nutrient could help lower your risk of death" - as if there was a way to lower your risk of death.)

• Eat D. A whole lot of Vitamin D. You can get it in wild salmon, atlantic mackerel, sardines, shrimp, skim and 1% low-fat milk, shittake mushrooms, fortified yogurts and cereals

• Supplement D. Yea, that's an obvious one. MSNBC recommends taking a multivitamin which provides at least the Daily Value, 400 IU.

• Sun D. It's good for you. Forget going on an all-seafood, all supplement diet (though that's not a bad idea regardless.) Did you know that our bodies produce enough vitamin D through exposure to sunlight? Given the current state of the economy, would you rather buy a vitamin D supplement or go out in the sun a few times a week? Just enjoy the sun for about 15 minutes, 2 to 3 times a week. Any longer than that and it may feel good, but it's no longer good for you.

Some other things you should know about vitamin D...

Vitamin D...

Regulates the calcium and phosphorus levels in the blood by promoting their absorption from food in the intestines, and by promoting re-absorption of calcium in the kidneys, which enables normal mineralization of bone and prevents hypocalcemic tetany. It is also needed for bone growth. It also inhibits parathyroid hormone secretion from the parathyroid gland. [via wikipedia]

Remember, I'm no doctor, I just make educated guesses based on the research posted on the Internet, and my own diet and health experiments with my PCOS body.

There have been multiple studies abut the role of calcium in ovulation and fertility.

Calcium appears to improve insulin sensitivity. In one study, people taking calcium supplements had reduced insulin levels and improved insulin sensitivity as compared to people who did not take the supplements. Looking at a related disorder, metabolic syndrome, a recent study claims that exercise and calcium helps control the disorder.

I often find that when I do have a period, I ate a meal of eggs with milk a day or two before. Seems tied to my once-in-a-blue-dotted-and-striped-moon-mensturation.

Have you had any positive results adding vitamin D and/or calcium to your diet?

Obese Girls Have High Risk of Infertility

For those of us with PCOS, we know there's a direct link between our weight and infertility. But this isn't obvious to parents who haven't dealt with PCOS before, so expert in the UK noted this... for all the people out there who aren't clear that weight and PCOS go hand-in-hand.

"Obese girls are at risk of fertility problems, an expert warned today.

Consultant Dr Jeremy Allgrove, from the Royal London hospital, blamed the country's 'fat' epidemic for a rise in child health disorders.

These include polycystic ovary syndrome, the most common cause of infertility in women."

Dr Allgrove said: 'The rise in the incidence of obesity means we're seeing an increase in the syndrome, especially in teenage girls. A decade ago we were not getting these types of referrals. Exercise and healthy eating is the only way of tackling the problem.'

- Read More at the Mail Online

Eating Healthy

"I need to lose weight" seems to be the motto of most American women. But for me, I know it's more than just vanity. "You are what you eat," is a motto that goes along with the need to drop pounds. A mind works only as well as the nutrition it gets. For women with PCOS, nutrition is extremely important.

I don't want to be like my overweight dad, suffering with diabetes and who has given up at weight loss. But if I keep eating the way I do, I just might. It's not that I eat unhealthy every day. My biggest problem is an unintentional roller coaster diet. I'll eat 2500 calories one day and 600 the next. I don't really cook, and I rely heavily on frozen dinners and dining out for my diet. When I'm not near a restaurant or near a grocery store, I tend to eat whatever I can find, or nothing at all.

Mostly a vegetarian, I've started to bring back some meat into my diet in order to try to balance out my carb/protein intake. But it has been about 10 years since I last ate a carnivore diet, and back then I did meat ala McDonalds. So I wasn't healthy then either.

Tracking my diet on FitDay.com is one way I'm trying to figure out who I am by what I eat. When I do that, I see clearly how poor my diet is, with the roller coaster nutrition. My goal is to eat about 1600 calories each day. I'm considering purchasing the Nutrisystem meal plan, but I'm concerned the food will be disgusting and leave me hungry. So for now, I'm going to see what I can do by tracking my diet and kicking myself each day I eat too little or too much. Let's see how far that goes.

hirituism -- hair in all the wrong places

There are a few jokes these days, while somewhat un-PC, are still accepted in our society. People love to make fun of the woman with a beard. She doesn't need to have a full, manly beard like in the picture to the left, but women with wirey hairs growing from their face often have to deal with such 'bearded-lady humor' breaking her heart.

Every morning, I wake up and find thick hairs growing from my chin and my sideburns. Hair on my legs and underarms grows much quicker than it would for the "normal" woman who doesn't have PCOS.

Some people would say, 'well, why don't you just SHAVE that unsightly hair. What's the big deal?'

Shaving makes the hair grow back quicker and more noticeable. Also, shaving causes ingrown hairs, which cause pimple-like bumps on the face.

Instead, women with PCOS often spend their free time plucking stray hairs with tweezers. Waxing is an option, but hairs grow back quickly and the effects don't last for long enough to justify the pain and the cost. Some women try electrolysis or laser hair removal, but due to the high cost of these treatments (without a guarantee they will work, especially for women who have excess male hormones), few of the bearded ladies of the world actually splurge on such a treatment.

Other options include medication and prescription cremes to minimize new follicle growth. A popular drug prescribed for hirituism is Spironolactone, a diuretic and and antiandrogen. Spiro, as it's known by PCOSers, takes a long time to start working, and even when it does "work" it reduces hair growth only minimally.

Certain birth control pills, like Yasmin, are said to help with reducing unwanted hair growth. If that doesn't work, hair-stopping cremes like Vaniqa are prescribed. But these cremes are pricey and (in my experience) not covered by insurance since the medication is for vanity (Is that why they call it Vaniqa?)

Some women chose to explore the herbal supplement route. Saw Palmetto, better known for its use in promoting prostate health for men, is said to work by suppressing the production of dihydrotestosterone (DHT) from testosterone, which might help slow hair growth. I'm currently taking a saw palmetto supplement on a daily basis, and I will report back here to let you all know when/if I notice a difference.

Sugar and PCOS -- I'm not a doctor, but here's my theory, and my story.

Did you know that about one in ten women of child-bearing age have Polycystic Ovary Syndrome? Better known as PCOS, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome is a health problem that, in brief, messes with a woman's hormones and causes a bunch of other health problems. Not all women with PCOS have "polycystic" ovaries, and not all women with polycystic ovaries have PCOS. More common symptons of PCOS include missed periods (or non-stop bleeding) without being pregnant or going through menopause, difficulty losing weight/obesity, extra facial and body hair, etc. The list goes on an on.

Women with PCOS are said to have high levels of androgens, which, at such levels, are common for a man but harmful for a female. Having the disorder makes it difficult to get pregnant (but not impossible), and sets one up for a ton of health problems later in life, including diabeties. In fact, PCOS is intimately linked with insulin resistence, although it's still unclear what causes the syndrome.

I was diagnosed with PCOS when I participated in a study at Northwestern University Hospital about the disorder. On Craigslist, I found an ad posted for the study, where they were seeking women who had irregular mensturation patterns. Considering that at the time I was 19 or so, and hadn't bleed naturally in over 4 years, I fit the bill. Previously a gynocologist had put me on birth control bills, since they force a women to have a "period" and clean out all the bad stuff that builds up inside us when we don't bleed on a regular basis. Not once was PCOS mentioned at the time. So PCOS was new to me when I participated in the study at Northwestern. Low and behold, it turned out that I had high free testosterone levels and I was accepted into the study.

Finally, I had an answer for all of these seemingly unrelated problems that were all caused by one syndrome. Afterall, while I was bothered by excess facial hair growing on my chin, upper lip and sideburns, I had no idea that this was because of some hormonal problem. I just thought it was because I was Hungarian and Italian. Aren't such nationalities hairy? Well, not this hairy, it turns out.

Since being diagnosed with PCOS, my weight has fluctuated between 125lbs and 162lbs. Right now I'm at the upper end of that, around 158lbs. I'm 5'3. Even though I'm overweight for my height, my weight is still fairly low for a woman with PCOS. There are "thin cysters," but most women who suffer from PCOS tend to weigh even more than me. Still, I have a lot of trouble losing weight, and as I get older, I know that if I don't do something about getting healthy now and fighting PCOS, I will put on even more weight.

As far as family history goes, my father is overweight and has diabeties. His mother is on the heavy side, though I don't think she had PCOS because she was able to produce six children without any extra help from technology. My cousin is overweight and was diagnosed with PCOS. My late grandfather (on my mother's side) had diabeties. As far as I know, that's the only other instances of PCOS and diabeties in my family.

While the exact cause of PCOS is unclear, it seems pretty obvious that one of the primary negative substances that either causes or makes PCOS worse is sugar. Women with PCOS are often encouraged to follow a low-carb diet. While for some low-carb diets are a trendy (and unhealthy way) to lose weight, for women with PCOS they are the appropriate answer. I'm terrible at sticking to a diet and tend to eat more than I should, especially when it comes to sugar-filled foods, but I know that diet and exercise are key in fighting PCOS. And I've started this blog to write about my progress in fighting the syndrome, as well as to discuss new research and what others are saying about the condition.

I'm no doctor, but here is what I know. When I followed the Insulin Resistance diet, not only did I lose weight, I also got my period NATURALLY for two months in a row. The insulin resistance diet has a great book that provides tons of information on how to follow it (I'll post a link to the book on amazon in a few minutes), the basic gist is that for every 30 grams of carbs you eat, you have to also eat 14 grams of protein. On top of that, you're not supposed to eat more than 30 grams of carbs every 3 hours (please check the book to verify that, it's been a while since I've flipped through it.) The diet is both simple and complicated, as our society is all about big portions and carb-heavy meals -- but if you have PCOS and want to get healthy, it IS a big part of the answer.

I'm going to try to get back on that diet, and to exercise regularly. I try to keep a detailed report my diet on FitDay.com at this site. If you wish to follow my diet progress, feel free to check out the site. You can even start you own fitness and nutrition journal on there for free!