Underarm shaving

My musings included the thoughts & questions:

• that as a rule men (who can develop breast cancer) do not shave under their arms;
• in cultures/countries where women do not shave underam is the incidence of breast cancer any different?
• has there been an increase in occurrence of breast cancer since underam shaving became more commonplace?

Would be interested to know what other people think?

Blessings
Helen

Interesting thoughts......

I have a male friend who has had breast cancer, which represents about 1% of breast cancer cases..

I also used to work with a woman who had breast cancer, who didn't shave under her arms.

If breast cancer were related to under arm shaving, then North America would have the highest incidence rate, but Western Europe is higher.

Having said all that, I think women shouldn't feel presurised by culture or fashion to shave their under arms. It's far more healthy for other reasons not to shave.

Myarka

I work with breast cancer patients. Some research suggests it is not shaving that is a 'cause' (I actually can't see any physiological reason why it could be) but that minerals in anti-perspirant products contribute to overload of the lymph vessels in the armpit.

I don't particularly like the thin, stretched-out, unhealthy, sagging skin of people who shave their underarms too often, and always wonder whether this repeated trauma and regeneration of the skin increases the risks of mutations that can occasionally cause cancers to develop.
Myself, I'm too much of a hippie to bother too much unless I know they'll be very much on show in public and in un-understanding company.

Similarly to Jabba I don't support the use of antiperspirants etc, and I often wonder whether applying them after freshly shaving is even worse as the irritated skin creates better passage for nasties to quickly get into our delicate systems.

So basically I have no answers to share I'm afraid, but I have many thoughts and queries to add to yours 🙂

I know there has been a link between the use of deodorant and antiperspirants used in the pits that can affect a woman's health, mainly because it's so close to the lymph nodes. Most antiperspirants contain aluminum which can cause problems in that area. Try using an all-natural deodorant/antiperspirant that does not have aluminum in it.

[url]Underarm Lymph Nodes[/url]

Interesting replies, thank you. I guess there hasn't been any official research into the effects of modern antiperspirant/deodorants or shaving underarms. But I think it might be interesting to know what such research might turn up!

Interesting replies, thank you. I guess there hasn't been any official research into the effects of modern antiperspirant/deodorants or shaving underarms. But I think it might be interesting to know what such research might turn up!

There is this study:

[url]Antiperspirant use and the risk of breast cancer[/url]

HTH,
Myarka

Thank you Myarka for the link - interesting.

Underarm shaving in of itself would not cause breast cancer, but if you use deodorant that contains aluminum then the hair may be providing an additional barrier of protection. With just bare skin, the deodorant has more direct access to the lymphatic system and thus the breasts.

Another thing to consider - which is a widely held view - is that because the lymphatic system drains into the liver, any liver congestion / blockage will cause the entire lymph system to become bloated. This leads to buildup of toxicity that is not being drained away.

Women who have breast lumps (benign or otherwise) often also have liver cysts or other digestive-related problems such as constipation.The source in their case is often the liver and a proper liver cleanse could be of benefit to the entire system.

On the esoteric level, many women with breast lumps tend to give a lot of nurturing to others but not get a lot of nurturing themselves. They are in a constant state of giving but not receiving, and this is a heart relationship. In Chinese medicine 5 elements theory, the liver is the mother of the heart. A heart that is not nurtured with love will mean the liver needs to do more energetic work to keep balance, and the liver in turn becomes weak. A weak liver means poor lymphatic drainage, leading to the issue mentioned early.

I tend to agree re use of aerosols - inappropriate content and vulnerability of lymphatic system to such contaminants - also I appreciate the reference to Chinese Medicine as I have found the underlying concepts interesting and indeed relevant in other situations