Women have a unique set of health challenges that are influenced in large part by the hormone changes that occur throughout their lives. The reproductive cycle can take a toll on a woman’s body, even if she never has children.

In addition to the cases we handle of mesothelioma in women, it is important to understand more common health issues and events women experience in their lives. Women have longer lifespans, stronger immune systems, and better trauma survival rates than men. They are also more likely to visit their doctors and participate in preventive health screenings. Yet they spend 15% of their lives in poor health, compared with just 12% for men, and they are more likely to be diagnosed with many chronic health conditions.

While women’s proactive approach to healthcare is wise, it does not always work in their favor. Pharmaceutical companies have a history of pushing products for women that are not safe or effective and failing to provide the proper warnings about potential risks. Additionally, clinical drug trials are often performed with only male participants, resulting in overmedicating and adverse reactions in women. Environmental toxins are linked to pregnancy complications and birth defects, in addition to multiple types of cancer and neurological disorders.

Women and Cancer

Cancer was the second-leading cause of death among adults in the United States in 2020, leading to 284,619 female deaths. The American Cancer Society estimates that 934,870 females were diagnosed with cancer in 2022.

Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer among American women, accounting for 30% of new cancer diagnoses in women. Approximately 1 in 8 women develops invasive breast cancer over the course of a lifetime. If the current trend continues, 287,850 new cases of invasive breast cancer and 43,250 deaths were expected in 2022.

Breast cancer risk factors:

Being a woman
Race/ethnicity
Age
Family history and genetics
Lack of pregnancy or first pregnancy after age 30
Lack of breastfeeding history
Onset of menstruation before age 12 or completion of menopause after age 55
History of hormone replacement therapy, especially combination (progesterone and estrogen) therapy

History of use of products containing dibutyl phthalate, an endocrine disruptor used in many medications and cosmetics
Radiation exposure
Dense breasts
Lack of exercise
Smoking
Alcohol consumption
Poor diet
Obesity

Breast cancer tends to spread to the lymph nodes and then to other parts of the body. This makes early detection an important factor in the prognosis. During the early stages of cancer, tumors are small, and cancer is confined to the breast tissue and nearby lymph nodes.

During the later stages, tumors get larger and spread to an increasing number of lymph nodes and ultimately to other organs.

The earlier the stage of cancer at the time of diagnosis, the higher the survival rate. Stage 0 cancer (precancer) and stage 1 cancer have 100 percent five-year survival rates. The survival rate for stage two cancer is 93 percent, but it drops to 72 percent for stage 3 and just 22 percent for stage four.

Tamoxifen

Most breast cancer cells have hormone receptors for estrogen or progesterone. These hormone-positive cancers begin in the milk ducts o