Aspirin and Breast Cancer Survival

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Aspirin and Breast Cancer Survival

By Lillie Shockney, R.N., M.A.S.

- Posted on Tue, Mar 30, 2010, 5:14 pm PDT

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Aspirin is a drug that has been available for many decades. It relieves headaches, joint pain, and a variety of other medical problems.

If properly administered, aspirin can even save the life of someone who's in the midst of a heart attack. Now we've found out that aspirin also has a role in breast cancer survival.A study published in the March issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology has confirmed that breast cancer survivors in a controlled study who were taking aspirin each day enjoyed higher survival rates than did those in the control group, who were not taking aspirin. This study, conducted by researchers at several well-known institutions (Brigham and Women's Hospital, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Harvard

Medical School), included patients with stage 1, 2. and 3 breast cancer. Women with stage 1 breast cancer who had completed their treatment were randomized to receive either aspirin daily or a placebo. This same regimen was followed with women who had stage 2 breast cancer and also with those with stage 3 breast cancer. This way, the researchers could compare how aspirin affected survival times among women within each stage of the disease.But take care: Before you start taking an aspirin every day, please check with your doctor to make

sure you have no medical reason that would make it risky for you to do so. For one thing, aspirin acts as a blood thinner, a property that can benefit some heart attack patients but that could make it unsafe for cancer patients taking chemo or radiation. Also, without knowing it, you

might already be taking some medication that contains aspirin, or else one that contains chemicals that could react harmfully with it.