By Meredith Moss,
Staff Writer
Updated 1:02 AM Monday, October 26, 2009
DAYTON — After her best childhood
friend died from breast cancer, Ruth Deddens began researching the
causes of the dreaded disease.
The Oakwood woman’s investigation
eventually led her to Angela Lanfranchi, a clinical assistant professor
of surgery at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Jersey and
president of the Breast Cancer Prevention Institute. Deddens, active in
the “40 Days for Life” movement, decided to bring Lanfranchi to town as
part of this year’s local pro-life campaign.
Lanfranchi — who
insists there are proven links between breast cancer, abortion and
birth control pills — was the featured speaker at St. Anthony Church in
East Dayton and a Sunday afternoon, Oct. 25, public gathering at the
University of Dayton. She also spoke at two invitation-only events
hosted by Deddens in memory of her friend, Katherine “Kit” Benham
England, who died last Easter.
Lanfranchi labeled hormonal
contraceptives “a Group 1 carcinogen” and said that “breasts are
different after an induced abortion because they’ve grown and there are
more places for the cancer to start.” She said the same thing happens
in premature delivery. In contrast, she said, a full-term pregnancy
offers protection against the disease because the mother’s mammary
glands have fully matured into cells capable of producing milk and most
resistant to carcinogens.
“I could kick myself in the butt for
waiting until I was 40 to have children,” said the surgeon, who said
she was focused on her career and hadn’t realized her fertility rates
would drop as she got older. Having children in the early twenties or
as a teenager, she said, would also have decreased her breast cancer
risk.
Among the other strategies for lowering breast cancer, she
said, are limiting alcohol, exercising, not smoking, maintaining a
normal body weight, breast-feeding your children, avoiding induced
abortions, avoiding premature deliveries, and reducing exposure to
estrogen. Lanfranchi advocates natural family planning rather than
birth control pills, patches or injections.
Bonnie Borel Donohue of Bellbrook, diagnosed with breast cancer two years ago, attended all four of Lanfranchi’s presentations.
“I
had taken the pill before our first child, and after three children I
had the Norplant for four-and-a-half years,” she said. “If I had heard
her (Lanfranchi) at age 18, I would never have used any hormonal birth
control. I didn’t realize they were steroids.”
After hearing Lanfranchi, Jenni Roer of Centerville said she was heading home to do her own research.
“I
heard some interesting information, and not all of it is supported by
the general medical community,” she said. “I think women should be
informed and aggressive about protecting their own health.”
For more information on Lanfranchi’s organization, see http://www.bcpinstitute.org
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2440 or MMoss@DaytonDaily News.com
Reclaiming Our Children: A Blog About Healing After Abortion 
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