Study shows promise in preventing endometrial cancer
"If you look at cancers in women, about a fifth of all cancer deaths would be prevented if we had women at normal body weight in the US," says Dr. Susan C. Modesitt of the University of Virginia Cancer Center.
For many, this is a shocking figure. For some it may even be saddening. But at the Northwest Houston Surgical Association, we know it doesn't have to be. Even if weight loss has seemed impossible and insurmountable before, we know how effective weight loss surgery can be, and that is further enforced by this study on the effects of bariatric surgery on the condition of women.
The study, which was published in Gynecologic Oncology, followed 71 women with an average age of 44.2 years old and an average Body Mass Index (BMI) of 50.9. As the BMI scale identifies people with BMIs of 30 and above as obese and 40 and above as morbidly obese, the average woman in this study was considered severely overweight. Of the 71 women, 68 opted to undergo weight loss surgery. The study followed them for 1-3 years following the procedure.
The bariatric surgery results are in
On average, the women lost 100 lbs. following weight loss surgery. It also improved glucose use and insulin levels, and on the whole improved the women's quality of life. Perhaps most stunningly, 10% of the women in the study who had not had hysterectomies had presented with precancerous changes in the linings of their uterus prior to surgery.
After surgery and weight loss? Every single woman with precancerous changes in the linings of their uterus had those changes resolved.
Obesity and cancer
The effect that obesity can have on cancer is very real, and very stark. Obesity has been found to be related to endometrial, breast, colon, renal and gall bladder cancer.
If you have struggled with your weight, you don't have to feel doomed to a life of medical difficulties and a diagnosis of cancer. You have options. Surgical weight loss procedures as well as nonsurgical, medically managed weight loss can both be highly effective at improving overall health and longevity of life.