Can a lack of vitamin D cause breast cancer?
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — I have to take my hat off to my 76-year-old cousin. She has discovered, on her own, what her doctors never told her and what cancer specialists are now highlighting: that a vitamin D deficiency may be linked to breast cancer. She had a lumpectomy a few years ago, followed by radiation. She has been doing well since. But she found when she insisted on being given a vitamin D blood test, that she was deficient. Apparently, this is much more common than many of us know. And dermatologists have been fighting for years over how much exposure is necessary for us to get sufficient amounts for our health. Too much and you could end up with skin cancer, if you go the sun route. Too many supplements, and – well, too much of anything can be toxic. But testing for levels of D is not routinely suggested by most doctors, even though Dr. James E. Dowd, author of “The Vitamin D Cure,” claims that 60 percent of Americans are vitamin D-deficient. Ongoing studies by researchers at
