Question: If girls wear under wired braa's to bed, do they get brest cancer later on in life because of the under wired part aguvating the cancer cells ?

Marianne Baker answered on 15 Jun 2010:

Hey aimee (hope you don’t mind me shortening your alias!)

First I’d say no.

Then I’d say it’s pointless to wear a bra to bed; bras are designed to restrict breast movement and they’re really not moving around much when we’re sleeping!

What I would add is that some people insist ‘bras give you cancer!’ – there is not, that I know of, any evidence of this.

Something that is emerging in the field is that it seems mechanical stress (stretching of cells and tissues) that happens day-to-day, could contribute to the onset of breast cancer; so actually restricting movement could be preventative rather than a danger.

I’ve heard arguments like ‘women in third world countries don’t get much breast cancer though’ – to which I would say
1) breast cancer, like other cancers, becomes more common with age – so populations with a shorter life expectancy may have lower cancer incidence (number of cases)
2) having children early can reduce breast cancer risk. People in poorer communities often have more children and start earlier so this could contribute as well.

Finally I’d just say try to make sure the underwear is properly fitting; far too many women wear bras that don’t fit and this isn’t good for long-term health either. And just wear what you’re comfortable with!