Vitamin D Good for Breast Cancer Patients
Many breast cancer patients have low levels of vitamin D, which could lead to weaker bones and increased risk of fractures.
Vitamin D is essential to maintaining bone health, and women with breast cancer have accelerated bone loss due to the nature of hormone therapy and chemotherapy. It’s important for women and their doctors to work together to boost their vitamin D intake.
Peppone and colleagues studied 166 women undergoing treatment for breast cancer and found that nearly 70 percent had low levels of vitamin D in their blood. The average level among the women was 27 nanograms of vitamin D per milliliter of blood. Levels of 32 nanograms per milliliter are adequate, according to the U.S. Institute of Medicine.