Hey @cmd03, I sent your question to Dr. Dawn Mussallem. She had several deadlines she was up against and apologized for the delayed response. Here's what she said:
Great question! This is one that physicians and cancer researchers are interested in too. To date, the relationship between cholesterol and breast cancer risk has not been a consistent finding in high quality human studies. IN other words some research suggests high cholesterol may be protective when other studies suggest the opposite. This is because when known breast cancer risks such as postmenopausal obesity and diet are factored into the research it is really challenging to make a conclusion specific to cholesterol and breast cancer risk. The UK ACALM Big Data registry is the most recent, comprehensive well designed study on the topic. In this study of over 16,000 patients, those with hyperlipidemia were almost half as likely to develop breast cancer and in those that did there was a 40% reduction in mortality and improved long-term survival. Statins are suggested to be the possible link. Other studies have suggested similar benefit of statins however due to conflicting evidence to date it would be misleading to suggest that statins prevent or treat breast cancer. Bottom line: the importance of maintaining a healthy body weight, regular exercise and a low fat diet should be emphasized first and if one continues to have high cholesterol despite lifestyle change then statins should be considered when recommended by your physician.

It is important to know that natural products are not standardized and can cause harm. Just because something is natural doesn’t mean it is safe. So replacing a statin with something natural isn’t necessarily better for you.

Metformin has been used for over 50 years to improve blood sugar levels in patients with type 2 diabetes. It may also lower LDL-cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer. Research is ongoing.

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