According to a new study, women with the most severe hot flashes might have a lower risk of breast cancer.
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Ask any woman who has experienced hot flashes if there's anything good about them and she'll likely and emphatically say "no." But those alarmingly annoying and invasive hormonal fluctuations that produce intense moments of heat and perspiring, among other symptoms, might just have a silver lining.

As reported in the New York Times, a recent study published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, states the array of symptoms women experience during menopause (in addition to hot flashes), such as insomnia and mood swings, to name just a couple, might indicate a reduced risk for cancer later in the woman's life.

According to the study, women who had the most severe hot flashes, those torrential floods that woke them up at night and in pools of sweat, had the lowest risk for postmenopausal breast cancer.

The findings are only preliminary and in no way suggest that women with stormy menopauses should skip having regular mammograms. The risk of breast cancer increases with age. Older women, regardless of their post-menopausal symptoms, should continue to get screened.