You Can Take Steps to Lower Your Breast Cancer Risk

One of women's biggest health concerns is breast cancer. The disease is very common. One woman in eight in the United States will develop it in the course of a lifetime. The American Cancer Society estimates that this year 252,710 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed, and 40,610 women will die from the disease.

Women can do certain things on their own to lower their risk of getting breast cancer. One of the most important actions is an inaction: not smoking.

Another important factor under personal control is weight and physical activity. As body mass index, or B.M.I., rises, so does a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer...abdominal fat is particularly metabolically active, producing growth factors and hormones, including estrogen, that can stimulate the growth of breast cancer cells...Don’t wait for definitive evidence, since shedding excess weight can reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes and several other cancers.

Another factor is alcohol. Women who consume two to five drinks a day are 40 percent more likely to get breast cancer than nondrinkers. In fact, just one drink a day can raise a woman’s cancer risk by about 7 percent.

Diet is also huge factor as a recent study found the lowest risk of breast cancer among women consuming high intakes of fruits and vegetables, avoiding saturated fats (cheese, ice cream, whole milk), and reducing red meat consumption (beef, pork, lamb).

Comments

Enter your comment below

Press 'ENTER' key to submit

You Can Take Steps to Lower Your Breast Cancer Risk

Comments

Other Articles

Latest News

How Emirates Smiles challenges Invisalign in Dubai

Top Do's and Dont's for Patient Referrals

Express Quote Tutorial