What can you do to lower your risk of getting
breast cancer?
Here are some great ways that you can take control of an important
aspect of your health and well being. Raise your defenses against cancer
and give yourself a better chance of keeping and maintaining your good
health.
1. Proper Diet For Good Health
Eat a healthy diet. that is rich in fruits and vegetables, to take
advantage of their antioxidants. Doing so can help prevent damage to
your tissues. Look for these colors when buying vegetables: green, red,
yellow, and orange. When shopping for fruits, choose from these colors:
red, green, and purple.
2. Exercise For Prevention
There is a link between exercise and
breast cancer prevention, as
well as prevention of cancer recurrence. Doing regular exercise helps
reduce body fat and improves muscle tone. The American Cancer Society
says; “Evidence suggests that one third of the 550,000 cancer deaths
that occur in the United States each year are due to unhealthy diet and
insufficient physical activity.”
3. Stay Slim
Having extra weight increases your risk for breast cancer. Many
breast tumors thrive on estrogen. Body fat can store estrogen, and on a
high-fat diet, your estrogen levels can increase beyond normal. Adopting
a low-fat diet or a vegetarian diet can help reduce the amount of
estrogen in your body. If you want to try a vegetarian diet, it will
eliminate your intake of animal fats and reduce the saturated fats in
your diet. Don’t give cancer a good place to hide.
4. Stop Smoking
Tobacco smoke carries carcinogens, which can accumulate in fluid
around the breasts. Active smoking can greatly raise your risk of breast
and lung cancers, and passive smoking may also raise your risk. Get
help to kick the habit and improve your long-term health. The evidence
is piling up for a link between smoking and breast cancer. It’s another
good reason to stop smoking.
5. Drink Less Alcohol
Regular and modest amounts of alcohol can raise your estrogen levels.
Even one drink a day can expose breast tissue to higher hormone levels.
Since some breast tumors are estrogen-sensitive, alcohol can increase
the risk that the cells in that tissue will become cancerous. Limit your
intake to lower your risk. Read more to find out just how much alcohol
is safe to consume.
6. Have A Regular Checkup
Have a regular checkup and communicate often with your doctor to stay
well. Keep good records of your health. Request copies of any test
results or screenings. Keep an eye on any changes in your health. Your
doctor can help you keep an eye on critical areas, suggest proper
diagnostic tests, and refer you to other experts.
7. Take Advantage Of Early Detection
Screening for breast cancer has the goal of detecting possible tumors
before they reach a palpable (easy to feel) size. Larger tumors are
more likely to have spread beyond the breast. Detecting a small tumor
(cancer at a very early stage) increases the effectiveness of treatment,
and improves your chances of survival. Have an annual mammogram
starting at age 40, as long as your general health is good. Do your
breast self-exam (BSE) (BSE) on a regular basis.
8. Hormone Replacement Therapy – Good Or Bad
Current and long-term users of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) have
an increased risk of developing breast cancer, according the Feb. 13
issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (Vol. 287, No.
6: 734-740). HRT was found to raise the number of breast cancers that
are ductal and lobular. Talk with your doctor about whether HRT will
benefit you, and what alternative therapies would be good to try.
Estrogen and progesterone status can affect a diagnosis of breast
cancer.
9. Pregnancy & Breastfeeding
Pregnancy and breastfeeding combined with regular exercise,
maintaining a healthy weight, and avoiding alcohol can help lower your
risk. Both pregnancy and breast-feeding reduce a woman’s total number of
lifetime menstrual cycles, which is thought to be the reason that this
helps lower your risk. Having children before age 30 also reduces your
risk of breast cancer.
10. Maintain Good Emotional Health
A good attitude affects your overall health – physical, mental,
emotional and spiritual. Build a good future for yourself by bringing
balance into your life: healthy food and regular exercise combine to
fight the blues and pave the way to a good attitude.
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