As Breast Cancer Awareness month winds down, millions of women have been reminded of the dangers of this disease.
Breast cancer is the No. 1 form of cancer among women. A woman has a one in eight lifetime risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer during her lifetime, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS).
In 2013, more than 39,000 women were expected to die from the disease.
Those are grim statistics by any measure. But there is some good news: Women can take several steps to significantly lower their risk level.
They include:
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Stay in shape and eat the right diet
To date, there is no evidence that the foods you eat influence your risk of breast cancer. On the other hand, a woman’s bodyweight does impact her chances of developing breast cancer.
After menopause, being overweight increases your risk of breast cancer by about 1.5 times compared to lean women, the ACS says. Being obese raises your risk two times higher.
However, prior to menopause, being overweight or slightly obese modestly decreases your risk.
The message about staying fit is less murky.
“Studies show that women who get regular exercise may have a lower risk of breast cancer than women who are inactive,” says Susan Brown, managing director of health and program education at the Susan G. Komen breast cancer organization.
In fact, the ACS says studies indicate that regular physical activity lowers your risk of breast cancer by between 10 and 20 percent. The evidence for this protective effect is particularly strong in postmenopausal women.
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Avoid birth control pills
Current or recent use of birth control pills slightly increases the risk of breast cancer, Brown says.
“Studies show that while women are taking birth control pills — and shortly after — they have a 20 to 30 percent higher risk of breast cancer than women who have never used the pill,” she says.
However, the extra risk is small because the risk of breast cancer for most young women is low.
“So, even with a slight increase in risk, they are still unlikely to get breast cancer,” Brown says.
Once women stop taking the pill, their risk begins to decrease and after about 10 years, returns to that of women who have never taken the pill, Brown says.
She urges women to talk to their health care provider about the benefits and risks of using the pill.
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Breastfeed your baby
Women who breastfeed their babies for an extended period of time – at least a year or more – may reduce their risk of breast cancer, according to the ACS.
The ACS notes that one review of 47 studies around the world found that the risk of breast cancer dipped by 4.3 percent for every year of breastfeeding
Studies have shown that this protective effect is particularly potent during a woman’s premenopausal years, Brown says.
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Don’t smoke or drink excessive amounts of alcohol
Some studies have found no link between smoking and increased breast cancer risk. However, an ACS analysis concluded that women who smoke have a 12 percent higher risk than women who never have smoked.
Meanwhile, the risk of breast cancer increases by about 7 percent to 12 percent for each alcoholic beverage you consume in a day.
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Avoid long-term hormone therapy
Use of menopausal hormones with combined estrogen and progestin has been linked to an increased risk of breast cancer, according to the ACS. And the longer a woman uses hormone therapy, the greater the danger.
For this reason, both the ACS and Brown urge women to weigh the risks of using such drugs for the short-term relief of menopausal symptoms.
“It is recommended that they be used for as short of time and at the lowest dose possible for the relief of those symptoms,” Brown says.
The good news is that over time, a woman who ceases hormone therapy sees her risk of breast cancer dip back to pre-therapy levels.
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Consider more proactive measures
Some women who have a significant family history of breast cancer may want to take a more proactive approach to reducing their risk.
One option is to take drugs such as tamoxifen or raloxifene, which have been shown to reduce the risk of the disease. Another option is to undergo prophylactic surgery.
Brown says women with any of the following risk factors should discuss the possible benefits for such preventative measures with a health care provider:
- A mutation in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene (or a first-degree relative with a mutation)
- Strong family history of breast cancer, such as your mother and/or a sister diagnosed at age 45 or younger
- Personal history of breast cancer, including ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS) or atypical hyperplasia
- Radiation treatment to the chest area during childhood or young adulthood
- A mutation in the TP53 or PTEN genes (or a first-degree relative with a mutation)
“If a woman is at higher risk of breast cancer, she should talk with her health care provider about which screening options are right for her,” Brown says.
Such women may need to be screened earlier and/or more often than other women and with additional tests, she says.