Be BREAST AWARE: Life Style Tips On Preventing Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is one diagnosis that brings fear to the hearts of women including their families and loved ones. Due to the campaigns of some NGOs in the country, more women have been seen getting mammograms and having regular self breast examinations to detect the disease early. To take this step further, in honor of the Pink Month or the Breast Cancer Awareness Month, MIM has put together a number of life style tips from various medical professionals on how to prevent this disease considering the fact that there are many risk factors. This may involve you doing things a little bit different to have a breast cancer free life.

Go High On Veggies
For protection against breast cancer, eat a number of raw or lightly cooked cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, pumpkin leaves (ugwu), sprouts, carrots and tomatoes. These vegetables are believed to have phytochemical components that protect against breast cancer, and they can be destroyed by heat.
( Source: Dr. Ann Kuzle M.D.)

Cut Down On the Bottles
Minimize or avoid alcohol. Drinking just one alcohol beverage a day increases breast cancer risk by ten percent, two drinks a day by thirty percent. So keep those martinis and margaritas to a minimum.
(Source: Dr. Kristi Funk)

Being A Mother Helps
Research has shown that women who give birth early in life have reduced chances of getting breast cancer in comparison with women who give birth later in life. In addition, breast feeding helps to keep this disease at bay as it temporarily reduces a woman’s oestrogen levels.
(Source: Dr. Anne McTierman, Prevention Centre, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research  Centre.)

Drink Green Tea
Drinking green tea will help your immune system to fight tumor cells because it contains “EGCG”. It is also a great anti-oxidant.
(Source: Dr. Nicole Schertell.)

Swap Your Oils
Avoid saturated and trans-fats found in butter and margarine. These should be left for birthdays alone. Concentrate on mono unsaturated fats in vegetables oils such as olive oil or omega-3 found in fish like Salmon.
(Source: Dr. Kristi Funk)

An Estrogen-Blocking Drug
Talk to your doctor about using estrogen blocking drugs such as Tamoxifen and Raloxifine if there’s a history of cancer in your family and if you have other high risk indicators.
(Source: Dr. Anne McTierman, Prevention Centre, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research  Centre.

Do Some Workouts
You don’t have to be a work out freak but moderate daily exercise will reduce your risk of getting breast cancer by 15 to 25 percent. 30 minutes of b, risk walking five days a week may lower your cancer risk by decreasing circulating levels of estrogen in the body.
(Dr. Mehmet Oz M.D.)

Long Term Hormone Therapy? Think Again.
Have you been on a hormonal therapy for menopausal symptoms for long? You may want to ask your doctor about other options. This is because long term combination hormone therapy increases the risk of breast cancer.
(Staff of Mayo Clinic.)

Keep the Weight Down
There are many health risk involved in being overweight and the risk of breast cancer is one of them. Strive to keep your Body Mass Index (BMI) under 25. An overweight woman runs a 25 percent higher risk of developing the disease than a less overweight woman.
(Dr. Mehmet Oz M.D)

Finally…
Learn how to do the self breast examination and go for your THERMOGRAPHY screenings annually, as this will provide you with the earliest possible detection of unhealthy breast tissue. It is the best way to determine your risk of breast cancer.
(Source: Dr. Nicole Schertell)