Breast Cancer and Prevention Tips

What can you do to protect your breasts?

1. Avoid or limit alcoholic drinks.

Try not to drink regardless if it’s beer or wine. The negative effects of alcoholic drinks include a higher risk for hormone-related cancers.

If you come from a family with a history of breast cancer, you are more prone to it. To fully protect yourself involves complete avoidance of alcohol. If you can't totally avoid it, limit your consumption to 1 drink a day.

2. Lose weight or maintain a normal weight.

Experts have long discovered the link between hormone-related cancers and obesity. Breast tumor is hormone-related. Gaining a lot of weight when you are older or after menopause leads to increased production of estrogen. Too much of the estrogen hormone increases your risk for breast cancer and prevention steps include losing weight if you are overweight.

Try to stay within the normal weight range for your age and height as much as possible.

3. Be physically active.

Moving greatly helps in ensuring the health of your breasts. One of the benefits of regular physical exercise is weight gain prevention. Any form of exercise which includes walking, jogging and aerobics helps in losing and maintaining the right weight.

Being active is also one of the effective stress relief tips. It's important that you manage stress because being overstressed may make you gain weight. Chronic stress is experienced by more young women today which explains the increased number of invasive breast cancer type cases.

To understand the link between too much stress and tumor development, click Cancer and Stress.

4. Watch what you eat.

If you prefer eating foods high in saturated fats, you will experience unhealthy weight gain. Invasive types are diagnosed more often among women who eat a mostly high-fat diet.

A nutrition prevention tip: Try the foods in the Mediterranean diet such as fresh green vegetables and extra virgin olive oil.

According to a study in the Journal of Carcinogenesis, extra virgin olive oil can protect you from the disease because it has oleic acid. To fully benefit from it, 3 tablespoons a day is recommended so reach for it and mix as salad dressing or use it in preparing your dishes.

Click here to read the health benefits of olive oil.

5. Avoid unnecessary exposure to estrogen.

Estrogen stimulates the growth of normal and cancerous cells increasing risk for breast cancer and prevention includes discontinuing hormone replacement therapy or HRT if you are on it. If you are being treated with hormones to manage menopausal symptoms, talk to your doctor and discuss other options that do not include estrogen.

I had been to my gynecologist and had an ultrasound to check my uterus and ovaries because I have been experiencing menopausal symptoms recently. My doctor laid out to me my options including HRT which, of course, I refused.

If you must be on hormone replacement therapy, choose the lowest dosage as much as possible and make sure you will be on it only for a short time and only if absolutely necessary.

6. Choose organic foods.

Why are organic foods better? Fruits and vegetables grown organically are free of pesticides. They are safer to eat.

The molecular structure of some pesticides used in growing fruits and vegetables are very similar to the molecular structure of estrogen. The pesticide residues you take in from foods may attach to estrogen receptor sites in your body.This increases risk for breast cancer and prevention is possible when you choose organic foods.

7. Use antibiotics with caution.

Experts have recently discovered a link between long-term antibiotic use and breast cancer. Prevention involves taking antibiotics only if it is absolutely necessary and upon the prescription of your doctor.

Important reminder: The link between breast tumors and antibiotics still needs further research. But it is alright to be vigilant because cure has never been better than prevention.

8. Boost your immune system.

A healthy immune system helps in prevention of tumor growth. Your immune system has killer cells that can block abnormal cells from growing out of control.

You can have strong immunity by taking natural immune system supplements like Ganoderma extract or Spirulina.

Also, learn to meditate to enhance your immune system. Meditation helps the natural killer cells of your immune system to fight off bacteria, viruses and cancerous cells. I have discovered beautiful and royalty free meditation music that you can play while meditating.

Again, say no to alcoholic drinks because a weak immune system incapable of protecting you is one of the dangers of alcohol.

9. Be proactive with the health of your breasts.

Examine your breasts regularly for any unusual changes such as lumps. If you are 40 or older, get a mammogram.

An annual mammogram and MRI scanning are recommended as prevention steps when you reach the age of 30 if you:

• have a mutation in the BCRA1 or BCRA2 gene
• have family history of breast tumor
• have been treated with radiation therapy when you were between 10 to 30 years old.

These are major causes or risk factors of breast cancer and prevention against them may be difficult but very possible.

You might like:

• What Causes Breast Cancer?
  
  
• Types of Breast Tumor
  
  
• Early Signs of Breast Tumor
  

Return from Breast Cancer and Prevention Steps to Breast Tumor Facts

Return from Breast Cancer and Prevention Tips to Home Page