Drugs, Exercise and Breast Cancer
Your Breast Cancer Prevention Plan
Courtesy of Prevention.com
Breast Cancer Prevention Plan Part 2: Adopt Healthy Habits
Stop smoking. On this point the medical community is undivided: Quit smoking and eliminate your exposure to secondhand smoke. For more information and tools to help you quit and stay smoke-free, check out smokefree.gov.
Exercise is an important factor in maintaining a healthy weight, which in turn helps lower breast cancer risk: Fatty tissue produces hormones and growth factors, such as estrogen and insulin, which may promote cancer development. But more specifically, research has found a link between even moderate exercise and breast cancer risk reduction. For instance, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle reported a 20% decrease among postmenopausal women who favored consistency in exercise over intensity, for example, taking a brisk, 30-minute walk 5 days a week.
The research also suggests that the less a woman weighs, the more the exercise appeared to have a protective effect. Women of low to normal weight--and even those who were moderately overweight - who walked 10 hours each week experienced breast cancer risk reductions of more than 30%. The caveat: Breast cancer risk did not decrease among exercisers who were significantly overweight or obese.
Breast self-exams (BSEs). Yes, there's been a debate over the impact of BSEs on breast cancer survival rates. But the bottom line is that BSEs are easy to do, free of charge, and can help women detect cancer at an early stage, when the disease responds better to treatment. The American Cancer Society recommends monthly BSEs for every woman over the age of 20.
Breast Cancer Prevention Plan Part 3: Make Smart Health Care Decisions
Many of the decisions you make regarding your breast health--when to start a schedule of annual mammograms, for example--should take into account your family history of breast cancer. Likewise, so should some of the decisions you make regarding other aspects of your health, such as how to treat symptoms of menopause, for example. Clearly, it's important to gather as much information as possible about any relatives who have had the disease, on both your mother's and father's side. The National Cancer Institute agrees and has created a terrific online assessment to help you determine your personal breast cancer risk at BreastCancerPrevention.org. Share the results with your doctor--and make sure you take it into account when you discuss the following health care options and issues.
Annual mammograms and other exams. The American Cancer Society recommends an annual mammogram for women ages 40 and older along with an annual clinical exam conducted by a health care practitioner, which is more thorough than the breast self-exam you do at home. Are you at high risk for breast cancer? Your doctor may recommend you start getting annual mammograms right away, even if you're under 40. High-risk women sometimes undergo an MRI along with the annual mammogram to allow for a more complete image of the breast tissue. Ask your doctor about this option.
Gene testing. It's possible to inherit gene mutations that increase your risk of developing breast cancer. In the past decade, researchers have identified two such gene mutations: BRCA1 and BRCA2. Genetic testing is now available for them; it's typically recommended for women who have a strong family history of the disease. Your doctor can put you in touch with a genetic counselor who will talk to you about the test and the impact its results can have on your life and your family (who, if your results are positive, may also want to consider getting tested themselves).
Therapies to relieve menopausal symptoms. Sometimes called hormone-replacement therapies (HRT), certain hormone-based drugs appear to elevate breast cancer risk, especially estrogen when used in tandem with progestin, according to the large Women's Health Initiative (WHI) study. More recently, WHI researchers reported that 7 years after a trial looking at the effects of estrogen-alone therapy for postmenopausal women who had had prior hysterectomies, estrogen-alone therapy did not appear to increase breast cancer risk, but it did elevate the incidence of stroke and blood clots among study subjects. Bottom line: When considering medication to relieve hot flashes and other menopause symptoms, talk to your doctor about your breast cancer risks and cardiovascular health.
Drugs to reduce breast cancer risk. Big news: Two drugs were shown to reduce the incidence of certain breast cancers by about 50% among the nearly 20,000 postmenopausal women who participated in a clinical trial sponsored by the National Cancer Institute. The drugs, Tamoxifen and Raloxifene, both carry varying degrees of risk for other health concerns, including uterine cancer, blood clots, and cataracts - which means that only high-risk women are the most likely candidates for their use. Both drugs are shown to protect against bone loss, with an estimated 500,000 women currently taking Raloxifene to prevent or treat osteoporosis.
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