Understanding Breast Cancer - Prevention

How Can I Prevent Breast Cancer?

Doctors still are not certain how you can stop breast cancer from happening in the first place.

Regular aerobic exercise may offer some protection against a woman's risk of developing breast cancer. Studies have found that women who exercised vigorously and often were only half as likely as non-exercisers to get breast cancer, even though other factors probably played a role. Exercise also can help women with breast cancer better tolerate the side effects of radiation or chemotherapy and can help promote a faster recovery after surgery.

Nutrition and Diet to Prevent Breast Cancer

Diet plays a very small but measurable role in breast cancer prevention. Dietary fats may increase your risk of developing breast cancer, and fruits, vegetables, and grains may help to reduce the risk. It's a good idea to make whole-milk dairy products, meat, and foods fried at high temperatures only occasional treats rather than staples. You can enliven your menus by sampling different kinds of fresh fruits and vegetables and basing new dishes on whole grains and legumes. This way, you're bound to get plenty of fiber, along with vitamins and minerals thought to protect against breast cancer, specifically vitamins A, C, D, and E, and calcium, selenium, and iodine. Some doctors recommend that breast cancer patients take antioxidant supplements.

It's important to keep in mind that dietary measures are insufficient to overcome other risk factors for breast cancer. Women who take adhere to a healthy diet should still take other preventive measures such as having regular mammograms.

Early detection, catching the disease and treating it early in its development when it is the most treatable remains proper strategy for better cancer outcome.  The following is a common strategy, but ask your doctor exactly what you should do to help prevent breast cancer or find it early:

• Check your breasts once a month, three to five days after your menstrual period ends. Have a thorough medical checkup once a year, and have mammograms every one to two years if you are aged 40 or older. Beginning at 50, yearly mammograms are recommended. Start mammograms earlier if you have a family history of breast cancer.
• Build your diet around fruit, vegetables, grains, and fish.
• If you use contraception, ask your doctor about the pros and cons of birth control pills. 
• If you are near or in menopause, ask your doctor if you should use hormone replacement therapy to treat menopause symptoms. Studies suggest that hormone replacement can increase the risk of breast cancer. You and your doctor can make this decision based on your risk of breast cancer.