The second most frequent cancer in the United States is breast cancer. In the United States, there will be 276.480 new breast cancer cases in women in 2020.
Several risk factors, some of which you cannot change, contribute to your unique chance of getting breast cancer. However there are strategies to lower your risk, but there is no surefire strategy to avoid breast cancer.
Breast cancer can be stopped before it can spread with earlier diagnostics and therapies. In this article, we shall discuss some preventive practices that you can apply and practice to stay away from breast cancer.
Table of Contents
Steps To Save Your Self From Breast Cancer
Given below are some of the most important steps that can help you protect yourself from breast cancer—
Maintain A Healthy Weight
Being overweight might increase your risk of developing breast cancer, among other cancers, especially after menopause.
Try to maintain a body mass index of 25 or below and avoid gaining weight over time. (Online calculators are available.) If necessary, seek advice from your doctor on the best ways to lose weight.
Particularly after menopause, obesity can raise the chance of developing breast cancer. Your risk goes up because having more fat tissue causes your body to create more estrogen.
There may be additional health benefits to decreasing even a small amount of weight. If you are now within a healthy weight range, try to lose a few more pounds.
Maintain A Healthy Diet
Evidence supports the idea that adhering to specific dietary recommendations may lower your chance of developing cancer. For example, women who consume a Mediterranean diet have been proven to have lower incidences of breast cancer.
The Mediterranean diet primarily emphasizes plant-based meals, and fish is utilized in place of red meat as a source of protein.
In older persons, a nutritious diet can help reduce the risk of breast cancer. Adopt a diet rich in fruits and vegetables and low in greasy meals, sugary beverages, and processed carbs.
Eat lean proteins like fish or chicken breast, and avoid or only eat red meat in moderation. Vegetable oils are preferable to animal fats.
Cut Down On Alcohol
The American Cancer Society advises women to limit their daily alcohol intake to one drink. For example, 12 ounces of standard beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of hard liquor constitute one drink. Your chance of developing breast cancer rises as you consume more alcohol.
Breast cancer risk is raised when alcohol is consumed. Alcohol has the power to alter how your body processes estrogen.
Regular alcohol use might cause the body’s estrogen levels to increase. Therefore, women should avoid consuming alcohol if they tend to indulge regularly.
Stay Cautious During Hormone Replacement Therapy
Studies show that progestin and estrogen-containing HRT increase the risk of breast cancer. Additionally, this combination could make breasts denser, which makes mammography less effective in detecting breast cancer.
The good news is that the risk returns to that of a woman who has not used HRT three years after the hormones are discontinued.
Estrogen by itself does not enhance the risk of breast cancer. However, hysterectomy survivors who use estrogen-only HRT have a greater chance of developing endometrial cancer.
It is advised to start HRT as soon as possible and at the lowest dose that will work for you.
Get A Mammogram Annually
An x-ray image of the breasts, called mammography, allows for detecting lumps or other abnormal growths that might not be felt during a self-exam.
Since mammograms were made available to Americans in the 1980s, there have been 30% fewer fatalities among women from breast cancer. Experts advise yearly mammograms for women 40 and older.
The American College of Radiology has recognized the MemorialCare Breast Center at Long Beach Memorial as a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence. The cause of 5–10% of occurrences of breast cancer is an inherited gene mutation.
Mammography reveals that women with thick breast tissue are at much higher risk than women without dense breast tissue.
Know Your Risks And Schedule A Genetic Counseling Appointment If Necessary
Researchers are aware of breast cancer’s primary dangers and causes, even though they may never fully understand its specific origin.
High estrogen levels are one of the leading risk factors on the list. Your genetics play a significant role in determining how much estrogen your body generates.
This might explain why women with a first-degree relative (mother or sister) with breast cancer are two to three times more likely to contract the illness themselves.
Individuals who get genetic counseling may be better able to comprehend their dangers and seek treatment. Make an appointment for genetic counseling with a Top Doctor in Dubai and get further information from your gynecologist or primary care physician.
Instead of merely wearing pink to raise awareness for breast cancer in October, take these preventive measures to take charge of your health.
0