What are the best tips for breast cancer prevention?
- Maintain a healthy body weight
- Exercise regularly
- Limit alcohol consumption
- Don’t smoke
- Breastfeed
- Beware of postmenopausal hormone therapy
Breast cancer has a very high diagnosis and mortality rates in women. If you’re worried that you might have this disease, that’s normal. The good news is that there are lots of research about cancer nowadays, and we’ve learned a lot. Because of all this research, we were able to compile the best tips for breast cancer prevention.
There are many factors related to breast cancer. We can’t do anything for some of them, like genetics and age. But there are still things you can do to lower the risk for you. Keep reading to learn what lifestyle changes will help prevent breast cancer!
Maintain a healthy body weight
This is a common tip given for healthy living, but a very important one. A healthy body weight can decrease your chances of getting breast cancer. While maintaining a good weight is generally healthy, it also plays a role in your vulnerability to cancer.
Studies have found that weight gain in adulthood increases the risk of breast cancer. In fact, it has even been reported that gaining over 25 kg since the age of 18 would drastically increase the likelihood.
Obesity has been linked to different types of cancers, breast cancer included. This means that avoiding obesity comes with avoiding diseases that will make you more vulnerable to complications.
You can achieve this with proper diet and exercise. Lowering your calorie intake and increasing your physical activity will help you achieve or maintain healthy body weight.
Exercise regularly
As mentioned, exercise can help you maintain your body weight. It is also considered a protective factor for breast cancer. The many health benefits of exercise are well-known, and doctors have always recommended it.
Many factors contribute to why physical activity can prevent breast cancer. There are plenty of studies around the world that proves this. There is a significant decrease of risk for women who are physically active compared to those who are not. Factors like estrogen levels, body fat distribution, and insulin levels may play a part in this.
Either way, the results are clear. Having at least 30 minutes of exercise for 5 days a week reduces your chances of getting breast cancer.
Limit alcohol consumption
It is generally healthier to moderate your alcohol consumption. Research shows that the more alcohol you drink, the bigger the risk of getting breast cancer. A number of cases of breast cancer have been linked to women’s drinking habits.
It’s simple: if you don’t drink, then that’s good. But for women who like to drink, even small amounts will contribute to the odds of you getting breast cancer. If you want to prevent yourself from getting the disease, then you should consider quitting or at least limiting yourself to one drink a day.
Don’t smoke
This is another tip that makes perfect sense right away. The unhealthy effects of smoking have also been well-known for a while now. It introduces carcinogens to the body. Those are the agents that cause cancer in humans.
Although the bigger threat for smokers is lung cancer, smoking will still make you more vulnerable to many cancers, such as breast cancer. Since it has virtually no positive health effects, we strongly recommend you to stop smoking, or not to try if you haven’t yet.
Breastfeed
If you look at the market today, there are plenty of alternatives to breastfeeding. New mothers sometimes opt to use formula milk instead of breastfeeding. Although there are plenty of reasons to do this, you should know that breastfeeding is one of the easiest ways to prevent breast cancer.
Women who breastfeed their children have less chance of getting breast cancer than those who have children but chose not to breastfeed. This is because the estrogen levels stay low while breastfeeding.
Simply breastfeeding your children for a collective total of one year will decrease your vulnerability.
Beware of postmenopausal hormone therapy
Taking combination hormone therapy for menopausal symptoms increases the risks. It has been found that the chances of getting breast cancer increase by around 10% for every 5 years of use. This doesn’t mean that you should stop altogether.
Consult your doctor about these concerns so you can make a plan together. Switching to short-term use of hormone therapy might be better for breast cancer prevention.
Key takeaway
As you can see, there are many ways for us to prevent getting breast cancer. Living a healthy lifestyle is the general guideline, but these are still the best tips for breast cancer prevention that we can give you. These lifestyle changes will not only lower the likelihood of you getting breast cancer, but they will also make you healthier overall.
Are you worried that you might have breast cancer? Do you want to consult with a doctor or get some tests done? We can help! Perpetual Help Medical Center Las Pinas offers our patients everything they need if and when they are diagnosed with breast cancer.
From screening, surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy to monitoring, Perpetual Help Medical Center Las Pinas will be your partner throughout your cancer journey.