EARLY PREVENTION
We cannot control some things that put us at risk for breast cancer, such as your age and being a female. But we can make personal choices that lower our risk of breast cancer. If you are at high risk for getting breast cancer, your doctor may also offer you certain medical treatments that can help prevent cancer.
FEMALE HORMONES:
Hormones change the way cells within the breast grow and divide. The years when you have a menstrual cycle are your high-estrogen years. Experts think that the longer you have higher estrogen, the more risk you have for breast cancer. This includes taking hormones after menopause.
Avoid long-term, high-dose hormones after menopause. If you use hormone therapy for menopause symptoms, use a low dose for as short a time as possible. This includes estrogen-progestin and estrogen-testosterone. Using estrogen by itself may slightly raise breast cancer risk.
Breast-feed. Breasting may lower your breast cancer risk. The benefit appears to be greatest in women who breast-fed for longer than 12 months or who breast-fed several children.
Healthy weight, Extra fat cells make extra estrogen, which raises your breast cancer risk. Getting regular exercise and watching what you eat help.
Having a full-term pregnancy before age 30 also lowers your breast cancer risks.
HEALTHY FOOD AND EXERCISE:
Eat a healthy diet with plenty of fruits, vegetables and whole grains. A low-fat diet with limited red meat may lower your breast cancer risk.
Be active. Try to do at least 2 1/2 hours a week of moderate exercise. One way to do this is to be active 30 minutes a day, at least 5 days a week. Staying active may lower your breast cancer risk.
Drink no more than one alcoholic drink a day. Using alcohol leads to extra estrogen in the body, which raises your breast cancer risk.
"ANTI-ESTROGEN" MEDICINE:
If you are at high risk for breast caner, talk to your doctor about taking medicine that helps prevent it. This is sometimes called hormone therapy for breast cancer. It blocks the effects of hormones on breast cancer cells.
- Tamoxifen is a medicine that blocks the effect of estrogen on breast cancer cells and normal breast cells. Among high-risk women, tamoxifen lowers their risk of breast cancer about the same as raloxifen does. But this medicine may also increase other risks, such as for endometrial cancer, stroke, and blood clots in veins and in the lungs.
- Raloxifene is widely used to prevent and treat osteoporosis. It works like estrogen on bone, but it works like an "anti-estrogen" on the breast tissue. Among high-risk women, raloxifen lowers their breast cancer risk about the same as tamoxifen does. Compared to tamoxifen, raloxifen's endometrial cancer risk is lower. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved raloxifene for us in reducing the risk of breast cancer in post-menopausal women who have osteoporosis. The FDA has also approved raloxifene for use in post menopausal women at high risk for breast cancer.
If you have a strong family history of early breast cancer or breast and ovarian cancer, talk to your doctor about BRCA testing.
Surgery to remove the breast. Some women with a strong family history of breast cancer decide to have surgery to remove their breast. This is called a preventive or prophylactic mastectomy. It reduces the risk of developing breast cancer by approximately 90% in women who have a strong family history of breast cancer. A cancer risk assessment, genetic test, and psychological counseling are recommended for women who may be considering this treatment option.
Surgery to remove the ovaries. Genetic mutations (called BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene changes) raise the risk of both breast cancer and ovarian cancer. Hormones made by the ovaries increase the risk of breast cancer.
Removal of the ovaries (prophylactic oophorectomy) reduces the risk of breast cancer in women with a genetic mutation. Such decision is best mad after a cancer risk assessment , genetic test, and counseling.
The information you find on our site is for education only it does not take the place of you seeking medical help from a license professional if you have any signs of breast cancer or any other medical issues.