‘Breast cancer’ just these two words can get a women to worry. We all know someone who is affected by this diseases, don’t we? But there is a lot of good news about breast cancer these days. Treatments keep getting better, and we know more than ever about ways to prevent the disease. Here is list of ways to prevent breast cancer.
Keep you weight in check, always! Maintaining a stable weight is always good. There should be no sudden increase or decrease when it come to weight. Being overweight can increase the risk of many different cancers, including breast cancer, especially post menopause, along with the risk of having heart diseases.
One should always be physically active. There is no better treatment than an exercise. It is believed that women who are physically active for maximum 30 minutes a day have a lower risk of having breast cancer. Exercising will also help you in maintaining a stable weight.
Alcohol is not good for health. We all have heard this fact. It is okay to have it once in a while but not on regular bases. It is even said that alcohol is good for the heart, but sadly it is not good for cancer. Even a little amount of alcohol can increase the risk of breast cancer. In general, if you drink moderately, no more than one drink a day for women, the overall health benefits of drinking outweigh the risks. But if you don’t drink, don’t feel that you need to start.
Surprisingly, breastfeeding for a total period of one year or more lowers the risk of breast cancer. Also, it adds more health benefits to the child. It is advisable to avoid using birth control pills after the age of 35. These pills have both risks and benefits. Younger the women, lower she is at the risk. Whereas, women women are taking birth control pills, they have a slightly increased risk of breast cancer. This risk goes away quickly, though, after stopping the pills. Also consumption of these pills increase the chance of having strokes and heart attack, particularly if the women is smoking. But there is also a long term benefits to it that is there is a lower risk of ovary cancer, colon cancer and uterine cancer.
Post-menopausal hormones shouldn’t be taken long term to prevent chronic diseases, like osteoporosis and heart disease. They in fact have a mixed effect on health also they increase the risk of some diseases and lower the risk of others and both estrogenonly hormones and estrogen-plus-progestin hormones increase the risk of breast cancer. If women do take post-menopausal hormones, it should be for the shortest time possible.
One of the important thing is to know about your family history. Women with a family history of cancer should take some extra care. You might be at the risk of having breast cancer if your mother or sister or family member who has or had developed a breast cancer or ovarian cancer.
