Being a woman does not make you powerless against breast cancer. There are steps you can take that can reduce your chances of becoming one of the tens of thousands of North Americans who contract the disease.
1. Live a healthy lifestyle. Choose more foods from plant sources. Eat five or more servings of fruits and vegetables. Choose foods from plant sources, such as breads, cereals, grain products, rice, pasta, or beans. Limit intake of high-fat foods, particularly from animal sources.
Be physically active. Be at least moderately active for 30 minutes or more each day. And stay within your healthy weight range.
2. Be aware of inherited risk factors. Women with a family history of breast cancer are more likely to develop it themselves. While only seven percent of all breast tumors are considered to be hereditary, breast cancer in a close relative should increase your efforts toward prevention.
3. Self-examination. All women over age 20 should perform breast self-examination each month. All lumps are not cancerous, but only a doctor can tell the difference. If you find a lump, see your doctor.
4. Mammograms. Scientific studies show that for women over age 50 routine mammography can find breast cancer at an early, curable stage. The proof is not as clear for those in their 40s.
The National Institutes of Health have provided these pros and cons for women in their 40s to consider.
* The Pros: Though there are fewer cancers detected in ages 40 to 49, of those found, mammography can reduce death by 30 percent due to early discovery.
Early detection improves treatment options, including breast-conserving lumpectomy.
* The Cons: The test is more likely to miss tumors in younger women due to denser breast tissue.
And mammograms are more likely to produce "false positives" in younger women that still require a biopsy and cause needless worry.
Breast cancer is very curable if it is caught in time, but it continues to be a major cause of death among women in North America.
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