Understanding Breast Cancer Risk Factors: Alcohol Use

No one should drink a lot of alcohol. Drinking more than one drink per day (for women) and more than two drinks per day (for men) has no health benefits and many serious health risks, including breast cancer.

• Research shows that women who had two to three alcoholic drinks per day had a 20 percent higher risk of breast cancer compared to women who didn’t drink alcohol.
• Estrogen levels are higher in women who drink alcohol than in non-drinkers, which may increase the risk of breast cancer.
• Drinking alcohol can reduce blood levels of the vitamin folic acid. Low levels of folic acid may make it more likely errors occur when cells divide, which can cause cells to become cancerous.
• Drinking in moderation has some health benefits like lowering the risks of heart disease, high blood pressure and death. It is important to note that drinking excessive alcohol has no health benefits, only health risks.

Learn more: http://ww5.komen.org/BreastCancer/DrinkingAlcohol.html

Understanding Breast Cancer Risk Factors: Questions to Ask Your Doctor

No one knows more about your body than you do – not your partner, not your parents, not even your doctor. So when you talk with any health care provider about your health, remember that you have valuable information to share. You know about changes in your body and about any problems you may be having. Share that information. Open and honest communication between you and your doctor is one of the best ways to make sure you get the care you deserve.
To get the most out of each doctor’s visit, try following these guidelines:

1. Be prepared. It is often helpful to gather information about your health concerns — from the library (books and medical journals), trusted Internet sites, etc. The more you know, the more comfortable you will be talking to your doctor.

2. Organize your questions ahead of time. You should be able to talk openly and honestly with your doctor about breast health and breast cancer to make sure all of your questions are answered. To help you get started, Susan G. Komen® has series of 17 Questions to Ask the Doctor topic cards on a variety of breast cancer issues. Each card contains important questions to discuss with your doctor. Space is provided for you to jot down the answers. Also, be sure to bring a voice recorder to capture your conversation so you can refer back to your doctor’s responses. These questions will help your doctor understand and address your specific concerns. You can download and print these cards to take to your next doctor’s appointment at www.komen.org/questions.
3. Tell your story. When your doctor comes in, ask if you can take a few minutes to briefly explain your situation and concerns. Be as specific as you can. Then give the doctor your list of questions and ask them.
4. Give feedback. If your doctor’s responses were helpful, say so. This kind of feedback will encourage your doctor to talk with you, listen to you and continue to help you. Doctors are just like anyone else; they want to do their job well. That means doing whatever they can to help you stay healthy or to get better. Remember, although doctors may know a great deal about breast health and breast cancer, they may not truly understand or be aware of all that you are going through. You can help your doctor help you by sharing your feelings and concerns.

Having a positive relationship with your doctor can improve your chances of successful treatment and recovery.

Learn more: http://ww5.komen.org/BreastCancer/QuestionstoAsktheDoctorPDFDownloads.html?ecid=vanityurl:57

Understanding Breast Cancer Risk Factors: Menopausal Hormone Use

In the past, many women used menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) to relieve hot flashes and other symptoms of menopause. But studies show that use of estrogen plus progestin increases the risk of both developing and dying from breast cancer. Although MHT is approved for the short-term relief of menopausal symptoms, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends women use only the lowest dose that eases symptoms for the shortest time needed.
When women take these hormones, their risk of having an abnormal mammogram increases within the first year of use and their risk of breast cancer increases within the first five years of use. The risk of breast cancer goes up slightly each year a woman takes estrogen plus progestin. One large study found women who use estrogen plus progestin for five or more years (and are still taking it) more than double their breast cancer risk.
When women stop taking MHT, the risk of breast cancer starts to decline. After about five to 10 years, the risk returns to that of a woman who has never used MHT.

Learn more:  http://ww5.komen.org/BreastCancer/PostmenopausalHormoneUse.html

Understanding Breast Cancer Risk Factors: Exercise

Let’s get moving and be physically active! Exercise can help with weight control. For postmenopausal women, being lean lowers the risk of breast cancer. And physical activity may lower estrogen levels in all women, which can also protect against breast cancer. Physical activity may also boost the body’s immune system so that it can help kill or slow the growth of cancer cells.

• Activity equal to walking 30 minutes a day may lower risk by about three percent.
• For breast cancer survivors, activity equal to a 30-minute brisk walk several times a week leads to lower recurrence rates and death from breast cancer.
• Being active is good for your health, but it can be hard to find time to exercise. Do whatever activities you enjoy most (for example, dancing or gardening) that get you moving.

Learn more: http://ww5.komen.org/BreastCancer/LackofExercise.html

Understanding Breast Cancer Risk Factors: Diet/Nutrition

Some factors that increase the risk to developing breast cancer, like being a woman and getting older, are not things you can change. But other factors, like maintaining a healthy weight and eating right, may help lower your chances of getting breast cancer.

• Eat at least 2 ½ cups of fruits and vegetables every day. Recent studies showed that those who ate the most fruit had a slightly lower risk compared to those who ate the least fruit, and that eating vegetables may slightly lower the risk of estrogen receptor-negative cancers.
• Choose 100 percent whole grain foods (like 100 percent whole grain breads and cereals, brown rice, popcorn and quinoa) more often. 
• Limit red meat and processed meat (choose chicken, fish or beans instead).
• Cut down on "bad" fats (saturated and trans fats), and eat more "good" fats (polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats, like olive and canola oil).

Learn more:  http://ww5.komen.org/BreastCancer/HealthyBehaviorsampRisk.html

Understanding Breast Cancer Risk Factors: Personal Health History

Understanding what factors in your personal health history might affect your risk can help you work with your health care provider to address any concerns you may have and develop a breast cancer screening plan that is right for you.

• High bone density, age at first period, age at menopause, using birth control pills, and menopausal hormone use all are linked to blood estrogen levels which can impact breast cancer risk.
• Women who have had ovarian cancer appear to have an increased risk of breast cancer. 
• Women who have an inherited mutation in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene have an increased risk of both breast and ovarian cancer.
• Breast cancer survivors have an increased risk of getting a new breast cancer. If the first breast cancer was hormone receptor-negative, the risk may be higher compared to those survivors whose first breast cancer was hormone receptor-positive.
• Having a history of Hodgkin's disease in childhood or early adulthood increases breast cancer risk about 15 to 25 times.

Learn more:  http://ww5.komen.org/BreastCancer/UncontrollableRiskFactors.html

Understanding Breast Cancer Risk Factors: Family History

While most people diagnosed with breast cancer do not have a family history of the disease, a family history of certain types of cancer can increase your risk of breast cancer. This increased risk may be due to genetic factors (known and unknown), shared lifestyle factors or other family traits.

• Women who have a sister or mother who was diagnosed with breast cancer before age 50 have almost twice the risk of women with no family history.
• A history of prostate cancer in a father or brother may also increase a woman's risk of breast cancer, especially if the prostate cancer was found at a young age.

Breast cancer screening for women at higher risk

There are special breast cancer screening guidelines for some women at higher risk. If you have a higher risk of breast cancer, talk with your health care provider about which screening options are right for you. You may need to be screened earlier and/or more often. Additionally, if you have a higher risk of breast cancer, there are some options to help lower your risk including:

• Taking risk-lowering drugs (tamoxifen or raloxifene).
• Having preventive surgery (prophylactic mastectomy or prophylactic oophorectomy).
• Such decisions should only be made after talking with your health care provider.

 
Learn more: http://ww5.komen.org/BreastCancer/FamilyHistoryofBreastOvarianorProstateCancer.html