|
Untitled Document
|
| Breast
and Ovarian Cancer |
Can I Change My Lifestyle to Lower
My Risk? |
 |
|
By
Kari Danziger,
MS, CGC
Reviewed
By Beth Crawford,
MS, CGC
Last
Updated September 23, 2000
|
| Although
there are many risk factors for breast cancer
that you cannot control, such as genetic predisposition
and increasing age, there are also some risk factors that
you can change. The majority of these involve lifestyle,
which means that by simply modifying certain behaviors,
you may be able to decrease your risk for breast cancer.
|
|
|
Diet and Exercise
|
|
Researchers
have linked high-fat diets with increased risk for a
number of types of cancer, including cancer of the colon,
rectum, prostate, and endometrium. The association between
a high-fat diet and breast cancer, however, is less
clear. What researchers do know is this:
- US
women are more likely to develop (and die from) breast
cancer than are women who live in Asia and other
regions where the populations consume less fat.
- When
Asian women move to the United States, their breast
cancer risk begins to rise; within a few generations,
it's the same as that for Americans who are not of
Asian descent.
- Women
in countries with lower breast cancer rates consume
more plant-based foods, such as vegetables, fruits,
and grains. According to one study, such foods may
protect against breast cancer.
For
these reasons, it makes sense for women concerned about
breast cancer to limit the fat content of their diets
— especially in light of the fact that a woman's
postmenopausal weight appears
to be linked to breast cancer risk, and heavier women
are at increased risk for breast cancer. Having more
fat tissue can increase your blood estrogen
levels, and one theory is that increased estrogen exposure
is linked to breast cancer risk. A low-fat diet can
help women reduce their weight and thus avoid this risk
factor, as can a regular program of exercise.
Maintaining
a normal weight is particularly important in women with
BRCA mutations: A recent study has found that having
a normal weight at the time when menstruation begins
can protect women with BRCA mutations from developing
breast cancer.
In
addition to helping women maintain a healthy weight,
exercise has been shown to protect against breast cancer
— at least in part, scientists believe, because
it alters a woman's hormone
levels.
Recent
findings about the link between exercise and breast
cancer include the following:
- In
a study of 25,000 Norwegian women, those who exercised
at least four hours a week were 37 percent less likely
to develop breast cancer than were the sedentary women.
- In
a study of premenopausal women, those who exercised
one to three hours a week were able to reduce their
risk for breast cancer — a finding that was even
more pronounced among women who exercised four or
more hours a week.
For
recent news about how exercise affects ovarian cancer
risk, see Related News below.
|
|
 top
|
Alcohol
Consumption
|
 |
| For
women who consume more than two drinks a day, reducing
alcohol consumption could be a good strategy for
reducing breast cancer risk. |
|
Studies
have shown that women who have two to five alcoholic drinks
each day have 1.5 times the risk of breast cancer as women
who do not. However, studies for lower levels of consumption
have been less clear (some find a relationship and others
do not). For women who consume more than two drinks a
day, reducing alcohol consumption could be a good strategy
for reducing breast cancer risk. More studies are needed
to confirm the relationship between breast cancer and
alcohol consumption at lower levels. However, for women
at high risk of developing the disease, limiting or reducing
alcohol comsumption may be an additional strategy for
reducing risk.
|
|
top
|
Smoking
|
|
| There
are many health benefits from quitting smoking —
one of which may be reducing your risk of breast
cancer. |
|
Although
smoking is clearly linked to overall cancer risk, scientists
don't yet know how it affects breast cancer risk. An American
Cancer Society study suggested that women who smoke may
be more likely to die from breast cancer. However, scientists
don't know whether this means that women who smoke are
less likely to survive breast cancer or that smoking contributes
to breast cancer risk. Whatever the case, there are many
benefits to be gained from quitting smoking — one
of which may be a reduced risk for breast cancer. |
References
|
|
Bernstein,
L. et al. (1994). Physical exercise and reduced risk
of breast cancer in young women. J Natl Cancer Inst.
86(18):1403-8.
Calle,
E.E. et al. (1994). Cigarette smoking and risk of fatal
breast cancer. Am J Epidemiol. 139(10):1001-7.
Cleary,
M. P. and Maihle, N.J. (1997). The role of body mass
index in the relative risk of developing premenopausal
versus postmenopausal breast cancer. Proc Soc Exp
Biol Med. 216(1):28-43.
Colditz,
G.A. (1990). A prospective assessment of moderate alcohol
intake and major chronic diseases. Ann Epidemiol.
1(2):167-77.
Garfinkel,
L. et al. (1988). Alcohol and breast cancer: a cohort
study. Prev Med. 17(6):686-93.
Longnecker,
M.P. et al. (1995). Risk of breast cancer in relation
to lifetime alcohol consumption. J Natl Cancer Inst.
87(12):923-9.
Smith-Warner,
S.A. et al. (1998). Alcohol and breast cancer in women:
a pooled analysis of cohort studies. JAMA. 279(7):535-40.
Thune,
T. et al. (1997). Physical activity and the risk of
breast cancer. N Engl J Med. 336(18):1269-75.
Trichopoulou,
A. et al. (1995). Consumption of olive oil and specific
food groups in relation to breast cancer risk in Greece.
J Natl Cancer Inst. 87(2):110-6.
Ziegler,
R.G. et al. (1993). Migration patterns and breast cancer
risk in Asian-American women. J Natl Cancer Inst.
85(22):1819-27.
|
| <<Previous
Article |
Main
Topic Page
|
Next
Article>>
|
|
|
|
|
Untitled Document
©Copyright 2000, 2001 Genetic Health. All Rights Reserved.
Contact Us |
|
|
