Consumer Guide to Breast Cancer

Breast Cancer Information

• Breast Cancer Information, including types and stages.

Breast Cancer

• Preventing Breast Cancer and contributing factors.

Breast Cancer Treatment

• Guide to Breast Cancer Treament options.

Breast Cancer Care

• Living, Coping and Surviving with breast cancer.

Breast Cancer Directory

• Breast Cancer Treatment, support, centers and doctors.

Breast Cancer Prevention

Breast cancer is a disease that can affect any woman at any time. Many women want to know what they can do to avoid getting breast cancer. Even with all the medical advances and new treatments, a clear cause as to why breast cancer develops has not yet been established. Many contributing factors are known, but these factors alone do not always predict a certain breast cancer occurrence.

Breast Cancer Factors

Some of the factors that affect the chances of getting breast cancer are within a woman's control and some are not. Some of the factors that cannot be changed are being female, age, inherited genetics, having the first menses before the age of twelve, and going thru menopause at the age of 55 or older. Age cannot be controlled, and getting older is a factor of breast cancer. While breast cancer is not absolutely hereditary, a family history of breast cancer does increase the risk by approximately ten percent.

Certain other factors that seem to affect the development of breast cancer include; not having children; having the first child after the age of 30; not breastfeeding; gaining weight and obesity, especially after menopause; use of oral contraceptives; hormone replacement therapy (HRT) after menopause. While many cases of breast cancer are hormone-related, other factors include stress, stimulants such as caffeine, sugar and alcohol, lack of exercise, over-exposure to pesticides, radiation, and environmental pollution, smoking and second-hand smoke, the use of cling film and plastic containers for food storage, and the overuse of antibiotics.

As breast cancer is a disease that forms in the cells, it only makes sense that the food a woman eats and the things that a woman is exposed to can affect her body. A healthy lifestyle that includes eating right, exercising on a regular basis, and maintaining a healthy weight can help a woman lessen her chances of developing many diseases, including breast cancer.

Exercise and activities such as Yoga and meditation can help reduce stress and maintain a healthy weight, and thus indirectly lessen the risk of breast cancer. Being overweight is a risk factor of breast cancer, especially if the weight is gained later in life or after menopause. This is because estrogen circulates around the body in excess fatty tissue, and the amount of estrogen the body is exposed to during a woman's lifetime is linked to the occurrence of breast cancer.

Eating healthy foods not only helps a woman stay healthy and maintain a healthy weight, but it can also help prevent breast cancer. A healthy diet should include a variety of low fat and high fiber foods. As the risk of breast cancer is associated with the intake amount of total fat, saturated fat, and animal fat (meat and dairy products), these food items should be limited in the diet. Eating organic vegetables and meat will limit the exposure to pesticides and hormones. A diet should include lots of tomatoes and tomato products as they contain lycopene, a nutrient that can inhibit the growth of breast cancer cells. A diet should also include soybeans and soy products in the diet, as they help to reduce the growth of cancer cells. Essential oils to include in the diet are olive oil, borage oil, flax oil, evening primrose oil, and Omega 3 and Omega 6 which are found in oily fish.

Other foods that have been shown to help stave off breast cancer include; apricots, beans, blackberries, blueberries, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, elderberries, garlic, grapefruit, kale, kiwi, leeks, lemons, mackerel, mangoes, melon, nuts, oats, onions, oranges, pears, peas, peppers, pumpkin, raspberries, rice bran, rye, salmon, seeds, squash, shiitake mushrooms, spinach, strawberries, sweet potatoes, tuna, walnuts, watercress, wheat bran, wild rice, and the herbs and spices rosemary, thyme, oregano, and turmeric.

With breast cancer being linked to so many factors that are beyond a woman's control, it is important for women to do what they can to prevent it. While nothing can guarantee that a woman will not get breast cancer, a woman can play her part in the prevention of breast cancer by making healthy lifestyle choices.