Breast cancer is the most common type of cancerous growth in women. Some symptoms of breast cancer include a lump in the breast, skin texture changes, and dimpling. Attending regular cancer screenings can help doctors detect cancerous growths early, making the cancer easier to treat and less likely to spread to other parts of your body. While the disease isn’t 100% preventable, there are a few ways to reduce the risks of developing breast cancer:
1. Moderate alcohol consumption
Alcohol is a toxin that disrupts your hormones and can cause damage to your body. Alcohol can contribute to the development of new mutations in breast growth cells, increase insulin resistance, and alter hormones that can affect breast tissue. Moreover, alcohol can damage DNA in the breast and cause future mutations in your cells’ DNA. As such, high alcohol intake is a risk factor for breast cancer growth—the more you drink, the higher your risk of breast cancer.
2. Quit smoking
Smoking is the number one cause of preventable deaths, including from breast cancer. When you light up daily, you’re exposing your body to carcinogens that can cause cancer to develop. Cigarettes also contain toxins that can damage your DNA and lead to uncontrolled cell growth within your body.
3. Manage your weight
Maintaining a healthy weight throughout your life is essential for your overall health, but it is also beneficial for reducing your risk of cancerous growth. For example, being obese or overweight increases estrogen levels, further increasing your risk of breast cancer.
4. Eat a healthy diet
A healthy diet helps reduce your risk of developing various diseases by preventing weight gain and promoting a healthy immune system. A healthy diet that includes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fish, poultry, beans, and dairy products can also decrease your risk of developing a cancerous growth. On the other hand, foods high in fat, sugar, salt, and calories have been linked to cancerous growth. As such, a healthy diet is just as much about avoiding risky foods as it is about eating healthy ones.
5. Breast-feed if you can
Breastfeeding women may have a decreased risk of developing breast cancer. Breastfeeding can improve your metabolic health, reducing your risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and certain types of cancerous growth. When women are breastfeeding, they can also have fewer menstrual cycles, which results in lower estrogen levels in the body. Frequent milk production can also prevent breast cells in the milk-producing ducts from misbehaving, lowering breast cancer risk.
6. Do self-breast exams
A cancerous growth is often easier to treat and has a better prognosis if it is detected early. Breast self-examination (BSE) is an excellent way to check and feel your breasts to help detect any changes in your breasts.
Keeping your risk of breast cancer low is essential to staying healthy. Many different factors contribute to an individual’s risk of cancerous growth, and not everyone will develop it. One way to decrease your risk is through routine screenings for breast-specific cancerous growths. Women who undergo early screening are much more likely to be diagnosed with an early stage of the disease and, therefore, more likely to be successfully treated.
