“How can you as a woman protect yourself against breast cancer?

Answer 1

Well all the people in the know would suggest that you eat plenty of fruit and vegetables, avoid high amounts of fats, eat whole grains etc. However if you look on the bacup cancer site this is for breast cancer this may give some information. If you have breast cancer in the family you can go to your G.P who will refer you to a specialist as you can now be tested for wether you have the gene that causes breast cancer. Eat well, exercise, relax enjoy life - live to the full - theres no magic bullet to avoid such things but being positive is supposed to help

Answer 2

Do what I do and check your breasts each month just after your periods. It's not worth doing so at any other time of the menstrual cycle as your breasts may be lumpy due to hormones. If there are lumps, go to your GP asap.
If you have had a female relative who has had breast cancer, tell your GP.
If you are over 50 in Britain, you'll get an invitation for an annual mammogram. Take it up. Don't be embarrassed!
That's it.

Answer 3

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Answer 4

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Answer 5

don't smoke within 5 year of starting your periods. and really it's about being aware. check your self every month or so for lumps and changes. and go for regular smear tests of mamagrams.

Answer 6

* Limit alcohol. A strong link exists between alcohol consumption and breast cancer. The type of alcohol consumed — wine, beer or mixed drinks — seems to make no difference. To help protect against breast cancer, limit alcohol to less than one drink a day or avoid alcohol completely.
* Maintain a healthy weight. There's a clear link between obesity — weighing more than is appropriate for your age and height — and breast cancer. This is especially true if you gain the weight later in life, particularly after menopause. Excess fatty tissue is a source of circulating estrogen in your body. And breast cancer risk is linked to how much estrogen you're exposed to during your lifetime.
* Stay physically active. Regular exercise can help you maintain a healthy weight and, as a consequence, may aid in lowering your risk of breast cancer. Aim for at least 30 minutes of exercise on most days of the week. If you haven't been particularly active in the past, start your exercise program slowly and gradually work up to a greater intensity. Try to include weight-bearing exercises such as walking, jogging or aerobics. These have the added benefit of keeping your bones strong.
* Consider limiting fat in your diet. Results from the Women's Health Initiative low-fat diet study suggest a slight decrease in risk of invasive breast cancer for women who eat a low-fat diet. But the effect is modest at best. However, by reducing the amount of fat in your diet, you may decrease your risk of other diseases, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and stroke. And a low-fat diet may protect against breast cancer in another way if it helps you maintain a healthy weight — another factor in breast cancer risk. For a protective benefit, limit fat intake to less than 35 percent of your daily calories and restrict foods high in saturated fat.

* Ask about aspirin. Taking an aspirin just once a week may help protect against breast cancer. A study in the "Journal of the American Medical Association" in May 2004 found that women who had a history of breast cancer and who took aspirin once a week for six months or longer were 20 percent less likely to develop breast cancer than women who didn't take the drug. Women who took a daily aspirin had an even greater reduction in risk — 28 percent. Regular use of ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, others) also seems to help protect against breast cancer, but not as effectively as aspirin. On the contrary, acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) works differently from aspirin and ibuprofen and has no anti-cancer benefit.

Aspirin and ibuprofen are effective only against breast cancers that have receptors for the female hormones estrogen and progesterone, which are known to stimulate tumor growth. The drugs work by reducing estrogen levels in your body and breast tissue. They do this by blocking a hormone-like substance (prostaglandin) that's needed to activate an enzyme important in the synthesis of estrogen.

However, be sure to talk to your doctor before you start taking aspirin as a preventive measure. When used for long periods of time, aspirin can cause serious side effects, including stomach irritation, bleeding and ulcers; bleeding in the intestinal and urinary tracts; and hemorrhagic stroke. In general, you're not a candidate for aspirin therapy if you have a history of peptic ulcers, liver or kidney disease, bleeding disorders or gastrointestinal bleeding.
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Discuss discontinuing long-term hormone therapy. Study results from the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) raised concerns about the use of hormone therapy for symptoms of menopause. Among other problems, long-term treatment with estrogen-progestin combinations, such as those found in the drug Prempro, increased the risk of breast cancer. The WHI investigators also reported that women taking hormone therapy while in the study who developed breast cancer had more aggressive and larger tumors. The women in the study taking hormone therapy were also found to have more abnormal mammograms — requiring additional imaging methods, such as ultrasound — due to the hormones' effects on breast tissue density.

If you're taking hormone therapy, consider your options with the advice of your doctor. You may be able to manage your menopausal symptoms with exercise, dietary changes or nonhormonal therapies that have been shown to provide some relief. If none of these are effective, you may decide that the benefits of short-term hormone therapy outweigh the risks. In that case, your doctor will likely encourage you to use the lowest dose of hormone therapy for the shortest period of time.


This is just some of the article.. it's located at... http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/breast-cancer-prevention/WO00091

Answer 7

Eat healthy, breastfeed, and avoid toxins, smoking, and radiation.

Answer 8

breastfeeding is imp to avoid it. but then a mammogram is imp to avoid it. gof or it regularly

Answer 9

Get me to feel them !!