Taking Positive Steps to Prevent Breast Cancer

Nearly everyone knows someone who has been affected by breast cancer. Each year 1 in 3 women receives a breast cancer diagnosis. According to the American Cancer Society, the average risk of a woman in the United States developing breast cancer is approximately 13%, equivalent to a 1 in 8 chance.

While no cancer is entirely preventable, managing certain risk factors can help reduce your likelihood of developing breast cancer.

A risk factor is anything that increases your chances of getting a disease. There are some factors that can influence your breast cancer risk that are beyond your control, such as:

• Older age
• A personal history of breast cancer or benign breast disease
• Family history
• Dense breast tissue
• Being born female
• Ethnicity
• Race
• Radiation therapy to the chest or breast
• Reproductive history resulting in high levels of estrogen exposure

However, there are steps you can take to reduce the preventable risks. A preventable risk factor is a change you can make to reduce your chances of getting a disease. It’s also important to remember that even if you are at an increased risk for breast cancer, you can take steps that may reduce your risk.

How to Reduce Your Risks

The goal of cancer prevention is to lower your risk of getting cancer, and while there is no guaranteed regimen to prevent it, you can implement changes to reduce the risk. You can do all of what is considered “the right things” and still be diagnosed with cancer by causes outside of your control. But reducing your risk, or being diagnosed early, can vastly improve your chances of survival.

Lifestyle changes can potentially lower the risk of breast cancer and are the first place to start with breast cancer prevention. These changes include:

Maintain a Healthy Weight

Obesity is characterized by having too much body weight. While the relationship between the risk of breast cancer and body weight is complex, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) reports that excess weight and obesity after menopause increases a woman’s risk of breast cancer. Additionally, it can worsen outcomes after a breast cancer diagnosis at any age.

Chronic obesity is known to accelerate the growth of aggressive basal-like breast cancer, but research has found that staying in the healthy weight range and avoiding weight gain can potentially reduce your breast cancer risk by up to half.

Healthy Eating

A healthy diet is vital for reducing your risk of not only breast cancer, but many other diseases. Eat a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, beans, lentils, nuts, and quinoa. Limit your intake of red meat, animal fats, and processed meats, and avoid fried and sugary foods and drinks.

Limit Alcohol

The National Cancer Institute reports that studies have consistently found an increase in breast cancer risk as alcohol intake increases. Even low levels of drinking alcohol can increase your risk of breast cancer.

Quit Smoking

Smoking is linked to an increased risk of breast cancer in younger, premenopausal women. Additionally, women who currently smoke and have been smoking for more than 10 years may have a 10% higher risk of breast cancer than women who don’t smoke and have never smoked. Smoking poses many health risks, and it is known to cause at least 14 other cancers besides breast cancer.

Exercise

The benefits of daily exercise cannot be stated enough. Not only can it boost energy, mood, and keep weight in check, but it can also reduce your risk of some serious diseases including breast cancer. Aim for 30 minutes of physical activity each day. Try to combine weight bearing exercises and exercises that increase your heart rate, such as walking.

Be Cautious with Hormone Replacement Therapy

Menopausal symptoms can be difficult and hormone replacement therapy provides a great deal of relief. However, it shouldn’t be taken long term as both estrogen-only and estrogen-plus-progestin hormones can increase the risk of breast cancer. Talk to your doctor about the risks and benefits of hormone replacement therapy.

Know Your Family History

If you have a strong family history of cancer, especially breast cancer, you may be at a higher risk. If your mother or sister developed breast or ovarian cancer at an early age, or if you have multiple family members (including males) who have been diagnosed with breast, prostate, or ovarian cancer, see a genetic counselor to learn more about your risk.

Breast Screening

While breast cancer screening does not prevent cancer, it saves lives. The earlier breast cancer is detected, the sooner it can be treated, leading to more favorable outcomes.

Mammograms should start at age 40 but for women at a higher risk of breast cancer, mammograms may need to start as low as age 30.

Breast Self-Awareness

As you age and move through different stages of life, your breasts will change. Being breast self-aware means learning what is normal for your breasts — knowing how they normally feel and look and taking notice of changes.

The American Cancer Society, the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommend that people focus on breast self-awareness rather than self-examination.

Know your breasts well enough so you will notice any changes including:

• Any new lumps or thickening that is different from your other breast
• Changes to your nipples — a nipple that has become pushed in instead of sticking out
• Changes to your skin including bulges, dimples, puckered skin, ridges, or new redness or a rash
• Bloody nipple discharge or fluid that is not breast milk
• Changes in the size, shape or outline of your breast
• Breast pain that doesn’t go away

All changes, even small ones need to be checked by a breast specialist straight away.

Mammography

Mammography is a method of medical imaging that uses a low-dose X-ray to see inside breasts. It enables a radiologist to identify breast disease or breast cancers.

OU Health breast radiologist Dr. Natalie Stratemeier, M.D., assistant professor in the Department of Radiological Sciences at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine said, “Annual screening mammograms are incredibly important because the most deaths from breast cancer are prevented by annual screening. Screening mammograms allows us to detect cancer at early stages when treatment is more effective and less intensive.”

There are three types of mammograms available:

Standard Mammograms

There are two types of standard mammograms. A screening mammogram is used to detect breast changes in women who are showing no signs of breast changes, and a diagnostic mammogram which is used to diagnose unusual breast changes. A mammogram may be able to detect a tumor that cannot be felt.

3D Mammograms

3D mammography is a more advanced technology that takes multiple images of breast tissue to recreate a 3-dimensional picture of the breast. It is also called breast tomosynthesis. Standard mammography takes a single image of the breast, and 3D mammograms take multiple images. Taking multiple images of breast tissue slices allows doctors a clearer image of breast masses and helps with earlier detection of breast cancer. Find an Imaging Location.

Contrast Enhanced Mammograms

Approximately 50% of women who have a mammogram have dense breast tissue, which makes the images more difficult to interpret. Dense breast tissue refers to the appearance of how breast tissue looks on a mammogram. Breast tissue is composed of milk glands, milk ducts, glandular tissue and fatty tissue.

Glandular tissue is what is known as dense breast tissue and fatty tissue is considered non dense breast tissue. Cancer and dense breast tissue appear white in an X-ray, making it harder to tell the difference between the two and may increase the likelihood that cancer may go undetected.

Contrast Enhanced Mammography (CEM) involves patients receiving an iodinated contrast dye injection through an IV before receiving a standard mammogram. A standard mammogram looks at the structure of the breast and can identify masses, calcification, or areas that appear distorted. With CEM, those things can still be identified, but in addition, the blood flow to the breast can be assessed. An abnormal blood flow supply is one of the early identifiers in cancer.

Many studies using CEM have demonstrated increased cancer detection in women with dense breast tissue compared to a standard mammogram. It’s also beneficial for patients who have had inconclusive results from a mammogram, are at high-risk for cancer, and those who cannot have an MRI.

Compassionate, Expert Breast Care and Screening

At OU Health you will get compassionate, expert care and access to screening and diagnostic breast imaging including mammography, ultrasound, Magnetic Resonance (MRI) and Ultrasound-guided, MR-guided and Stereotactic biopsies.

“We have multiple locations dedicated to breast cancer imaging offering digital mammography with tomosynthesis, contrast enhanced mammography, ultrasound, and MRI”, said Dr. Stratemeier. “We also have the only NCI Designated Cancer Center in the state with medical oncologists, surgeons, and radiation oncologists dedicated to providing patients with the best care possible.”

Learn more about mammography and breast screening, make an appointment or get a second opinion at any of our mammography locations.