To help prevent breast cancer, several lifestyle and medical strategies are recommended:
Lifestyle Measures
- Maintain a healthy weight: Keeping a healthy body weight reduces the risk of breast cancer, especially after menopause. Avoiding excess weight gain through balanced diet and physical activity is important
- Be physically active: Regular exercise lowers breast cancer risk by helping maintain a healthy weight and through other mechanisms. Aim for at least 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity weekly
- Limit or avoid alcohol: Alcohol consumption increases breast cancer risk even at low levels. It is best to avoid alcohol or keep intake to no more than one drink per day
- Eat a healthy diet: Emphasize fruits, vegetables, and whole foods while limiting red and processed meats. A balanced diet supports overall health and may reduce risk
- Breastfeed if possible: Breastfeeding, especially for longer durations, is associated with a lower breast cancer risk
- Avoid smoking: Although not as strongly linked as other factors, quitting smoking contributes to overall cancer risk reduction
Medical and Other Preventive Options
- Hormone therapy caution: Use of hormone replacement therapy after menopause can increase risk; discuss non-hormonal options with your healthcare provider
- Risk assessment and genetic counseling: Women with a strong family history or genetic mutations (e.g., BRCA1/BRCA2) should consider genetic counseling and testing to evaluate risk and preventive options
- Medications and surgery: For women at high risk, preventive medications (e.g., selective estrogen receptor modulators) or risk-reducing surgeries such as prophylactic mastectomy or oophorectomy may be considered after thorough counseling
Screening
- Regular breast screening: Mammograms can detect breast cancer early when treatment is more effective, though screening does not prevent cancer itself
By adopting healthy lifestyle habits and consulting healthcare providers for personalized risk assessment and preventive strategies, women can effectively reduce their risk of developing breast cancer
