Breast cancer affects more than a quarter million women each year, but early detection through regular mammograms has led to better survival rates. The American Cancer Society reports that only about half of the women in Mississippi have had a mammogram within the last two years.
Risk factors for breast cancer include:

• Age – women 65 and older are at the highest risk
• Family history of breast cancer
• Late first pregnancy – being over age 30 when first babies were born
• Early menstruation – periods starting before age 12
• Late menopause – after age 55
• Alcohol consumption – two or more drinks per day
• Postmenopausal obesity and weight gain through middle age

     It is quite common to gain a few pounds each year through middle age. Our metabolism slows down and we tend to be less physically active which leads to a gradual increase in weight. Some breast cancers are triggered by high levels of the hormone estrogen in the bloodstream. New evidence shows that fat tissue (the extra weight we carry) produces estrogen and scientists say this may be the reason that weight gain increases risk for breast cancer. Maintaining a healthy weight by controlling calories and increasing physical activity through middle age is important to reduce the risk of breast cancer, heart disease and diabetes.
     A recent Mayo Clinic study reported that women with higher physical activity levels had lower risk of breast cancer. These study participants generally reported being physically active (swimming, tennis, golf, gardening, biking, walking, or dance/aerobics) at least four times a week. The authors stated that exercise seems to help protect against breast cancer even if the women did not lose a significant amount of weight.
    The Journal of the National Cancer Institute reported last week that reducing the fat in the diet may decrease the chance of breast cancer coming back in those women who have already been treated for early-stage breast cancer. At the beginning of the study, the two groups of women ate about the same amount of fat daily – about 57 grams.
    Registered Dietitians taught one group how to reduce the amount of fat in their daily diets by reading labels and cooking without extra fat. The group who cut their fat intake to 33 grams of fat daily lowered the risk of breast cancer coming back by twenty-four percent. After five years, the women following the lower-fat diet weighed an average of six pounds less than the group who had not changed their fat intake. Previous studies have not clearly linked fat in the diet to breast cancer risk, so the debate will continue.
    Experts all agree that reducing daily alcohol intake reduces breast cancer risk. One drink is defined as 5 ounces of wine, one 12 ounce beer or 1.5 ounces of distilled spirits.
Women who drink two servings of alcohol daily increase the risk of breast cancer by twenty-one percent.
    We can’t change our family history, but we can get regular mammograms, increase our daily physical activity and strive for a healthy diet.