My grandmother had breast cancer that later metastasized to her bones and organs and took her away from me far too early. I was only 16 years old. I hadn’t yet learned how to appreciate everything she could teach me. She was a talented artist. One of my most cherished posessions is an oil painting she did of a sea turtle refuge in Florida. I have a photo of me at 4 years old chasing waves on that very beach. I also wore her antique rhinestone art deco necklace and bracelet on my wedding day. So even though my grandmother is not here, she is with me in small ways.
I am sure everyone knows somebody with breast cancer. October marks breast cancer awareness month so I thought I would write a blog posts about all the things you can do to control breast cancer risks. Surprisingly, there is a lot you can’t control. This makes it even more important to look at what you can control and commit to making changes that can make a huge difference.
Visit the American Cancer Society website to view a list of controllable and non-controllable risk factors. Below are two lifestyle-related risk factors for breast cancer that I can help provide some tips on what to do.
Being overweight or obese
Being overweight or obese has been found to increase breast cancer risk, especially for women after menopause. Before menopause your ovaries produce most of your estrogen, and fat tissue produces a small amount of estrogen. After menopause (when the ovaries stop making estrogen), most of a woman’s estrogen comes from fat tissue. Having more fat tissue after menopause can increase your estrogen levels and thereby increase your likelihood of developing breast cancer.
The connection between weight and breast cancer risk is complex, however. For example, the risk appears to be increased for women who gained weight as an adult but may not be increased among those who have been overweight since childhood. Also, excess fat in the waist area may affect risk more than the same amount of fat in the hips and thighs. Researchers believe that fat cells in various parts of the body have subtle differences that may explain this.
The American Cancer Society recommends you maintain a healthy weight throughout your life by balancing your food intake with physical activity and avoiding excessive weight gain.
Lack of physical activity
Evidence is growing that physical activity in the form of exercise reduces breast cancer risk. The only question is how much exercise do you need? In one study from the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) as little as 1.25 to 2.5 hours per week of brisk walking reduced a woman’s risk by 18%. Walking 10 hours a week reduced the risk a little more.
To reduce your risk of breast cancer, the American Cancer Society recommends 45 to 60 minutes of intentional physical activity 5 or more days a week.
If you are at a healthy weight, focus on maintain - don’t gain. What is a healthy weight exactly? Well, you can use the BMI as a guideline. But if you are short or overly muscular your BMI may say you are overweight but your body fat % may be in a healthy range.
If you are overweight or obese, you should lose weight. I am sure you haven’t heard THAT before. (hopefully, you sense my sarcasm.) As someone with several female family members who are obese and who has personally lost 35 pounds at age 22-24, I understand the challenges people face when trying to lose weight. Heck, that’s part of the reason I headed to a career path in nutrition and exercise.
The best advice I can give is to invest in yourself and seek the advice and support from a registered dietitian. Unfortunately, getting insurance reimbursement may be difficult, but you can try. Most RD websites will say if they take insurance. You can also set up a flexible spending account so you can use pre-tax dollars. The reason you need a dietitian is because lifestyle changes are not as simple as you think. Habits, home/work environment, and behaviors vary from person to person. Dietitians can help empower you to make the right changes so you can succeed once and for all. Start by searching for a dietitian in your area.
Second tip…. if you aren’t exercising at least 3 hours a week, preferrably 6 hours a week, start. Don’t delay this. Find a local indoor pool and sign up for a water aerobics class or just hop in the pool and water jog. Even if you can’t swim, you can walk in the pool. Start with 3 hours a week and increase to 6. I also recommend yoga classes. Don’t compare yourself to others in the class. Do what you can. You will benefit from the strength you will develop and the stress reduction. If you can’t do these things, what about simple walking? All you need is comfortable shoes — and maybe a friend. Go for a 30-minute walk before work and a 30-minute walk after dinner — or do your whole hour in one shot. Find a high school track, where you can focus on speed walking. Use 1-3 pound hand weights. Then find some streets with good hills you can walk up and down. You will feel different muscles when you do hills.
Join the Army of Women
If you are healthy and want to do something to cure breast cancer. Look no further. Sign up for the Army of Women. When you do, you will be contacted to participate in a research study. It’s simple things like donating blood or urine for testing. So if you ever had a blood test for a marriage license or a pregnancy test, you CAN participate in important research. I signed up (in honor of my grandmother). You should too!
More on breast cancer from The Today Show website.
My grandmother had breast cancer that later metastasized to her bones and organs and took her away from me far too early. I was only 16 years old. I hadn’t yet learned how to appreciate everything she could teach me. She was a talented artist. One of my most cherished posessions is an oil painting she did of a sea turtle refuge in Florida. I have a photo of me at 4 years old chasing waves on that very beach. I also wore her antique rhinestone art deco necklace and bracelet on my wedding day. So even though my grandmother is not here, she is with me in small ways.
I am sure everyone knows somebody with breast cancer. October marks breast cancer awareness month so I thought I would write a blog posts about all the things you can do to control breast cancer risks. Surprisingly, there is a lot you can’t control. This makes it even more important to look at what you can control and commit to making changes that can make a huge difference.
Visit the American Cancer Society website to view a list of controllable and non-controllable risk factors. Below are two lifestyle-related risk factors for breast cancer that I can help provide some tips on what to do.
If you are at a healthy weight, focus on maintain - don’t gain. What is a healthy weight exactly? Well, you can use the BMI as a guideline. But if you are short or overly muscular your BMI may say you are overweight but your body fat % may be in a healthy range.
If you are overweight or obese, you should lose weight. I am sure you haven’t heard THAT before. (hopefully, you sense my sarcasm.) As someone with several female family members who are obese and who has personally lost 35 pounds at age 22-24, I understand the challenges people face when trying to lose weight. Heck, that’s part of the reason I headed to a career path in nutrition and exercise.
The best advice I can give is to invest in yourself and seek the advice and support from a registered dietitian. Unfortunately, getting insurance reimbursement may be difficult, but you can try. Most RD websites will say if they take insurance. You can also set up a flexible spending account so you can use pre-tax dollars. The reason you need a dietitian is because lifestyle changes are not as simple as you think. Habits, home/work environment, and behaviors vary from person to person. Dietitians can help empower you to make the right changes so you can succeed once and for all. Start by searching for a dietitian in your area.
Second tip…. if you aren’t exercising at least 3 hours a week, preferrably 6 hours a week, start. Don’t delay this. Find a local indoor pool and sign up for a water aerobics class or just hop in the pool and water jog. Even if you can’t swim, you can walk in the pool. Start with 3 hours a week and increase to 6. I also recommend yoga classes. Don’t compare yourself to others in the class. Do what you can. You will benefit from the strength you will develop and the stress reduction. If you can’t do these things, what about simple walking? All you need is comfortable shoes — and maybe a friend. Go for a 30-minute walk before work and a 30-minute walk after dinner — or do your whole hour in one shot. Find a high school track, where you can focus on speed walking. Use 1-3 pound hand weights. Then find some streets with good hills you can walk up and down. You will feel different muscles when you do hills.
Join the Army of Women
If you are healthy and want to do something to cure breast cancer. Look no further. Sign up for the Army of Women. When you do, you will be contacted to participate in a research study. It’s simple things like donating blood or urine for testing. So if you ever had a blood test for a marriage license or a pregnancy test, you CAN participate in important research. I signed up (in honor of my grandmother). You should too!
More on breast cancer from The Today Show website.