What Increases Your Risk of Breast Cancer?
Likewise, exposure to estrogen from the birth control pill or hormone replacement also increases your risk.
The age you had children – having your first child after the age of 30 increases your risk as does never having children.
Your weight affects your risk – carrying extra pounds especially in the abdomen and especially after menopause is a problem on many levels and for many risks besides cancer.
Alcohol consumption – as the new research points out, any more than two drinks per week (yes, that’s PER WEEK!) increases your risk of breast cancer.
Prior exposure to radiation – if you have had excess radiation exposure to your chest wall and/or breasts, that increases your risk.
If you have had a breast biopsy and the results were ‘ductal hyperplasia’ or ‘complex fibroadenoma,’ then you are at a higher risk.
Caucasian women are slightly more likely to develop breast cancer; however, African American women are slightly more likely to die from it.
The bottom line is this: some risks you have absolutely no control over, so there is no need to worry about them.
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There is more that can increase a postmenopausal woman's risk for breast cancer. To reduce breast cancer risk, these women should limit weight gain, get regular exercise, and eat a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains and low in fats.
All women should limit their alcohol consumption and their exposure to chemicals like parabens, BPA, dioxins, and endocrine disruptors that have been shown a link to breast cancer.
For more information: www.ReduceBreastCancerRisk.com.