Routine to save your life
In the last week of Breast Cancer Awareness month, here's a plan to defy the odds with breast-cancer-fighting habits
The Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) says the incidence of breast Cancer has overtaken cervical cancer among Indian women, and it's possibly social taboo that prevents women from discussing the disease.
ICMR studies indicate that breast cancer cases have nearly doubled in the last 24 years. One in every 22 women is likely to suffer from it. In India, almost 80 per cent patients are in advanced stages when they come to hospitals. The International Agency for Research on Cancer has projected that India could see around 250,000 new cases by 2015.
While there is no fool-proof plan to protect you from breast cancer completely, lifestyle habits, say doctors, play a crucial part in increasing the risk.
Work out the waist
Experts say breast cancer and abdominal fat are linked. Body fat boosts estrogen storage, so the larger you are, the more circulating estrogen you'll store, and the more circulating harmful estrogen you'll have. But you don't have to be reed thin. Research shows that even losing as little as 5 per cent of your weight or more (in overweight women) can lower breast cancer risk by 25 per cent. Abdominal fat is especially dangerous. The easiest way to ditch a spare tire is to reduce your intake of stripped carbohydrates (white bread and rice, colas, pastries). Vigorous cardio exercises like jogging or speed-walking work best.
Have kids
Starting a family sooner can drastically lower your chances of breast cancer. Women whose first child comes before the age of 20 have half the risk of women who first conceive in their thirties. Having your first baby before the age of 30 also lowers your risk. Additional pregnancies decrease the incidence of breast cancer further.
Stock up on Vitamin D3
Lack of sunlight keeps us from manufacturing vitamin D3, an essential nutrient that may help prevent breast cancer. For breast cancer protection, the recommendation is to get your levels between 40 to 50 nanograms per milliliter. Ask your family doctor to check your vitamin D levels with a simple blood test, and take a vitamin D3 supplement if you are deficient.
Eat cruciferous veggies
What if you could counter cancer with spoon and fork? Doctors say that what's healthy for your heart is probably healthy for your breasts too. And so, high intake of sugars and red meat are associated with many kinds of cancers, including breast. Instead eat foods that are high in fibre (fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole grains). And ditch processed items and cured meat. Crucifers (broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower) have a special role to play in reducing breast cancer risk.
Don't stay up
Women who work the nightshift should read this. Several studies have linked overnight work to breast cancer, with an increased risk of 30 to 60 per cent. The additional exposure to light at nighttime decreases the total amount of the hormone melatonin in your body. This, in turn, appears to increase the production of estrogen. If you do work at nights, dim the lights, and get seven to eight hours of sleep every night.
Go for regular screenings
Even educated urban women in India aren't conducting monthly self-examination and going for yearly mammograms. Experts complain that Indian women seek treatment late — about 60 per cent of them are in stage three or four when they approach doctors. Although mammograms can't prevent cancer, they can reduce your risk of dying from it. Breast cancer is a treatable disease if caught early. It's good to be familiar with your own breasts. If you find something that wasn't there before, and it doesn't go away in a few weeks, have it checked.
Lower blood sugar
Keeping your blood sugar in check can help lower the risk of breast cancer (and type 2 diabetes). After adjusting for other factors, diabetes is associated with a nearly 40 per cent increased risk for breast cancer.
Limit X-rays
Unnecessary X-rays and CT scans, on account of exposure to radiation, can up the risk. The World Nuclear Association says 100 millisieverts (mSv) of radiation a year is the lowest level known to increase the risk of cancer. A single CT scan yields one-fifth of that, at 20 mSv. Other diagnostic tests that emit lesser amounts of ionizing radiation include X-rays, nuclear medicine tests and fluoroscopy. Always ask your doctor if a test is necessary, and check to see if alternatives like an MRI or ultrasound might work as well.
