OCTOBER- Breast Cancer

Since 1993, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month in the UK - increasing awareness, raising money for research and supporting those affected by the disease.

And with more than 45,800 people diagnosed with breast cancer each year (including about 300 men), the campaign is as important as ever.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women, affecting 1 in 9. Age is one of the strongest risk factors - most women who are diagnosed with breast cancer are past their menopause, with a large minority (almost 8,000) under 50 years old.

All women, young and old, need to be breast aware – this means checking your breasts regularly for any changes. If you do notice a change, visit your doctor straight away but don’t panic – most breast changes are not cancer.

Lifestyle

As with most cancers, your lifestyle can increase or reduce your risk. Some cancers, such as bowel cancer, are believed to be influenced by diet, for example, while smoking has long been linked to lung cancer.

There has been a huge amount of research into causes and risk factors for breast cancer and, while there is no perfect lifestyle that can prevent it, there are plenty of things you can do to reduce your risk.

Watch your units

The risk of breast cancer increases by around 7% with each additional daily measure of alcohol.

What does that mean? Well, if you take a group of 200 non-drinking women and compare it with a group of 200 women who have two drinks a day, there will be about three extra cases of breast cancer in the drinking group.

Current guidelines suggest that women shouldn’t drink more than 2-3 units of alcohol per day, which is less than one large glass of wine.

If you think you may be exceeding the recommended limits, it’s worth keeping a ‘drink diary’ for a week. The results may be surprising!

One unit is the amount of pure alcohol in a 25ml single measure of spirits, a third of a pint of beer or half a standard glass (175mls) of red wine.

ABV means the percentage alcohol by volume –the figure on the front of bottles and cans. You can figure out how many units your drink contains using this calculation:

Amount in millilitres multiplied by ABV, divided by 1000.

250ml glass of wine x 13% ABV, divided by 1000 = 3.25 units

Diet

Conducting research into links between diet and cancer is incredibly difficult because there are so many differences between people and what they eat. Even if clear results are found in a laboratory, they may not be the same in real life situations.

But a picture of a varied, balanced diet is emerging as helpful in the battle to prevent breast cancer and these guidelines should help you to reduce your risk.

Replace saturated animal fats with polyunsaturated fats (in many vegetable oils and margarines) and monounsaturated fats (such as olive oil).

This will have other health benefits too, as saturated fat can increase the amount of cholesterol in the blood, which in turn can increase the risk of developing heart disease, while unsaturated fats help to protect cells against the damaging effects of free radicals and are involved in brain function and normal growth and development of your body.

Eat more fruit and vegetables and other plant foods.

Eating at least 5-a-day is shown to be beneficial to health time and time again. These amazing foods give us more than ‘just’ vitamins and minerals - vitamin pills can’t come close to imitating their effects.

Phyto-oestrogens are chemicals found in plant foods like soya beans, whole grains and fruit and vegetables. Some research shows that women whose diets are high in phyto-oestrogens have a lower risk of breast cancer.

NB. Phyto-oestrogens may have a different effect on women who already have breast cancer, and these women may be advised to avoid eating large amounts of phyto-oestrogens, by steering clear of soya products, for example. If this applies to you, you should speak to your doctor about your diet.

Plant foods like wheat bran, cereals, beans, fruit and vegetables also provide fibre, which has a protective effect. This is another incredible nutrient - as well as fighting breast cancer, fibre helps prevent bowel problems and can reduce your risk of developing bowel or colon cancer. By reducing levels of cholesterol in the blood, it may reduce the risk of heart disease.

Calcium is thought to play a role in reducing breast cancer risk.

Although milk and dairy foods are the obvious source, in fact, lots of plant foods also contain calcium. Green leafy vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage and okra (but not spinach), soya beans, tofu, nuts, and bread all provide calcium too.

Foods containing a group of chemicals known as carotenoids (which are turned into vitamin A by the body) are also very beneficial. Carrots, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, red peppers, mango, melon and apricots are all good sources, as well as green (leafy) vegetables like spinach and kale.

A healthy body weight is important in reducing your chances of getting cancer. Breast cancer in women after the menopause (the most common time to develop it) is more likely if you’re overweight.

One of the most effective ways to lose weight is by doing more physical activity. Just 30 minutes of moderate activity a day, five days a week, can have a positive effect on your health and reduce your risk of cancer.

Not only will following these guidelines help to reduce your risk of developing breast cancer, you will also be protecting yourself against a range of other diseases, like type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Need any more reasons?