health tips- how to prevent breast cancer

Each year, more than 240,000 women and 2,000 men are diagnosed with invasive breast cancer (cancer that has spread from where it started in the breast into the surrounding healthy tissue), and more than 40,000 die from the disease. An additional 62,570 people are estimated to develop non-invasive carcinoma in-situ.

If diagnosed early and treated before it spreads, five-year survival rate for breast cancer is 99 percent.Risk Factors
You might be at an increased risk for breast cancer if you are a woman who:

    Has abnormal genes, such as mutated BRCA-1, BRCA-2 or PALB-2 genes
    Began her menstrual period before age 12 or began menopause after age 55
    Used hormone replace therapy (HRT) with estrogen and progesterone over a long period of time
    Has a family history of breast cancer, colorectal cancer or ovarian cancer
    Has a personal history of ovarian cancer
    Is currently using or has recently used birth control pills
    Has never had children, or had her first child after age 30
    Smokes or uses tobacco

You might be at an increased risk for breast cancer if you are a woman or man who:

    Is overweight or obese
    Is not physically active
    Is over age 40
    Has already had cancer in one breast
    Has a family history of ovarian cancer
    Has had radiation therapy close to his or her chest

Symptoms
Don’t wait for symptoms to appear. Get screened according to guidelines. If you do notice any of the following symptoms, talk with your health care professional.

    A lump, hard knot or thickening in the breast
    A lump under your arm
    A change in the size or shape of a breast
    Nipple pain, tenderness or discharge, including bleeding
    Itchiness, scales, soreness or rash on nipple
    A nipple turning inward or inverted
    A change in skin color and texture (dimpling, puckering or redness)
    A breast that feels warm or swollen

Prevention

    If you have babies, breast feed them.
    Limit alcohol to no more than one drink a day for women and two drinks a day for men.
    Exercise daily for 30 to 60 minutes.
    Maintain a healthy weight.
    Don’t smoke. If you do smoke, quit.

Early Detection

    In your 20s and 30s, have a clinical breast exam (CBE) by a health care professional at least every three years
    Beginning at age 40, have an annual CBE and mammogram
    If you are at high risk, talk with your health care professional about beginning annual mammograms at a younger age and/or having a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
    If you have a family history of breast cancer, talk to your health care professional about genetic testing
    When you reach menopause, talk with your health care professional about whether you should have hormone replacement therapy
    Know what is normal for your breasts. (Breast self-exam is one way you can do this.) If you notice changes, see your health care professional right awayTreatment Options

Breast Cancer treatment depends on the type and stage of the breast cancer. The most common forms of treatment are:

    Lumpectomy (surgery to remove the cancer) combined with radiation
    Mastectomy (surgery to remove the breast)
    Chemotherapy, radiation or hormone therapy, used alone or in combination before or after surgery