McKinley Family,

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and I wanted to take a moment to go over some ways you can reduce your risk of getting breast cancer.  Gentlemen, you may be thinking this doesn’t apply to you.  However, there have been male breast cancer cases reported even though the chances of getting breast cancer are MUCH less in males.  Please read on and share this with the women in your life.

While there are risk factors we have no control over such as gender, genetics, age and family history (click the following link for the full list  http://www.cancer.org/cancer/breastcancer/overviewguide/breast-cancer-overview-what-causes ) there are things you can control.  Many websites have their own list of “10 Ways to Prevent Cancer” and it can be overwhelming.  The five factors every article agrees on and every doctor I have questioned agrees with are the following:
1. Maintain a healthy body weight
2. Eat a healthy and balanced diet: spinach, kale and broccoli are three popular “cancer fighting” foods.  If you don’t like salads or eating them just as they are, trying juicing 🙂
3. Exercise regularly (3-5x/weekly)
4. Consume no more than 1 alcoholic drink daily or avoid it altogether
5. Regular mammograms: The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force mammogram guidelines recommend women begin screening at age 50 and repeat the test every two years.  The Mayo Clinic recommends getting a mammogram starting at age 40 and to repeat yearly.  I have a close family history of breast cancer.  My Doctor recommended I start screening at age 30 so I did.

I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to meet with your Doctor and come up a with personal cancer prevention plan.  Before your doctors appointment WRITE down the questions you have for your doctor and don’t leave your appointment until you fully understand the answers to your questions :).

The American Cancer Society’s estimates for breast cancer in women in the United States for 2013 are:

~  About 232,340 new cases of invasive breast cancer
~ About 64,640 new cases of carcinoma in situ (CIS) of the breast will be found (CIS is non-invasive and is the earliest form of breast cancer).
~ About 39,620 deaths from breast cancer

The American Cancer Society also states:

“Cancer is the most common cancer among women in the United States, other than skin cancer. It is the second leading cause of cancer death in women, after lung cancer.  The chance of a woman having invasive breast cancer during her life is about 1 in 8. The chance of dying from breast cancer is about 1 in 36. Breast cancer death rates have been going down. This is probably the result of finding the cancer earlier and better treatment. Right now there are more than 2.8 million breast cancer survivors in the United States.”

It’s encouraging to read the breast cancer death rates are decreasing.  Let’s do what we can to make sure that number continues to decease by taking care of ourselves, sharing preventative info with our loved ones and encourage them to take the steps necessary.  Email me with any questions 🙂

Yours in Health and Wellness,

Meredith Mitchell