Breast Cancer Risk: Beyond Family History

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It is important to recognize that there are several risks factors besides having a family member who has had breast cancer. Many people believe that they are risk-free if there is no cancer in their family or because their mom/aunt/sister has never had breast cancer. Unfortunately, this is just not true.

Risk factors are often categorized into those that one cannot change and those that are modifiable.

Starting with family history, you cannot change the genes you were born with. There are certain genes that families carry, such as the BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation, which increases your chances.
There are other genes that can play a role too, which is why having a first degree female relative with breast cancer also increases your risk.

You cannot change your age or your gender. Incidentally, just being a woman and having breasts puts you at risk. As a matter of fact, gender is the number one risk factor – not family history. Age is also important as the older a woman gets, the more her chances increase which makes the modifiable factors that much more important to attend to.

You cannot change your exposure history – especially to the drug diethylstilbestrol (DES) that was taken by mothers in the 1940s through the 1960s to prevent miscarriage. The daughters, granddaughters and potentially even great-granddaughters born with DES exposure have an increased risk of breast cancer. Ask your mom and grandma if there is a history of DES in your direct lineage.

You cannot change the day you start your period nor can you really predict when you will go through menopause completely. Both are important risk factors. The earlier you start your period (before 12 years old) and the later you go through menopause (55 years old and later) the more cycles of hormones your breasts are exposed to, which can affect cancer.

What do you have control over when it comes to breast cancer?

You can control when and if you have children. Not having kids or having them after 30 years old will slightly increase your risk because your breasts are exposed to that many more cycles of hormones.  You can also choose to breastfeed, which has been shown in some studies to be breast-protective.

You can control your diet and exercise patterns. Alcohol and obesity have been shown to slightly increase breast cancer risk, while regular exercise and a healthy body weight have been shown to decrease the risk. Choosing fruits, vegetables, healthy oils and fiber of course are helpful for a number of reasons, not just breast cancer. Eliminating sodas, fried food, trans-fats, simple carbohydrates and sugar will also benefit your health overall.

You can control your Vitamin D3 intake (get testing first) as there is some good research that Vitamin D is protective and can lower breast cancer risk.

You can also choose what chemicals you put on your body and use in your house. While the research is guarded, it cannot hurt to use healthy body, hair, skin and make-up products for you and your family. It may be beneficial to make a conscious effort to read labels when it comes to pesticides, cleaning sprays, detergent, and odor eliminators. Also remember to be wary of plastics and do not heat up food in a plastic container as it could release phalates into your food.

It is your decision to use hormones –whether in the form of the pill, patch, ring or during menopause. Be aware of the risks involved, do your research and talk with your doctor about your options.

Do not let the risk factors you cannot change overwhelm or depress you. The modifiable factors are so important to your health overall, not just for breast cancer therefore it is important you take a positive and active approach.

Read the article here, on the women's health website, Empowher!

References
1) Breast Cancer. Web. 20 October, 2012.
 http://www.cancer.org/cancer/breastcancer/detailedguide/breast-cancer-risk

2) Breast Cancer. Web. 20 October, 2012.
 http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/breast/basic_info/risk_factors.htm

3) Use of Vitamin D in Various Disorders. Web. 20 October, 2012.
 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22956345