Reducing the odds of breast cancer

While breast cancer can't always be prevented, there are lifestyle choices that can significantly reduce our risk. Dr. Anne McTiernan, of the Prevention Center at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, suggests five:

1. Get screened regularly. For most women over age 40, that means a yearly mammogram. While mammograms don't prevent cancer, they find the cancer at a very early stage when the cancer is much more likely to be curable.

2. Keep physically active. Studies suggest that exercising three to four hours per week at moderate or vigorous levels reduces your risk of breast cancer by 30 to 40 percent. You don't need to be an athlete. Activities like brisk walking or biking are sufficient.

3. Keep your weight in the normal range for your height. That means keeping to a body mass index of 25 or less. (There are several BMI calculators online.)

Women who are overweight or obese have a 30 to 50 percent increased risk of developing the most common breast cancer, that which occurs after menopause.

Also, keep your weight steady; don't gain pounds over time. A woman should try to stay within 5 to 10 pounds of what she weighed at age 18. The best way to avoid weight gain and avoid overweight or obesity is to eat a diet high in vegetables and fresh fruit, and low in high- calorie foods like sugared drinks, refined carbohydrates and fatty foods.

4. Limit your intake of alcohol to two drinks per day or fewer. Women who drink more than this increase their risk of breast cancer with each additional drink they consume.

5. If you have menopausal symptoms, try to handle them without hormone therapy. If you need to take hormones, limit their use to under five years.

Source: Anne McTiernan, M.D., Ph.D., epidemiologist, internist and director of the Prevention Center at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.