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Breast Cancer: What are your real risks?
A Number Game
While in no way trying to minimize the seriousness of breast cancer, or the incredible impact it can have on the lives of those it affects, I do believe an important question to ask ourselves is, "What are the true risks of getting breast cancer, and are the statistics that are boldly splashed throughout our media really true across the board, or might they be slightly manipulated to heighten the concern that drives women to the screening machines?". Women across the country are lead to believe that their risk of getting breast cancer is 12%, and one survey showed that most women believed 40% of all deaths among women were due to breast cancer. Here are the real facts: 12% risk is a "composite statistic". The true story is in the age breakdown. Women under 50 have a 1-2% chance of developing breast cancer. The risk is 6% for women ages 50-70, and 4% for women ages 70-80. When you add all these up, you get a 12% risk, but it is across all age brackets.
Truth: As a woman goes through each age range without a diagnosis of breast cancer, she leaves behind the risk associated with it.
Another shocker: Breast cancer causes only 4% of deaths among women, with lung cancer and accidental injury pulling ahead...and cardiovascular disease causing 10x more deaths! We must be sure that we're not so singularly focused on one form of cancer that we neglect proper screening and prevention of other types.
Does this mean we shouldn't pay attention to breast cancer or screening? Most definitely not. Does it mean we don't have to live in quite as much fear? Possibly and hopefully. One way of determining your personal risk factor is to take this quick, nationally accepted quiz: Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Tool
A Screening Option that Doesn't Involve Radiation or Compression? 
We know that radiation is the #1 cause of cancer, and unfortunately, America's #1 screening modality for breast cancer utilizes the very thing that can make it more likely. Due to not just this, but also the frequently changing recommendations for the correct age to begin mammograms, the concern surrounding so many false positives, and the frustration for thousands of women with dense or fibrocystic breasts who must be re-called frequently because of poor images ( see recent blog article here), some women are wondering if there are other screening options out there.The answer is yes, and while the FDA requires a disclaimer that it is only approved as an adjunct means of screening and should not replace mammography, there's a lot of buzz surrounding high definition thermographic imaging. In fact, this digital camera, which takes images of the skin's surface temperature patterns, uses no radiation, no contact with the body whatsoever, and is capable of detecting the physiological signs of developing breast disease years before it is able to be seen with traditional imaging. Believe it or not, it even distinguishes between possible fibrocystic changes and potentially cancerous tumor development. For more information on thermography, click here.
What Can I Do to Minimize My Risk of Getting Cancer?
Although cancer risk is often at least partially genetic or caused by things outside your control, here are some things you can do to stack the odds in your favor. Make these things a priority!
- Exercise and Maintain an Ideal Body Weight
- Get Plenty of High Quality Sleep
- Drink Good Water
- Reduce Your Exposure to Environmental Toxins (pesticides, household chemical cleaners, etc.)
- Stop Smoking...Now!
- Eat Less Refined Sugar and Processed Foods (helps control insulin levels)
- Eat/Drink More:
- Fresh, Organic (when possible) Vegetables
- Broccoli and Cruciferous Veggues
- Blueberries
- Omega-3 Fats (Flaxseed, Olive, Canola and Fish Oils, Avacados, Fatty Wild Fish like Salmon, Sardines, Tuna, Beans and Legumes, Dark Leafy Greens)
- Green Tea
- Curcumin (Spices Like Tumeric and Curry)
- Vitamin D (5,000 IUs/day, supplemented with K2MK7) and Optimal Sun Exposure
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