I wanted to write a blog that has great significance to yesterday which was Mother’s day. I believe it’s one of the greatest days of the year! Even though October is breast cancer awareness month, this day is also a great day to also bring awareness to a very deadly disease. Breast cancer is ranked as the second (behind lung cancer) deadliest cancer in American women. The great fact about this cancer is the decrease in death from this ravaging disease do to accurate and early detection. With this early detection, there are other preventative measures that can be taken to decrease the chances of breast cancer.

One of the surprising preventative measures I found in my research was the relation of estrogen and cancer. I always thought estrogen was associated with good health in a female. Yet, according to the national cancer institute, the longer a women is exposed to estrogen the greater the risk of breast cancer. Some of the ways that a woman can lower the production of estrogen in the body is through pregnancy, breast feeding, and ovarian-ablation. These preventative measures can be tough to control if you are past a certain stage in your life. Don’t sweat; there are other measures you have control of right now!

One major controllable factor is getting those mammograms. The NCI recommends that women over 40 to have a mammogram every 1 to 2 years. This will help kick the death rate even lower for breast cancer! A mammogram is one of the best measures for early detection.

Obesity is a major controllable factor in the prevention of breast cancer. If you know anyone that is obese, just pull them to the side and let them know that you want to see them live a long and healthy life. The increased adipose tissue in the breast is what increases the risk factor in an obese individual.

And of course, my favorite preventative measure is…exercise! Not too much of a surprise, but just four hours of exercise will not only make you feel awesome but will decrease your hormone levels, lowering your risk of breast cancer! This preventative measure has shown best in pre-menopausal women who are of a healthy to low weight. And to top it off, exercise will be your cheapest preventative measure in fighting the battle against breast cancer!

Happy Mother’s Day!!!

-Phil