October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and breast cancer is something that will affect one in eight women intrusively at some point in their life. Those are scary facts, but they are true. Surely you have heard stories of people affected by this disease, or maybe you have even felt the effects first hand. Regardless, take some time this month to make sure that you are doing all that you can to try and cut back your risks of developing breast cancer. If you are ready to help reduce your risk of breast cancer, then take a look at some of the simple things that can be done to accomplish just that.
Exercise. It seems like the word exercise gets thrown around a lot when talking about cutting back your risks for harmful and deadly diseases, but the fact of the matter is that exercise is one of our best preventatives. To be certain that you are getting enough exercise to count, take at least three days a week to get in a good workout. The more vigorous the exercise, the better for your heart and health. So make sure that your heart rate is higher than typical for at least twenty minutes each workout.
Weigh Yourself. I haven’t met a single woman who loves finding out how much she weighs. There is nothing fun about it, but it might save your life. If you are at a healthy weight, to lower your risk of breast cancer you should aim to maintain that weight. If you are overweight, it’s time to lose some pounds for your health’s sake. Not only are you more at risk for breast cancer when overweight, but the survival rates for overweight and obese women with breast cancer are lower than those at a healthy weight.
Drink Less Alcohol. If you commonly drink alcohol, then cutting back your intake to just three drinks a week will help to lower your breast cancer risk.
Get Checked. After the age of 40, plan to have a mammogram each year. Also, learn how to do an at home self check and learn what to look for. The earlier breast cancer is detected the better.
