Our Watson Realty Corp's Fernandina Beach Office supports as many community service activities as we can. This is breast cancer awareness month. Since I'm from Baltimore, I still follow the Johns Hopkins Hospital bulletins. One of October bulletins discussed these 4 fundamental measures to reduce the chance of breast cancer:
Exercise 3 times a week. This doesn't mean joining a gym or becoming an exercise "nut". Power walking around your neighborhood every other day will do it - for 1 hour, 3 times a week.
Stick to a low-fat diet. This doesn't mean giving up all the goodies, either. Just watch how much of them you eat and don't partake every day. This, along with exercise (see above) will keep your weight within the desired range (which, by the way, is a crucial risk-reducer). Less weight means less body fat and, since ladis store estrogen in body fat, that's less estrogen for us to be hauling around. This is a "extraordinary" step to take because estrogen is a known promoter and nourisher of breast cancer cells, as well as of cells that are about to mutate into cancerous ones.
Stop smoking.Quit if you can, and steer clear of secondhand smoke, too. I inhaling cigarette smoke increases the estrogen levels in your bloodstream. Research has now proven that secondhand smoke can be just as damaging to our bodies as lighting up the cancer sticks ourselves. The American Cancer Society has reported that if all tobacco products were banished today, then 80 percent of all cancers would vanish as well.
Limit alcohol intake.Alcohol increases your risk. If you are a social drinker, that's fine, but limit yourself to one alcoholic beverage a day or less (for a woman, that amounts to 12 oz. of beer, 6 oz. of wine, or 1 oz. of the hard stuff). Doesn't matter what kind of liquor that's involved, either - beer, wine, or spirits, it's all the same. Say "No thanks" after one drink.
Four pretty simple steps. And all very doable, and an invaluable gift for your loved ones.
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