• Genes and health
• Conditions we cover
• Breast Cancer
• Complete scan
• Cancer scan
• Cardio scan
• Advanced features

Some risk factors for breast cancer can’t be changed, but most can.

Armed with the knowledge from your personal genetic risk profile, health-promoting lifestyle choices may become more important and easier for you.

Breast cancer prevention begins with breast cancer awareness

Understanding your risk of breast cancer can empower your preventive actions

Breast cancer prevention begins with understanding all known risk factors for breast cancer and realizing which of these pertain to you and how. One of the better known risk factors for breast cancer is having a family history of the disease. Until recently, family history was the only way to assess genetic risk for breast cancer. Now, the deCODEme Complete Scan and the deCODEme Cancer Scan can calculate your genetic risk for breast cancer for eight common genetic variants, according to the best science available to date.

Armed with the knowledge from your personal genetic risk profile, you can evaluate your lifestyle choices and environmental risk factors for breast cancer in a new light. Knowing how your genetic risk of breast cancer combines with other risk factors you may have, will help you and your doctor plan the best personal prevention strategy for you.

Some risk factors for breast cancer can´t be changed, but most can

For all women, the risk of breast cancer increases with age. When it comes to breast cancer prevention, age is a risk factor that obviously cannot be controlled, genetic risk is another. Although important risk factors, these are only part of the overall risk of developing breast cancer. Knowing how much genetic factors affect your risk of breast cancer can put you on the path to better prevention, by empowering you to take control of the many environmental and lifestyle-related risk factors of breast cancer that you can indeed change.

Lifestyle factors for breast cancer prevention

Preventing breast cancer and ensuring your best possible breast health involves some simple strategies like healthy eating and getting regular exercise. Following these general principles will put you on the path toward breast cancer prevention and improved general health as a bonus!

• Maintain a healthy body weight. Studies have found a strong association of being overweight and breast cancer. Breast cancer risk is especially increased in women who gain weight later in life or after menopause. A healthy body weight has been defined as a Body Mass Index (BMI) between 18 and 25.
• Exercise regularly. Regular exercise helps maintain a healthy body weight and in doing so, reduces risk of breast cancer.
• Make healthy diet choices. Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables (several servings daily) may aid in preventing breast cancer. As studies have found that breast cancer is less common in countries where the typical diet is low in total fat, low in polyunsaturated fat, and low in saturated fat, reducing intake of these fats may be a good idea. Although more research is needed to better understand how the different types of fat may affect breast cancer, limiting fat in the diet contributes to maintaining a healthy weight, which reduces risk of breast cancer.
• Minimize alcohol intake. Researchers have found that the more alcohol consumed by women, the higher their risk of developing breast cancer. The type of alcohol (wine, beer or strong drinks) seems to make no difference.

If you are on long-term hormone-replacement-therapy, you may also consider talking to your doctor about whether the benefits of the therapy outweigh the risk of breast cancer associated with it.

Follow guidelines for breast cancer screening

Whatever your genetic risk of breast cancer, routine screening for breast cancer (including self-exams, mammograms, and doctor visits) will always be most important, as early diagnosis and treatment are crucial in the management of breast cancer. Adherence to recommended screening guidelines is therefore always recommended. The American Cancer Society recommends an annual mammogram for healthy women 40 years of age and older. Women at high risk (greater than 20% lifetime risk) should undergo a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan and a mammogram every year. Women at moderate risk (15-20% lifetime risk) should talk to their doctors about the benefits and limitations of adding MRI screening to their yearly mammograms.

Preventive treatments are available for high-risk women

Drugs that block the effect of estrogens, such as Tamoxifen and Raloxifene, can be used to reduce the risk of breast cancer in individuals at moderately elevated risk. These drugs can cause some serious side effects, so they should not be used routinely by everyone.

For women who are identified as being at extremely high risk, such as those who have the BRCA variants and/or a strong family history of breast cancer, risk-reducing surgery in the form of mastectomy or oophorectomy (surgical removal of the ovaries) may be considered in selected cases.

More information

You can find out more information about preventing breast cancer by talking to your doctor and visiting these Web sites:

• The American Cancer Society – Breast Cancer Screening Guidelines
• Breastcancer.org
• Cancer Research UK
• MedlinePlus Article on Breast Cancer
• The National Cancer Institute

This content was last reviewed on February 09, 2010.

The conditions we cover: ABO Blood Types, Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm, Age Related Macular Degeneration, Alcohol Flush Reaction, Alzheimer’s Disease, Asthma, Atrial Fibrillation, Basal Cell Carcinoma, Bitter Taste Perception, Bladder Cancer, Brain Aneurysm, Brain Cancer-Glioma, Breast Cancer, Celiac Disease, Chronic Kidney Disease, Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia, Colorectal Cancer, Crohn’s Disease, Essential Tremor, Exfoliation Glaucoma, Eye Color, Gallstones, Gout, Heart Attack, Hemochromatosis, Hypertension, Kidney Stones, Lactose Intolerance, Lung Cancer, Male Pattern Baldness, Multiple Sclerosis, Nicotine Dependence, Obesity, Ovarian Cancer, Pancreatic Cancer, Peripheral Arterial Disease, Prostate Cancer, Psoriasis, Restless Legs Syndrome, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Statin Induced Myopathy, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, Testicular Cancer, Thyroid Cancer, Type 1 Diabetes, Type 2 Diabetes, Ulcerative Colitis, Venous Thromboembolism, Warfarin Metabolism.