Breast Cancer | Lifestyle factors to reduce the recurrence
As a breast cancer survivor, you can take steps to help reduce the risk of recurrence. These measures are to maintain a healthy weight, exercising regularly and restrict the amount of alcohol you consume. These changes in lifestyle not only decrease the possibility of recurrence of breast cancer, but also reduce the risk of you getting other diseases.
Among the most important steps is to maintain an ideal weight, especially in the years after menopause. The investigations suggest that the fat (or fat) is a source of estrogen. Many breast cancers are sensitive to hormones and may grow more rapidly in the presence of estrogen. Thus, having more fat tissue may increase the chance of developing breast cancer, especially among women who already have a history.
Maintaining a healthy weight or, if necessary, lose fat, and reduces the amount of estrogen decreases in the body, which in turn reduces the risk of estrogen-sensitive cancer. Research estimates that when someone has a healthy weight, the risk for breast cancer can be reduced by about 26 percent. While there are no specific dietary guidelines for breast cancer survivors, a well-balanced diet rich with fruits, grains and vegetables and low in fat and sugars, may help maintain a healthy weight.
A formula called body mass index (BMI), which compares weight to height, can help to determine if your weight is within healthy range. BMI is calculated by dividing weight in kilograms to height in meters squared. In most people, is considered normal BMI between 18.5 and 24.9.
Closely related to maintaining a healthy weight is to do regular exercise. It has been shown that exercise reduces estrogen and insulin levels and enhances the immune system. The evidence is overwhelming about to start a regular exercise program before menopause offers lasting benefits for breast cancer. If you are not incorporating exercise into your daily routine, start slowly until it for 30 minutes at least three times a week. Remember that there needs to train to run marathons, so that with brisk walking, bicycling or swimming, you will give your body the exercise it needs.
The advantages to maintain a healthy weight and regular exercise go far beyond reducing the risk for breast cancer, they also serve to prevent colon cancer and other gastrointestinal cancers, gynecological cancers other than as cancer endometrium. The fat is a risk factor for all these types of cancer.
Furthermore, it has clearly shown that losing weight and exercising are used to prevent heart disease, the leading killer of women in America. Finally, we know that regular exercise also helps prevent the dreaded bone loss, which can lead to osteoporosis. This is especially important for women going through menopause and is essential for those receiving estrogen therapy (to reduce the risk of breast cancer recurrence), since these therapies can accelerate the development of osteoporosis.
Another important change you can do is restrict the amount of alcohol they consume. The investigations suggest that the more alcohol is consumed, the greater the risk of developing breast cancer. The general recommendation is that women limit alcohol consumption to an average of no more than one alcoholic drink daily (8 ounces of wine, 16 ounces of beer, or other-half ounces of hard liquor).
By following these recommendations on lifestyle, you could play a key role in reducing the risk of recurrence of breast cancer. For details on a weight loss program good for you or tactics on how to restrict the intake of alcohol, talk with your doctor.
credit to: Dr. Sandhya Pruthi
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