Breast cancer prevention: how to do it and why it is essential at any age
Breast cancer prevention is the most powerful weapon we have today - together with research - to defeat and make as harmless as possible this disease which unfortunately affects many women. Many steps have been taken in this direction, and this is demonstrated by the data, according to which an increase in the number of women affected corresponds to an increase in healings, but the most important step is up to us. Prevention is in fact a commitment that every woman must take with herself to safeguard her physical health. do we mean by prevention? And how is it done concretely? There are different ways of doing prevention based on the age and different moments of one's life, all however equally important, as they represent the only real concrete means to counter the onset of this disease.
Breast cancer is in fact one of the highest onset cancers in women: one in eight women in her lifetime is affected.And every year there are 50,000 new cases of breast cancer, unfortunately a growing number. However, this alarming fact is accompanied by one that spreads hope: one heals more often. In fact, over the last 20 years, survival 5 years after diagnosis has gone from 81 to 87%. A comforting figure that should not, however, let our guard down.
In fact, there are many stories of women who have managed to make it and who are still able to live a normal life, despite a painful face with the disease. Here we want to tell you the wonderful story of Lysandra, a reborn woman who has won her battle against breast cancer.
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Breast cancer prevention: how to do it yourself
There are some simple ways of doing prevention that you can put into practice yourself, alone, in your daily life. These mainly concern correct lifestyles and virtuous behaviors that will help you live a better life from different points of view, drastically lowering the chances of contracting a tumor. Here are the main ones:
- stop smoking
- consume little alcohol
- exercise regularly
- choose a diet rich in vegetables and low in animal fats and sugars
The second phase of prevention involves breast self-examination. It would be good to carry it out regularly, at least once a month, trying to make it coincide with the time following the menstrual cycle. Avoid the days immediately before menstruation, in which the breasts they tend to swell and be harder, making accurate and truly reliable DIY screening impossible.
But how to do it? The video below is ironic, and jokingly presents the way self-examination is done, one of the very first ways to do prevention even alone. Learn how to do it right away, because it is important to start early, between 20 and 30 years. If you don't know how to do it, you can ask your doctor, but in the meantime you can find an example in the video below. Remember to examine the entire contour and surface of the breast, from the armpit to the center of the bust, from the sides to the nipple!
Nutrition and breast cancer: prevention starts from the table
As mentioned, nutrition is of fundamental importance in the fight against cancer. Choosing a varied and balanced diet, rich in vegetables, fibers and low in animal proteins and sugars, in fact, allows us to guarantee a good defense against the development of various diseases, including cancer.
Therefore, fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes are welcome, able to reduce the onset of the so-called metabolic syndrome, which increases the risk of developing heart diseases, diabetes and tumors. On the other hand, industrial and refined foods, products of animal derivation such as red meat, sausages and cured meats, and also avoid exaggerating with dairy products and derivatives. The classic Mediterranean diet is often indicated as the most suitable for maintaining good health and preventing as much as possible the onset of physical pathologies of various kinds .
In the gallery below you can find a specific list of anti-cancer foods to be included in your diet as much as possible to fight the onset of cancer even at the table.
Breast cancer prevention: how and why it is good to do it at any age
In addition to this first level prevention, if we can call it that, which sees us personally engaged, there is another type of prevention of fundamental importance that must not be neglected in any way. These are targeted specialist visits to be subjected to at a certain frequency, based on age, specific case and any familiarity factors.
All doctors now recommend undergoing a breast examination at least once every year, starting from the age of 20. Why so early? Because it is no longer only women over 50 who are exposed to this type of disease. The incidence of breast cancer has also risen because it tends to appear earlier, and for this reason doctors recommend starting to check the breasts with self-examination and breast examinations between 20 and 30 years of age. Generally, in this age group. "age, we tend to keep our guard down, since we think that breast cancer is a pathology that strikes at an older age, but as we have seen, we are wrong. Spreading a culture of aware prevention at 360 ° is essential to sensitize even the youngest to this issue and educate them to take care of themselves since late adolescence.
At these ages, it is possible to perform a breast ultrasound during the normal annual check-up by the gynecologist, together with the Pap test - another essential test to prevent female tumors, or to go to a specialist breast specialist. It is important, however, to maintain an annual frequency, despite the young age, especially if there are cases of familiarity.
From the age of 40, the gynecologist recommends starting to undergo a mammogram every two years, but always in the event that there are cases of familiarity or heredity, it is good to undergo it even from a younger age group and with a In fact, the preventive exams must be applied to one's own case and to one's personal and life experience.
From the age of 50, however, it is essential to resort to a mammogram every two years.
The importance of prevention in cases of familiarity and inheritance
The frequency of periodic checks then becomes higher and even more fundamental in cases of inheritance or direct familiarity.
First of all, it is good to distinguish between heredity and familiarity. In the first case, we mean mutations concerning a gene linked to the onset of a disease, transmitted from parents to children. In the second, however, the presence in one's relatives of several cases of a certain disease not necessarily attributable to a single gene. In order to speak of true familiarity, at least two cases of affected direct relatives (mothers or sisters) are necessary.
If the question of familiarity is easier to investigate, the question of inheritance needs further investigation.
About 5-7% are hereditary breast cancers, a quarter of which are characterized by the presence of mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. Before taking a test, to find out if you are a carrier of these genes, it is necessary to have an interview with a medical geneticist who will evaluate the family tree and the situation of the person concerned. However, being a carrier of these genes does not mean developing with certainty. breast cancer in the future, but be more likely to do so Based on the results obtained following the interview, the geneticist himself will evaluate the frequency with which it will be necessary to undergo preventive clinical examinations.
Breastfeeding and pregnancy: a natural prevention
Breastfeeding has been shown to be a prevention strategy that benefits not only the baby, but also the mother. Breastfeeding actually blocks the production of female hormones, thus decreasing the risk of developing breast cancer by about 5%.
Furthermore, it would halve the risk of contracting a tumor in those who are genetically sensitive to this type of disease. In fact, among women with BRCA1 gene mutation there was a risk reduction equal to 45% for those who breastfeed. Finally, for women with only familiarity, the risk reduction is up to 59%.
