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PREVENTION
There is no known way to prevent breast cancer. But there are some things you can do to reduce your risk of breast cancer.
Approved in 1998, the drug tamoxifen has been shown to reduce the risk of breast cancer recurrence in women at high risk for the disease by 50 percent for five years following surgery. Common side effects for these chemotherapy antiestrogen drug inclue fatigue, vaginal discharge, hot flashes and mood swings. Rare, but serious side effects can include increased risk for endometrial cancer and blood clots in deep veins in the body - a condition known as deep vein thrombosis.
Preliminary results of a 2006 study on postmenopausal women found that the osteoporosis drug raloxifene (Evista) was as effective as tamoxifen at lowering breast cancer risk in high risk women, with slightly fewer side effects. The study, called STAR (Study of Tamoxifen and Raloxifene)—one of the largest breast cancer prevention studies ever—compared both drugs. Then, in October 2007, the FDA approved raloxifene for breast cancer reduction in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis and postmenopausal women at a high risk for invasive breast cancer. Raloxifene, a drug known as a selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM) now joins tamoxifen as the second chemoprevention drug to be FDA approved for breast cancer. Raloxifene can cause serious side effects, such as blood clots in the legs and death from stroke. If you have a high-risk for breast cancer, talk to your health care professional about tamoxifen, raloxifene or other similar drugs to prevent breast cancer.
Although prevention is difficult, you have a much better prognosis if you can find and treat breast cancer early. To do that, follow this advice:
At age 40 for women at an average risk of breast cancer, begin having screening mammograms every year.
For women at high risk of breast cancer, starting at age 30 or an age determined by your health care professional, begin having annual screening mammograms together with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
To make sure you get the best possible mammogram, look for the FDA certificate, which should be prominently displayed at the facility. Facilities not meeting FDA requirements may not lawfully perform mammography.
If you're in your 20s and 30s and at an average risk, have your health care professional examine your breasts at least once every three years, and annually thereafter.
Become familiar with how your breasts feel and what is "normal" for you; examine your breasts periodically and see a health care professional if you feel or see any changes that don't go away after one menstrual cycle.
Eat a healthy diet rich in fruits and vegetables, maintain your ideal body weight, exercise regularly, and drink in moderation, if at all. A University of Washington (Seattle) study found that exercise and lack of obesity in adolescence significantly delayed the onset of breast cancer, including onset in high-risk women who carried genetic mutations for the disease.
Engage in frequent and regular physical exercise. Some studies suggest it may reduce your breast cancer risk.
If you're at very high risk for breast cancer because of a strong family history of breast and ovarian cancer, an inherited breast cancer gene abnormality or previous breast cancer, talk to your health care professional about a prophylactic mastectomy.
Prophylactic mastectomy is an aggressive preventive surgery that removes both breasts before any cancer is detected. It can reduce the risk of breast cancer by approximately 90 percent, but doesn't eliminate the risk entirely. Removing the ovaries (prophylactic oophorectomy) may also be a preventive choice for women with an inherited breast cancer gene abnormality, since the risk for ovarian cancer is also greater for these women.
Visit www.breastcancer.org for more information.
