Family history is a risk factor for breast cancer that is out of your control. But, there are many risk factors that you can change to give yourself the best protection. Dr. Hiral Fontanilla, breast medical director at St. Mary Medical Center in Langhorne, says eating a healthy diet and maintaining a low BMI with a sensible weight will go a long way to keep you healthy. Limit your alcohol intake to just 2-3 drinks per week, and avoid smoking.
If you've put off getting a mammogram because of the Pandemic, make an appointment now. Dr. Fontanilla says that yearly mammograms catch cancers early at the most treatable stages. She adds that catching a cancer at stage 0 or stage 1 can give a woman a 95% or greater chance at a cure. While breast cancer treatments and cure rates have improved dramatically in recent years, she says the later a cancer is caught makes the treatment more difficult and more complicated.
Currently, one in eight women is diagnosed with breast cancer in this country. Your chances of diagnoses increases with your age, so it's important not to put off that yearly mammogram and to continue self breast exams. She urges women who notice any change in the breast, such as in size, shape or texture, to have it evaluated.
She suggests mammograms begin at age 40, earlier if there's a close family history of breast cancer.