5 Steps to Reducing Your Breast Cancer Risk and Becoming a Previvor
By Sarah Jio, Glamour magazine
Today is National Previvor Day--a day dedicated to helping women beat breast cancer ... before it starts. We hear from Dina Roth Port, a Glamour contributor, and the author of a forthcoming book on breast cancer. Do you know how to reduce your breast cancer risk?
Are you a previvor? Dina Roth Port defines it as this: "A person who has not had cancer but has a predisposition to develop it. Some previvors have a genetic mutation (namely BRCA1 or BRCA2) that puts them at risk. Others don't have this mutation, but they have a strong family history of cancer and other risk factors that increase their odds of getting the disease."
Dinas' book, Previvors: Facing the Breast Cancer Gene and Making Life-Changing Decisions, debuts from Penguin on October 5 (you can order it here), and I can't wait to read it. "Three years ago, five women living in my community asked me to write a book for them," she says. "They told me that they were previvors and that they had all taken steps to lower their odds of getting breast cancer. However, while they had each other to lean on while they dealt with their risk, they didn't have that one quintessential guidebook that could have helped them through the myriad of emotional, psychological and physical issues they faced. ... So I went on to interview more than 70 leading medical experts to create a true guide for previvors, and I interwove the five personal stories throughout the book to bring each detail to life."
Related: Celebrity Cancer Survivors: 10 Inspiring Stories About Tinseltown's Strongest Stars
In honor of National Previvor Day, I asked her if she'd give Vitamin G readers some tips on how to reduce your risk of breast cancer and become a previvor:
1. Learn your family history on both sides of your family (yes, your father's side of the family counts too!). Find out about any family members who battled cancer and the ages they were diagnosed (and the ages they died, if that's the case). Go back as far as you can. (But be sure to look at other risk factors as well: For instance, have you had any abnormal breast biopsy results? Do you have dense breasts? Are you part of a population more inclined to have a BRCA mutation, such as Ashkenazi Jews?)
2. Watch out for red flags. If multiple relatives on the same side of the family have been diagnosed with cancer, that can be a sign that the cancer might be hereditary (particularly if the relatives were diagnosed in their 40s or younger). Also, take note if there's ovarian cancer or male breast cancer in your family, or if any relative has battled cancer twice.
3. Keep an open dialogue with your doctor. Tell your doctor about your family history and discuss what steps you should take. You might also want to consider talking to a genetics expert about your options, which is always a good idea. If you choose to do so, the National Society of Genetics Counselors can help you find an expert in your area.
Related: What to Say (and Not Say) When Someone You Love Is Diagnosed With Breast Cancer
4. Protect yourself. Living a healthy lifestyle can help you lower your risk for breast cancer (and many other diseases to boot). For example, limit alcohol to one drink a day, eat mostly fruits, vegetables and whole grains, limit red meat, exercise regularly, and breast-feed if possible. Also, talk to your doctor about your surveillance regimen. While the average woman should start getting mammograms at age 40, you might want to consider starting earlier if your risk factors indicate that you should. Some previvors also add yearly MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) to their surveillance.
5. Learn your options: This is the first generation of women who can take steps to fight breast cancer before it strikes. Previvors need to learn their options so they can make well-informed decisions about how to protect themselves.
Thank you, Dina!
Gals, chime in: Are you at risk for breast cancer (any family history)? What are you doing to reduce that risk?
P.S. The salad green that may help fight cancer, and when it comes to cleaning products, why not go natural? It could reduce your breast cancer risk ...
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