Breast Cancer Awareness Month: How to Prevent Breast Cancer?

Breast Cancer Awareness Month, also known as ‘Pink October,’ is a worldwide health awareness movement that occurs every October. People around the world wear pink and show a pink ribbon to raise awareness about breast health.?

The World Health Organization (WHO) has raised their concern on the most prevalent cancer globally, breast cancer, and estimates that there are 2.3 million new instances of breast cancer annually. Besides, the US National Breast Cancer Foundation projects that over 360,000 new cases of breast cancer will be reported by 2024.?

A recent study by the International Agency for Research on Cancer stated that breast cancer is ranked 1st among the new cases of cancer in the UAE in 2022, and it accounts for 39.1% of the new cancer cases among females in the country.???

“Prevention is better than cure.”?

Let us explore ways to lower the risk of breast cancer!?

The 5 Factors to Prevent Breast Cancer?

1) Maintain a Healthy Weight?

Maintaining a healthy weight is crucial for preventing and lowering the risk of breast cancer, especially for women after their menopause. You may implement small healthy habits, such as eating a balanced diet and daily exercise, to ensure that your weight remains in a healthy range. If you are required to lose weight, it is important that you seek professional advice from your family doctor or health practitioners.???

2) Stay Physically Active?

Studies have shown that moderate to vigorous physical activity can help lower breast cancer risk. Following the “WHO Guidelines on Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour,” you must at least perform 150-300 minutes (about 5 hours) of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity, or alternatively, at least 75 – 150 minutes (about 2 and a half hours) of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity per week. This can bring essential health benefits to you while lowering breast cancer risk.?

3) Limit Your Alcohol Intake?

The American Cancer Society found that, even with a small amount of alcohol, it will increase the breast cancer risk. Therefore, it is best not to consume alcohol at all. However, for those who drink, you should have no more than 1 alcoholic drink per day, which is equivalent to 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, and 1.5 ounces of hard liquor.

4) Avoid Smoking?

Cigarette smoke contains cancer-causing agents, i.e., carcinogens. Women with a smoking history have a higher risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer than those who don’t smoke. Smoking also heightened the risk of dying after breast cancer diagnosis and cancer reoccurrences. You may contact the UAE’s Ministry of Health and Prevention smoking cessation services, where you can seek professional help from physicians to quit smoking.??

5) Prescription Medicine?

There are generally 2 types of medicine utilized by physicians to lower breast cancer risk for certain groups of people. They are the selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERM) and Aromatase inhibitors. The SERM such as tamoxifen and raloxifene can help block the action of estrogen in breast tissue, meanwhile aromatase inhibitors can help reduce the production of estrogen in the body and are an option for postmenopausal women.? However, note the medication’s side effects, and refer to your doctor if you feel any discomfort while using the medicine.?

Estrogen receptor is a “protein found inside the cells of the female reproductive tissue, some other types of tissue, and some cancer cell. The hormone estrogen will bind the receptors inside the cells and may cause the cells to grow.” -- National Cancer Institute?

Prepare for the Unforeseen?

Let us continue our efforts in maintaining a healthy and balanced lifestyle to prevent and lower the risk of breast cancer.?

Apart from being prepared physically, we should also be prepared financially for unforeseen situations. Getting critical illness coverage can help us ease our financial burden in the unfortunate situation where we’re diagnosed with breast cancer.??

Contact Doo Wealth now and learn more about how critical illness insurance can help you when unpredicted health conditions arise.

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