Do these eight things to help lower your risk of breast cancer—and share them with someone you care about to ignite a critical conversation
Key Takeaways
- There are many small ways you can reduce your risk of breast cancer.
- Choosing a plant-based diet, minimizing alcohol, and exercising can all help.
- Learn your dad’s family history — not just your mom’s.
- Know your breasts and keep up with your screenings.
Here’s a sobering statistic: One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. But we can make that none in eight. That’s why the Breast Cancer Research Foundation invests in the world’s most promising research to change those odds and outcomes.
Whether you donate to breast cancer research through BCRF or remind a loved one to get screened this October, you can help us end breast cancer. And in honor of BCRF’s “1 in 8 Day” on October 18, BCRF rounded up eight small actions you can take to help reduce your own risk.
Consume more legumes
Research indicates that a mostly plant-based diet—one that is heavy on legumes (such as beans and lentils), vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and nuts, with little or no red and processed meat—may reduce the risk of various cancers, including breast cancer. That’s because whole foods are full of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber, which can reduce cell-damaging inflammation, support your immune system, and help you reach or maintain a healthy weight.
Although the link between weight and breast cancer is complex and still being researched, statistics show that obesity can significantly increase a woman’s risk of the disease, especially after menopause. One possible contributing factor is that excess fat can lead to increased estrogen production in breast tissue, which can fuel hormone receptor–positive breast tumors. Obesity can also worsen chronic inflammation.
You likely already know the standard tips for getting more produce into your diet: Eating more salads and stir-fries, adding berries to your yogurt and spinach or bell peppers to your sandwiches. But if you’re looking to go meat-free (even if it’s one day a week), reach for legumes.
Beans and lentils are not only a robust source of protein, they’re also remarkably versatile. In addition to the staple dishes—beans and rice, soups, and stews—consider spinach and black bean enchiladas, white bean dip (with crudités, roasted vegetables, or whole wheat pita bread), chickpea salad sandwiches (mash the chickpeas with mayo, seasonings, and a squeeze of lemon), or lentils in pasta or guacamole.
Mix up a mocktail
When it comes to breast cancer, alcohol use is a leading risk factor. Breast cancer is one of six types of cancer associated with drinking alcohol. Up to six percent of cancer diagnoses and four percent of deaths are linked to alcohol, and even women who consume only one daily alcoholic drink (that’s 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of liquor) have a seven to 10 percent higher risk than non-drinkers. (And if you’re in the habit of drinking a nightly glass of red wine because it’s “heart-healthy,” recent research indicates that the link between wine and cardiovascular health, may have been vastly overstated, and that wine has no beneficial effect.)
There are several potential reasons why alcohol could raise the risk of breast cancer. First, the empty calories in alcohol can make it harder to maintain a healthy weight, which affects levels of estrogen, insulin, and other factors that encourage cell growth. It harms DNA, which can also encourage irregular cell growth, cause oxidative stress in cells, and affect the body’s ability to absorb certain nutrients that have cancer-protective effects.
The good news is that more people than ever are mindfully examining their drinking habits. As a result, there’s a growing number of nonalcoholic wines, beers, and spirits on the market, and many bars and restaurants have expanded their mocktail menus. You can also find plenty of tasty and festive substitutes at your local grocery store.
- Wine drinkers may want to opt for the classic sparkling grape juice, fruit juice with a splash of sparkling water, or kombucha, a fermented tea with lip-smacking tartness. Nonalcoholic wines have come a long way, too.
- Beer lovers could try non-alcoholic beers, of course, or kombucha, ginger beer, and hop waters.
- Cocktail connoisseurs may go for soda water with berries or bitters for a touch more bite. For an unexpected twist, you might consider verjus, a tart juice made from unripe grapes (found at many gourmet markets in the vinegar section) that gives a snappy twist to tonic water, soda, and a twist of lemon.
Move your body
Exercise can ward off cancer by fighting inflammation, regulating your hormones, and helping you manage your weight. It also offers a healthy outlet for stress relief. According to BCRF investigator Melinda Irwin, exercise can also benefit people who are in treatment for breast cancer by improving tumor markers, immune and inflammatory markers, and chemotherapy completion rates.
Studies have shown that making lifestyle changes such as adopting a healthy diet and a moderate-intensity exercise routine—just 150 minutes a week or more of aerobic exercise/cardio and strength training—can help reduce your risk of breast cancer and improve your prognosis if you’re diagnosed.
If you’re a novice, try thinking of that 150 minutes in smaller chunks: say, 30 minutes a day, five days a week. Or 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes in the afternoon. And there’s no need to push yourself until you’re gasping for air: At first, you’re just aiming for a moderate pace, which means you should be able to talk but not sing.
If that’s still daunting, try dividing your routine further into “exercise snacks”—short intervals of activity (even just three minutes) whenever you can grab the opportunity. That could mean pausing for a dance party break when you’re making dinner, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, doing a mini boot-camp routine while you’re watching TV. According to a study published in JAMA Oncology in 2023, non-exercising adults who began a daily routine of just 3.5 minutes of vigorous activity experienced a 17–18 percent reduction in total cancer risk compared with no vigorous activity.
Ask about your dad’s family history of breast cancer
Only about five to 10 percent of breast cancers are hereditary. Because breast cancer overwhelmingly impacts women, people tend to focus on our family medical history and genetic inheritance on their mother’s side of the family. But dad’s side is equally important.
If any of your dad’s family members have had breast cancer, try to find out how old they were at diagnosis, what type of breast cancer they had, the treatments they received, and any genetic testing they may have undergone. You’ll also want to learn about any cases of ovarian, prostate, or pancreatic cancer on both sides of your family.
If you’re under 40, get a breast cancer risk assessment
A breast cancer risk assessment helps determine a woman’s risk of developing the disease over the short term (the next five years) or the long term (her lifetime). Experts recommend women get a risk assessment at age 25. If you’re not of screening age (40) yet and you’ve never had one, ask your doctor.
Your primary care physician or gynecologist will ask a series of questions about:
- Your age
- Your family history of cancer
- Your medical history
- Lifestyle factors
- How old you were when you got your period and when it stopped
- Any children you’ve had
- Other factors, such as the density of your breast tissue and whether you’ve received hormone replacement therapy
Then your doctor will plug your results into one of various risk assessment models to get an estimate of your short- and long-term chances of developing the disease. Of course, these assessments can’t definitively predict whether you’ll get breast cancer; they’re simply a tool to help you and your doctor make informed decisions about future screening, genetic testing, and preventive medications.
If you’re 40 and older, make sure you’re getting screened
The type and frequency of screenings like mammograms will depend on your personal risk of breast cancer. But in general, guidelines recommend women start getting mammograms at age 40. How often they get mammograms—whether annually or biannually—often depends on their personal risk.
If you’re at a high risk of breast cancer, your doctor may recommend screening earlier than age 40, having more frequent mammograms, and/or getting additional types of screening.
Learn your dense breast status
Some women need to get additional screening, such as breast ultrasounds or breast MRIs, because they have dense breasts. So how do you know you have dense breasts? Density refers to the amount of glandular tissue and fibrous connective tissue in your breasts, as opposed to fatty breast tissue. To determine how dense your breasts are, you’ll need a mammogram, so a radiologist can categorize your breast tissue into one of four levels, ranging from A (extremely fatty) to D (extremely dense). You cannot tell whether you have dense breasts by how they feel.
Women with dense breasts have a higher risk of cancer, and they’re generally more difficult to screen. The denser the tissue, the more challenging it is for a radiologist to interpret the results of a mammogram, since fatty tissue appears dark while denser tissue appears white, which may camouflage any abnormalities.
If you don’t know whether you have dense breasts, you should see your status on your mammography report (if not, call the provider who ordered the mammogram). If you do have dense breasts and you’re not getting extra screening, talk to your doctor.
Get to know your breasts
Since you’re in the best position to observe any day-to-day changes, it’s a good idea to become familiar with the way your breasts normally feel and look. That includes their shape, texture, and any normal patterns of change throughout your menstrual cycle if you haven’t gone through menopause yet.
Although lumps are the most common initial sign of breast cancer, there are other signs to stay on the alert for, such as skin dimpling, swelling, retracted nipples, red or flaky skin, nipple discharge, or swollen lymph nodes under the arm or near the collarbone.
And if you do find a lump, don’t panic: A lump could also be a cyst, the result of a hormonal fluctuation, or a noncancerous lump like a fibroadenoma or lipoma. Your best course of action is to see your doctor as soon as possible, to either put your mind at ease or decide on next steps—because early detection is everything.
