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Forty Percent of Postmenopausal Breast Cancers Preventable by Lifestyle Changes
Approximately 40% of breast cancers among postmenopausal women may be prevented through lifestyle changes. These results were recently published in the American Journal of Epidemiology.
Approximately 200,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer every year in the United States alone. The majority of breast cancers are diagnosed among postmenopausal women; therefore, ways in which to reduce the risk of breast cancer is under evaluation.
Research has recently identified the association between diet, exercise, and other modifiable lifestyle choices and the risks of certain diseases, including specific types of cancer. As such, researchers continue to explore associations between these variables so that individuals can make choices to reduce their risk of cancer.
Researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center, Dartmouth Medical School, and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center recently conducted a study to further evaluate modifiable lifestyle choices and associations with breast cancer among postmenopausal women. The study included over 3,000 women with breast cancer.
The researchers concluded that hormone use, alcohol consumption, weight gain, and lack of physical activity attributed to approximately 40% of postmenopausal breast cancer. Recent weight gain increased the risk by 21%, and lack of physical recreational activities increased the risk by 16%. These data provide further evidence that diet, weight, and physical activity contribute significantly to the risk of developing postmenopausal breast cancer.
Reference: Sprague B, Trentham-Dietz, A, Egan K, et al. Proportion of invasive breast cancer attributable to risk factors modifiable after menopause. American Journal of Epidemiology. 2008;168:404-411.
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About Komen:
Nancy G. Brinker promised her dying sister, Susan G. Komen, she would do everything in her power to end breast cancer forever. In 1982, that promise became Susan G. Komen for the Cure and launched the global breast cancer movement. Today, Komen for the Cure is the world's largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists fighting to save lives, empower people, ensure quality care for all and energize science to find the cures. Thanks to events like the Komen Race for the Cure, we have invested nearly $1 billion to fulfill our promise, becoming the largest source of nonprofit funds dedicated to the fight against breast cancer in the world. For more information about Susan G. Komen for the Cure, breast health or breast cancer, visit www.komen.org or call 1-877 GO KOMEN.
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Led by more than 100,000 survivors and activists, Komen is the world' largest and most progressive grassroots network fighting to end breast cancer forever. We are local activists in 124 cities and communities, mobilizing more than one million friends and neighbors every year through events like the Komen Race for the Cure Series, the world's largest and most successful awareness and fundraising event for breast cancer. We are advocates at the local, state and federal level, fighting for the screening and treatment programs that save lives and the research that brings us closer to the cure.
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