isabel bloedwater, Flickr
As you may have noticed, it seems like just about everyone is getting breast cancer nowadays, which makes it critical that we do every itty, bitty thing we can in the spirit of prevention — like quitting smoking, even if it’s just an occasional habit.
According to the Breast Journal, women who smoke 100 or more cigarettes in a lifetime increase their odds of getting breast cancer by 25 percent. So, kick those butts, and make sure all the young women in your life know why it’s so important they never start puffing away.
Oh, and while you work at ditching the smokes, you might want to shed a few pounds and start working up a sweat, because getting fit and slimming down can cut your cancer risk, too. Hey, no one said being healthy was easy, right?
Tags: smoking, weight-loss
I love your blog; it is so informative and supportive! I added a Cancer community on my website, http://www.shareWIK.com (share What I Know) and would love your input! ShareWIK is an online community bringing together people of all areas of expertise so that they can share what they know. Keep up the great work, and we would love to hear from you!
Great advise!
And oh by the way, ask any breast cancer survivor and I bet she falls into one of the following categories:
took the “pill” more than 5 years
took hormone replacement therapy (same ingredients are in the “pill”)
took hormone injections for fertility treatments
had a miscarriage or abortion
started her period before age 12
had her first child after age 30
didn’t breast feed
All of these risk factors are linked to women with breast cancer. Very few women are ever warned by their doctors of the risks involved with these changes to a woman’s breast tissue.
I took birth control pills for 13 years and for 13 years I asked my doctor every year if I should still be taking them. i was assured they were safe. The day I was diagnosed with breast cancer they told me to stop taking them. I asked why. They said because they cause breast cancer.
idiots.