tissue. The more fat in a
woman's body, the more
estrogen.
Second, exercise alters
estrogen metabolism,
according to a study
published in the journal
Cancer Epidemiology,
Biomarkers & Prevention.
"Among women who
exercise, the ratio of 'good'
estrogens to 'bad' estrogens
[those that can damage DNA
and increase a woman's
breast cancer risk] improved
by roughly 25%. Past
research has shown that the
greater this ratio, the lower a
woman's breast cancer risk.
Among women who don't
exercise, the ratio didn't
budge," says study coauthor
Mindy Kurzer, PhD, a
professor of nutrition at the
University of Minnesota.
Know your family cancer
history—even your dad's
About 5 to 10% of breast
cancer is hereditary, passed
from one generation to the
next via a variety of mutated
genes. Your father's family
counts as much as your
mother's. And look at your
family's history of other
kinds of cancer, too. Men can
carry some of the same
aberrant genes, such as
BRCA1 and 2, that up the
risk of not only breast cancer
but also ovarian cancer in
women, pancreatic cancer in
men and women, and early
prostate and testicular
cancers in men. Also,
multiple diagnoses on either
side of your family can be a
clue to a hereditary link.
Minimize radiation exposure
from screening tests
It's ironic. Mammograms are
the staple of breast cancer
surveillance, yet ionizing