doctor might recommend you
stay on it longer. A study
recently presented at the
annual American Society of
Clinical Oncology conference
found that women who took
the drug for 10 years instead
of 5 had a significant
reduction in the risk of
recurrence.
You might also consider
making an appointment with
a genetic counselor, if you
haven't already. If it turns out
that your breast cancer is
linked to a mutation, your
relatives might also be at risk
of breast cancer, as well as
ovarian and other cancers.
CAN A HEALTHY DIET
PREVENT BREAST
CANCER?
Eating a diet rich in fruits and
vegetables hasn't been
consistently shown to offer
protection from breast cancer.
In addition, a low-fat diet
appears to offer only a slight
reduction in the risk of breast
cancer.
However, eating a healthy
diet may decrease your risk
of other types of cancer, as
well as diabetes, heart disease
and stroke. A healthy diet can
also help you maintain a
healthy weight — a key
factor in breast cancer
prevention.
Is there a link between
birth control pills and
breast cancer?
A number of older studies
suggested that birth control
pills slightly increased the
risk of breast cancer,
especially among younger
women. In these studies,
however, 10 years after
discontinuing birth control
pills women's risk of breast
cancer returned to the same
level as that of women who
never used oral
contraceptives. Current