Breast Cancer Awareness

Breast Cancer Awarenessr
October is Breast Cancer awareness month and although more and more people are becoming aware of the fact that breast cancer is a significant conce
for females across the population, many fail to realize the role lifestyle plays in its prevention and management. Breast cancer accounts for over one third of invasive cancers in women. Epidemiological studies have linked diet composition with prognosis, indicating the strong role diet may play in prevention. Many medical professionals are recognizing that a physically active lifestyle, combined with weight management and a calorie controlled, low-fat diet high in vegetables, fruits, fiber and low in red meat intake are important components to reducing the risk. From the literature it seems that physical activity helps mediate inflammatory chemicals associated with obesity, while diet modification has a positive effect on gonadal hormones, retinoid-like activities of carotenoids, and increases the protective effects of biologically active dietary constituents.

Controlling ones weight seems to be a pressing issue to reduce the risk of developing breast cancer and preventing reoccurrence in survivors. Strong evidence supports the link between obesity and breast cancer risk. Due to the fact that breast cancer risk is positively associated with body mass index and energy intake, and inversely associated with physical activity, one of the first steps to prevention is attaining an active lifestyle and practicing calorie control within one’s diet. This seems to be even more important for premenopausal females. In a large cohort study involving 49,613 Canadian women, researchers linked premenopausal obesity and relatively high energy intake with a possible increased risk for breast cancer development. In addition, individuals with positive energy imbalances who did not engage in vigorous physical activity and had a relatively high body mass index, also experienced an elevated risk. Body mass index seems to be an important marker for postmenopausal females in particular, as a strong link between anthropometric measures of adiposity and risk seems to exist.

One of the newer hypotheses attempting to explain the link between obesity and breast cancer to recently gain scientific attention is the concentration of inflammatory markers associated with being overweight. Recent literature has identified adiponectin (a peptide hormone) and related cytokines associated with obesity and insulin resistance, as a plausible connecting link. Although much more research is necessary to identify the actual connection between obesity and breast cancer, researchers suggest that the low serum adiponectin and high serum leptin and resistin concentrations associated with obesity-related low grade inflammation may be independent risk factors for metastasis of cancer. Again postmenopausal females seem to have a distinct risk with adipocytokine (fat cell chemical) disturbances.

After all health is wealth