How to... be breast cancer savvy

Making smart lifestyle choices can cut your risk of developing breast cancer. Ulrike Lemmin-Woolfrey tells you how.

Reportedly, only five per cent of breast cancer is directly linked to 'high risk' genes, the remaining number of cases are due mainly to lifestyle choices.

That's not to say that a healthy lifestyle means the disease can't catch you, but the healthier and more aware you are, the better your chances of escaping it.

Eat well: According to Dr Houriya Kazim, specialist breast surgeon in Dubai's Well Woman Clinic, a low-fat, high-fibre diet is highly effective in preventing breast (and colon) cancer. A high intake of animal fat increases the risk, whilst intake of fat from fish is protective.

Womenwho eat large quantities of fruit and vegetables (especially cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower) have a 35 to 46 per cent lower risk of developing breast cancer.

Weigh loW: Dr Houriya states that obese women are at increased risk. In times of famine, the incidence of breast cancer decreases significantly. More worrying though, is the finding that weight gain during the ages of 18 and 60 is a big risk factor for breast cancer.

According to Dr Michelle Harvie, author of the Genesis Breast Cancer Prevention Diet, gaining more than 20kg in weight between those ages can double your chances of developing the disease, the risk being linked to fat stores in the body.

These stores can increase hormone levels in the body and may lead to inflammation within the breast, both of which can promote the development of cancer.

Get moving: Evidence suggests women who exercise on a regular basis seem to have decreased risk of breast cancer. Thirty minutes, three times a week, decreases your risk by 62 per cent.

Dr Houriya says, "There is a correlation in young girls with exercise and delayed menstruation patterns; later menstruation is protective against breast cancer.

"Perhaps we should be pushing for more high school athletics for girls. This would likely decrease breast cancer, strengthen bones, prevent future osteoporosis and help with heart disease later on as well."

Eat a rainbow: Even if you eat a super food such as blueberries every day, if that is the only fruit you eat, it does not benefit you as much as eating different coloured fruit and vegetables.

The more colourful a piece of fruit or veg, the louder it screams 'eat me'. They are full of goodies such as beta-carotene, lutein, and lycopene, also called antioxidants, which reduce cancer risk by helping the body neutralise free radicals, compounds which can cause cancer.

Monitor hormonal changes: The National Cancer Institute states that the younger a woman has her first child, the lower her risk of developing breast cancer during her lifetime.

A woman who has her first child after the age of 35 has approximately twice the risk than a woman who has a child before age 20, whilst having more than one child decreases a woman's chances of developing breast cancer.

After pregnancy, breastfeeding for a long period of time (for a year or longer) further reduces breast cancer risk by a small amount.

Check yourself: Dr Houriya recommends monthly breast self-exams for women 20 years and older.

"A large number of breast cancers are actually detected by women themselves. And remember, if you discover a lump in your breast while doing a self-exam, get help! No information on the Internet can take the place of talking with your doctor.

"But don't panic and keep in mind that only one breast lump in ten ever turns out to be cancerous," she says.

Have well-women checks: For women 20 years and older, Dr Houriya recommends a clinical breast exam by an experienced medical professional every year.

Women over 40 should have a mammogram every two years. "A mammogram can reveal the presence of a lump that is too small to be found by touch. The death-rate from breast cancer could be reduced by one-third if every woman 40 years and older had a regular screening mammogram," says Dr Houriya.

Stay positive: Dr Houriya has plenty of good news: more than90 per cent of women will never develop breast cancer, and if they do, five times more women suffer from the disease than die from it, with the survival rate at 95 per cent if breast cancer is being detected and treated early on.