Reports show that four out of every 100 women who are sixty years old will be diagnosed with breast cancer sometime before they reach seventy. Since age remains the greatest risk factor, the longer you live, the greater the likelihood that you will get breast cancer. Although the risk of developing the disease rises as women grow older, there are things that you can do to lower the odds.
Instructions
1. Get routine mammograms. A woman is never too old to have a mammogram, as survival rates increase with early diagnosis not matter what your age. Every woman should have a yearly mammogram, or a mammogram at least every other year. If your doctor doesn’t suggest it as part of your annual examination, ask him or her to schedule a mammogram for you. Medicare covers annual mammogram screening for women over age 65.
2. Watch your diet and eat foods low in fat. Include plenty of fruits and vegetables in your diet, and reduce fat to less than 35% of your daily calories. Restricting foods high in saturated fats decreases the risk of other serious diseases, too. Research shows that women who maintain a healthy weight after menopause can reduce their breast cancer risk by more than 50%. Evidence also suggests that eating dark green vegetables may help to restore immune system function in older individuals. You should limit or completely avoid the consumption of alcohol as well.
3. Eat smaller meals more frequently throughout the day. As individuals age, it's actually healthier to eat mini-meals of only 300 - 400 calories in place of the traditional three meals a day. Not only does eating several smaller meals allow you to constantly fuel your body for energy, you may consume fewer total calories. Eating smaller meals also helps to stabilize blood sugar and puts less stress on the heart. Consuming larger, heavier meals can make the heart beat up to 30% faster.
4. Exercise to decrease your risk. Just 2 – 3 hours of moderate exercise each week can lower cancer risk by about 20%. Make it part of your routine each day to walk, bike, swim or engage in some other kind of physical activity that you like to do. Try to exercise for at least 30 minutes when you do. Women who report exercising rigorously for more than six hours each week, and have no family history of breast cancer, appear to be 23% less likely to develop breast cancer than women who lead sedentary lifestyles.
5. Ask about all your treatment options if you are diagnosed with breast cancer. Some doctors do not immediately recommend radiation and chemotherapy to older women. Many physicians tend to treat a woman’s age instead of the disease; therefore, older women often are not treated for breast cancer as aggressively as younger women might be. However, reports show that women in their 70’s tolerate these kinds of cancer treatments as well as women in their 50’s. Unless a woman has other health issues, which may make treatment more difficult to tolerate, a physician should not assume that radiation or chemotherapy might be too hard on her.
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