The world celebrates breast cancer survivors in a bid to create more awareness about the disease that research has proven to be the second leading cause of death in women after lung cancer.
The conversation around breast cancer requires not just women but also the involvement of men, away from the belief that breast cancer largely affects women.
They say prevention is better than cure and, a lead Care & Medical Advisory officer at Resolution Insurance, Jemimah Mbugua gives these tips that can help minimize the chances of contracting breast cancer:
1.Quit smoking
If you like to indulge in a regular cigarette once in a while or on a daily basis, you are definitely prone to getting breast cancer compared to someone who does not smoke.
2.Exercise
The more active you are as an individual, the less likely you are to be at risk of getting breast cancer. Some of the simple exercises you can engage in include: jogging, swimming, dancing, cycling and even household chores.
3. Minimize alcohol intake
This applies to the light drinkers who often tend to downplay their drinking behaviors with phrases such as “It is only one drink.“ Unfortunately, that one drink can develop into alcohol-associated cancers over time.
Some alcohol-associated cancers which can be caused by that occasional drink include; Liver cancer, breast cancer, stomach cancer among others.
4. Diet
You need to always watch your diet if in any case you are trying to run away from cancer, see, most people do not realize processed foods and spices purchased over the counter in supermarkets are leading causes of cancer.
These food additives more often than not are laced with chemicals that may accumulate in the digestive tract since they cannot be digested. So think twice next time you feel like grabbing that canned corn or canned seafood!
5. Cautionary use of birth control pills
If you predispose yourself to birth control pills, they can often result in hormonal imbalances in your body.
These two hormones, estrogen and progesterone, are necessary for the development of both male and female organs are mostly affected by the improper use of birth control pills.
When these two hormones are in excess, they can cause cancer!
6. Genetic predisposition
Whether we like it or not, we inherit our parent’s genes which in turn get mutated in our bodies. This means that if there are underlying health problems in our families, we automatically become predisposed to the illnesses that are in our families.
Breast cancer is not an exception to this rule, hence the need to get tested to detect any signs of breast cancer or any other cancer that may be malignant. The earlier, the better.
7. Limit your radiation exposure
Avoid exposing yourself to machines with UV rays such as microwaves, X-ray machines which are some of the biggest causes of cancer.