TORONTO (Ivanhoe Broadcast News) -- This year, nearly 180,000 women in the United States will be told they have breast cancer. Treatments are getting better, but there are steps you can take to lower your risk.

One big way to reduce risk: watch your weight. Fat tissue increases estrogen levels.

"The fatter you are, the more female sex hormones are going to be in your body, the more that the breast tissue is being exposed to and the greater the breast cancer risk," says Mark Clemons, M.D., a medical oncologist from Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto.

Also, hit the gym. Exercise lowers estrogen in breast tissue. Next, get enough vitamin D.

"We know that lowered vitamin D levels are associated with an increased breast cancer risk, and, indeed, there is some evidence that vitamin D may have an anti-cancer effect in its own right," says Dr. Clemons.
 

Limiting hormone use after menopause can also lower breast cancer risk.

"It is a disease that is the result of chronic overexposure to sex steroids in your blood," says Dr. Clemons. So, short-term use of hormone replacement therapy may be best.

Finally, Dr. Clemons says high-risk women should consider prevention drugs. Research shows drugs, like tamoxifen, cut risk by nearly 50 percent.

"It's important to realize that reducing your risk of breast cancer is not simply about taking a tablet. It's about lifestyle modification," says Dr. Clemons. And a combination approach can have the biggest impact.

For more information, please contact:

John Link, M.D.
9900 Talbert Ave.
Fountain Valley, CA 92708
http://www.breastlink.com