Early Smoking Increases Risk of Breast Cancer

The Nurses's Health Study has provided 3 million person years of follow-up data which has revealed that women who smoke more than 25 cigarettes per day for more than 35 years and began smoking before age 18 had a 25% increased risk of breast cancer compared to those who never smoked.PositiveTip: The best advice is,…

Good News for Breast Cancer Survivors

More than 150 breast cancer survivors at risk for lymphedema were randomized to a one-year weight-lifting group or to no intervention. At the end of the study those in the weight-lifting group actually had less lymphedema than those with no intervention (5% vs. 11%). Among women who had five or more nodes removed the difference…

Green Tea Doesn’t Prevent Breast Cancer

Green tea contains polyphenols and other antioxidants that many people think will help to protect them against cancer.It's true that breast cancer rates are lower in several Asian countries where green tea is commonly consumed, compared to rates in the United States where breast cancer is one of the most common cancers among women.

“Nutritional Insurance” Raises Risk of Breast Cancer

Can "nutritional insurance" in the form of taking multivitamin supplements actually increase the risk of breast cancer? Swedish investigators followed more than 35,000 older women (49-083 at the beginning) for an average of 10 years, and discovered that after adjusting for known risk factors, the multivitamin users were 19% more likely to develop breast cancer.…

Dietary Patterns & Disease Risks

Research often focuses on how specific foods or nutrients affect our risk of disease risk. In reality, our food and nutrients interact in very complex and subtle ways. So it is a good idea to find studies that look at disease risks based on food patterns.Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in…

Exercise Today Prevents Breast Cancer Now

In a recent study of nearly 120,000 postmenopausal women, the influence of exercise on the development of breast cancer was examined. These women were in the prospective NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study. During nearly seven years of follow-up, 4287 cases of breast cancer were diagnosed.The researchers looked at exercise done at various times during life,…

Alcohol as a Cause of Breast Cancer

Today the media often reports on the purported benefits of moderate alcohol use in preventing cardiovascular disease. However, the dark side of that apparently good news is that even moderate alcohol use by women significantly increases their risk of breast cancer. The American Institute for Cancer Research believes there is ample and consistent evidence that…

Good News for Soy Lovers with Breast Cancer

Phytoestrogens found in soy foods are thought to reduce the risk of breast cancer in women. However, there has been some concern that the estrogen-like effects of soy isoflavones might not be good for breast cancer patients. In a study of over 5000 female breast cancer survivors in China, those who consumed the most tofu,…

Lymphedema Responds Positively to Weight Lifting

One of the most feared complications of breast cancer surgery is lymphedema, a potentially disfiguring, disabling, and incurable problem. Consequently, weight lifting has generally been proscribed for those women with this condition--preventing them from getting the well-established health benefits of strength-training, including increased bone density. Now, in a year-long, randomized, controlled trial of twice weekly…

Pre-menopausal Breast Cancer and Breast-feeding

A number of observational studies suggest that breast-feeding reduces pre-menopausal breast cancer risk, but large prospective studies have been lacking until now. Using a cohort of the Nurses' Health Study II, investigators report that women who had a first-degree relative with breast cancer and ever breast-fed had a lower risk of pre-menopausal breast cancer compared to…