Patients can do much to minimize cancer risk

October is here once again, and it is no longer famous just for orange and black, spooky decorations and Halloween costumes.  

October has become just as much known for PINK: pink ribbons, pink clothing, pink football paraphernalia … pink everything.  More important than the color itself, October has become known for raising breast-cancer awareness throughout the nation.  

In Libby, October has become known for Paint It Pink, an effort started by St. John’s Lutheran Hospital and Glacier Bank to help raise money for local uninsured men and women who need mammograms.  

Breast cancer affects one-in-eight women during their lives. It kills more women in the United States than any other cancer, with the exception of lung cancer. No one knows for sure exactly why some women get breast cancer and others don’t. However, there are a number of known risk factors.

Risks that cannot be changed include:

• Age – the chance of getting breast cancer rises as a woman gets older.

• Genes – there are two genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2, that greatly increase the risk of breast cancer.  Women who have family members with breast or ovarian cancer may wish to be tested for these genes.

• Personal factors – Women who begin their periods before age 12 or go through menopause after age 55 are at a higher risk.

If you’re concerned about breast cancer, know that there are steps that you can take toward breast-cancer prevention. There are things you can change about your lifestyle that may directly lower your risk of getting breast cancer.

Lifestyle changes that have been proven to decrease breast cancer risk, even in high-risk women, include:

• Limiting alcohol –  the more alcohol you drink, the greater your risk for developing breast cancer.  If you chose to drink alcohol, limit yourself to no more than one drink a day.

• Quitting smoking – more and more evidence is popping up that is linking smoking to breast cancer, particularly in premenopausal women.

• Controlling weight – being overweight or obese increases the risk of breast cancer. This is especially true if obesity occurs later in life, after menopause.

• Being physically active – physical activity can help you maintain a healthy weight, which in turn, helps prevent breast cancer.

In addition to making healthy lifestyle choices, it is important to remember regular screening for breast cancer.  The screening guidelines include:

• Baseline mammogram at the age of 40.

• Annual screening mammograms every year thereafter.

• Clinical breast exams about every three years for women in their 20s and 30s, and every year for women 40 and older.

• Know how your breasts normally look and feel. Do breast self-exams monthly, and promptly report any breast changes to your health care provider.

If you have any further questions about breast disease, please contact your primary physician, or my office.

I hope that you all have a wonderfully PINK October and that you take advantage of the many Paint It Pink opportunities throughout the month.  

In addition, I truly hope that each and every one of you make the choice to live healthy and do what you can to lower your own risk for developing breast cancer.

(Dr. Lance Ercanbrack, MD is a general surgeon at St. John’s Lutheran Hospital.)