The Tribune

By Dr Monique Thompson

Last week we looked at some of the factors that lead to or increase the risk of breast cancer. They included being female, obesity, lack of exercise, eating lots of sugar, and consuming alcohol. This week we continue learning about what puts us at risk of developing breast cancer so that we can avoid it like the plague – at least where we can.

Family history

You cannot change your family and your family history does play a role in determining how at risk you are of developing breast cancer. If either your mom, sister or daughter has/had breast cancer, your risk of developing it doubles. If two of those same first degree relatives develop cancer, your risk triples. Remember that the point of this information is not to frighten or discourage, but to educate so that you can be proactive in attaining optimal health – rather than reactive.

Genes

I’m guessing that most people think about the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes at this point. I’ll start by saying that five to 10 per cent of breast cancers are directly caused by bad or mutated genes. BRCA1 and 2 are the more common genes linked with breast cancer to be mutated. If your parent passed on a mutated BRCA1 gene to you, your lifetime risk of developing breast cancer is between 55-80 per cent, which is high. If you have a mutated BRCA2 gene, the lifetime risk lowers to 45 per cent, but that too is still a high risk. This test is readily available with an order from your physician, though it is a bit pricey, but the pros and cons of having such tests done should really be discussed with a knowledgeable physician before proceeding.

Because we touched on alcohol and cancer last week, I just wanted to make a quick note that a person’s risk of alcohol-related cancers is influenced by their genes; specifically the genes that encode enzymes involved in breaking down alcohol.

Personal history

Women with a history of breast cancer in one breast are at a higher risk of developing a new cancer either in that same breast or on the other side.

Increasing age

Sorry to be bad news bear today, but this is something you cannot avoid. You never stop aging. You can, however, slow the process to a degree by consuming a diet high in fruits and vegetables, exercising, being hormonally balanced, etc.

This is worth doing because according to the American Cancer Society (ACS), their statistics show that one in eight invasive breast cancers (cancers with the potential to spread throughout the body) will affect women under the age of 45. That’s roughly a 13 per cent prevalence rate. Once women are over the age of 55, those numbers increase to two of three invasive breast cancers being found leading to a prevalence of 67 per cent! Given our present rates of aggressive cancers in the Bahamas, it is my belief that statistics on our population would reveal much higher rates at even younger ages.

Smoking

There is some evidence that smoking can increase breast cancer risk, but the association is not as strong as some of the other factors. However, I wanted to mention it because smoking is the most important preventable cause of cancer in the world. Second-hand smoking increases an individual’s risk of developing lung cancer by 25 per cent, and it is detrimental to children’s health. Quitting smoking is one of the best ways to decrease your chances of developing certain cancers, and increases your chances of survival if you have already been diagnosed. Please do bear in mind that around 70 per cent of all cancers are preventable.

Other factors

Additional factors that specifically increase a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer include being of African descent under the age of 45; having your first menstrual cycle before the age of 12; having dense breast tissue; having a history of cancer treated with radiation to the chest; exposure to various environmental toxins such as organochlorine pesticides (including DDT and its metabolite DDE), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) which are toxic compounds used in electrical transformers; and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), a primary component of urban air pollution; taking certain forms of birth control; and not having children period, or begin having children after the age of 30.

I know that this is a lot of information, and I know that it can come off discouraging and somewhat frightening. Believe me, that is not my intent. The more you know of your personal potential obstacles, the better you can avoid them. Therefore, if I am a 40 year old, 5 foot 5 inch, 182lb obese Bahamian woman who has a sister with a history of breast cancer and I do not exercise, I know that my risk for developing breast cancer is high. Therefore, I would need to be proactive in being healthy, and in this case this would include things such as exercising for 45 minutes three to four times per week, avoiding smoking, alcohol and red meat, and supplementing daily with an iodine/potassium iodide product for example.

Knowledge plus action leads to change, so please, please, please, let us get active!

Keeping in mind that I am always providing you with 100 per cent free information, I wanted to encourage my reading audience to tune in next week for a wonderful gift from me to my precious Bahamian women and men (like you all needed another reason to love me more).

• Dr Monique Thompson is the founder of Cornerstone Healing Institute, an integrative family medicine clinic that focuses on educating patients on healthier lifestyles, preventing & treating chronic disease. Contact 356-0083 or visit www.chibahamas.com for more information.