Mammograms are the No. 1 way to reduce your risk of dying from breast cancer, says Dr. Anne McTiernan from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
"At age 40, women should be getting mammograms and get them every year," she said.
Number 2: Limit your intake of alcohol.
"Alcohol increases risk of breast cancer. A little alcohol is probably fine, but women should not have more than one drink a day on average," said McTiernan.
Number 3: Keep physically active.
"Physical activity reduces risk of breast cancer throughout a woman's lifetime. It doesn't matter when she starts; she's still going to get some benefit," said McTiernan.
She says you don't have to become an athlete either.
"Just something as simple as walking, as long as you're doing it regularly, do something every day, do at least 30 minutes a day. That will reduce your risk of breast cancer," she said.
Number 4: Watch that scale.
"Keep you weight down. Increased weight, gaining weight over a lifetime increases risk of breast cancer. So keep your weight at the normal range. For most people that means keeping it close to what it was in your late teens and early 20s," said McTiernan.
Last but not least: Limit HRT use.
"Once you've reached menopause, if you can get by without hormone therapy, if your symptoms are not too unbearable, then that's the best thing to do," she said.
For women with severe symptoms, her advice is to find the lowest dose possible and use it no more than five years.
The annual Puget Sound Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure is June 7 at Qwest Field. There's still time to register.
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