Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in women, and a diagnosis can be scary and isolating. But, for decades, organizations like Maimonides Medical Center, the National Breast Cancer Foundation, NYU Langone Hospital – Brooklyn, and the Susan G. Komen Foundation have partnered with local communities to support breast cancer survivors and those living with the illness in support of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October.
Breast cancer is a form of cancer in which abnormal cells grow rapidly in the breast tissue and can spread to other parts of the body if the individual does not seek treatment. Each year about 240,000 new cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed in women and 2,100 in men. Roughly 42,000 women and 500 die of breast cancer each year. Out of all cases, Black women are the most likely to die of the disease.
Like all cancers , breast cancer is caused by a genetic mutation in cells. Some individuals may be at a higher risk of developing breast cancer because they have inherited cancer-causing genes like the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene, but other factors contribute to the likelihood of developing the disease — like age, family history, reproductive history, genetic mutations or previous history of breast or ovarian cancer.
While those risk factors are things an individual cannot change, there are some things that one can change about their lifestyle to reduce the risk.
“We know that women who are heavier or obesity, for example, increases breast cancer risk,” Dr. Nina D’Abreo, division chief of hematology and oncology at NYU Langone Hospital—Brooklyn told Brooklyn Paper. “Certain lifestyle changes, for example, drinking alcohol — even one drink a day increases the risk of women’s breast cancer in her lifetime. Those are things we can change.”
Some other modifiable factors include regular exercise and the avoiding use of long term postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy if possible.
One extremely…
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