Breast Cancer Prevention

The causes of breast cancer are unknown, but there are many ways to prevent an increase in breast cancer risk. There are many factors that contribute to an increased risk of breast cancer and most people are not aware of it. Preventing an increase in breast cancer risk is easier than most people believe. Tamoxifen is a medication used for various medical issues including, a way to reduce breast cancer risk. Tamoxifen works by blocking out estrogen, a female hormone. Estrogen is responsible for the changes encountered through puberty. Doctors prescribe this medication for women who have estrogen dependent breast cancer. Estrogen dependent breast cancer needs estrogen to grow and spread and tamoxifen stops this from occurring. According to
More than 70 percent of Americans are not sleeping the recommended amount of hours, which reduces the production of necessary hormones. Cortisol and Melatonin are hormones that are produced in the darkness and play a vital role in our bodies. Melatonin is secreted in the darkness that works as an antioxidant and helps reduce the production of estrogen levels. “Blind women have 50 percent less breast cancer than sighted women. Blind women live in darkness 24 hours a day and sleep more hours than the average sighted American, thereby producing higher level of melatonin and cortisol.”(Tala) Living in darkness or sleeping more can have an impact on an increase in breast cancer risk and there are ways to improve sleep habits. When using light all day, the body's natural processes become confused. The body doesn't know when to get ready for sleep because the retina encounters light no matter what time of day it is. There are several ways to fix this and fall asleep quicker including not using devices that produce light 30 minutes prior to going to sleep. While getting sufficient sleep can decrease breast cancer risk, it does not have a significant impact like
Scientists have found that some cancers are more common in people who drink alcohol than others who do not. Alcohol causes 4 percent of cancers in the UK, around 12,800 cases. “Two large combined reviews of the published evidence and the UK Million Women Study showed an increase in risk of about 7 to 12 percent with every extra unit of alcohol per day. One unit is a half pint of beer, a small glass of wine, or a measure of spirits.” (“How Alcohol Causes Cancer) Not consuming