Health Care Access - Breast Cancer

The Susan G. Komen for the Cure® Advocacy Alliance (KAA) is the nonpartisan voice for over 2.5 million breast cancer survivors and the people who love them.  Our mission is to translate the Susan G. Komen for the Cure® promise to end breast cancer forever into action at all levels of government to discover and deliver the cures. www.Komen.org

NCI has supported epidemiological research in large cohort and case-control studies looking at the effects of weight, diet, physical activity, and cancer outcomes. These and other studies suggest that being overweight or obese increases the risk for postmenopausal breast cancer, colon cancer, adenocarcinoma of the esophagus, endometrial cancer, renal cell carcinoma, and several other cancers. It is abundantly clear that regular physical activity can reduce the risk of colon cancer by half, and can also reduce the risk of breast cancer among obese postmenopausal women. Additionally, we know that balancing "energy in/energy out"-the calories eaten vs. those burned each day-is imperative to avoid gaining weight. For many Americans who are overweight and sedentary, eating fewer calories and increasing physical activity is necessary to reach a healthy weight. NCI is also now developing an energy balance intervention dissemination initiative to actively disseminate evidence-based interventions for obesity.

Breast Cancer Risk Factors

At present, the factors known to increase a woman’s chance of developing breast cancer include age (a woman’s chances of getting breast cancer increase as she gets older), a family history of breast cancer, an early age at first menstrual period, a late age at menopause, a late age at the time of birth of her first full-term baby, and certain breast conditions.

Something that may increase the chance of developing a disease. Some examples of risk factors for cancer include age, a family history of certain cancers, use of tobacco products, certain eating habits, obesity, lack of exercise, exposure to radiation or other cancer-causing agents, and certain genetic changes.

• Obesity is a risk factor for breast cancer in post-menopausal women.
• Alcohol Consumption increases the likelihood of getting breast cancer.

Based on an analysis of more than 180,000 women in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study, they found that women who consumed three or more alcoholic drinks a day had more than a 50-percent increased risk of ER+/PR+ breast cancer, while women who drank smaller amounts also had an elevated risk, regardless of alcohol type. Next