It has been found that women who were seen to be eating a lot of soy and soy based products such as soy nuts, soy milk edamame and tofu significantly reduced their risk of getting breast cancer later in life. Also active teens that exercise regularly and keep it up as they grow older are less at risk of developing cancer.

A diet high in fiber and nuts when in teens is seen to significantly reduce risk of breast cancer for women later in life. The Mediterranean diet it also thought to be beneficial for health and to cut health risk.

Typically this diet is rich in fruit and vegetables and also includes substantial amounts of fish and red wine (or grape juice in the case of teenagers).

Taking a multivitamin supplement is seen to boost general health and fill in any nutritional gaps that one’s diet may have left. In this way a multivitamin can also help maintain good health and guard against disease.

The products that may be responsible for causing breast cancer are those that are commonly found in kitchen cabinets all over – deodorizing air sprays and other foams and formulations that help to clear mold from tiles and similar cleaning products and pesticides could be responsible.

The study found that those women who were seen to use air fresheners were 20% more at risk of developing breast cancer according to the journal Environmental Health.

When it came to solid air fresheners, this risk rose further – users were twice as likely to develop and be diagnosed with breast cancer.

While surface and oven cleaners are not implicated in this, it is thought to be substances such as artificial musk and detergents that are added to products to make them smell better that could be responsible for causing cancer.

The findings of the study are not indicative of requiring any kind of recall of these products nor should women blame their ill health on them just yet caution researchers. As of now, more research into this is required to be done, before it can be called conclusive.

However, before panicking, it is important to understand that the prognosis of each woman in stage 3 of a breast cancer can actually vary enormously.

Given the tremendous variation in survival rates, research has found that 72% of women who have been diagnosed with invasive breast cancer go on to live for at least 10 years after their diagnosis.

Breast cancer stage 3 is actually divided into 3 sub-stages which correspond to the following conditions:

Breast cancer Stage 3 A / III A: Breast cancer at this stage is described as invasive and could be used to mean having: no tumor may be found in the breast, however the lymph nodes (typically found sticking together or to other structures) found in the underarm (s) are found to have cancer, or cancer may be seen to have spread to the lymph nodes near the breast bone.

In the alternative, the tumor in the breast is 5 centimeters or smaller (the size of a regular AA sized battery) and has spread to the lymph nodes under the arm that are sticking to other structures or clumped together.

In the alternative the tumor could be bigger than 5 cm and has spread to the lymph nodes. Each of these conditions fall within the stage 3 A category.

Breast cancer Stage 3 B / III B: This is the term used to describe breast cancer that shows a tumor of any size, but which have spread to the skin of the breast and/or the chest wall.

In addition, the cancer may have spread to the lymph nodes of the axilla (underarm) that are clumped to one another or are sticking to other structures or may have spread to the nodes beneath the breast bone. If the cancer is termed as being inflammatory, it will be deemed to have reached at least this stage of III B.

Breast cancer Stage 3 C / III C: This stage of breast cancer is defined as invasive breast cancer that shows characteristics of having spread to the skin of the breast and / or the chest wall.

In the breast itself, there may or may not be any sign of the cancer. The cancer would also have spread to the collarbone lymph nodes, those near the breast bone as well as the axillary lymph nodes.

The earlier parts of stage III breast cancer can be termed as the early stages of breast cancer, however the later sub categories are described as later or advanced stages.

After the third stage of breast cancer which progresses as described above, stage four describes the sort of invasive breast cancer that progresses to other organs of the body such as the brain, the lungs, liver or the bones. Stage IV cancer is also termed as metastatic cancer.

Also very often those who have no risk of breast cancer will develop the disease, so there is nothing really hard and fast about these risk factors. The main risk factors for breast cancer are:

• Gender of being a woman is the first risk factor. Breast cancer a hundred times more likely to affect women than men.
• Age is the other factor. The older a woman gets, the higher her risk of breast cancer is.
• Early menstruation, or getting one’s first period at or before the age of 11 years also marginally increases the risk.
• Like early menstruation, late menopause also increases ones risk of developing breast cancer, because of a prolonged exposure to the female hormone estrogen.
• Women who have or have had close female relatives develop breast cancer are also more at risk
• Women who have had not had any children or those who have had their first child at age 30 and above are also more at risk.
• Women having had a previous breast cancer are more likely to develop another separate cancer of the breast.
• Those women who have undergone hormone replacement therapy (HRT) are also thought to be more at risk of breast cancer. Use of the birth control pill also increases exposure to hormones, and hence is also thought to increase breast cancer risk.
• Race and ethnicity are also risk factors; white Caucasian women are slightly more likely to develop breast cancer than black women.
• Dense breast tissue that contains more glandular tissue and less fatty tissue is also seen to up the risk.
• Certain benign breast conditions also are seen to up the risk.
• Women who have undergone chest radiation during childhood or early adulthood are also thought to have an increased risk of breast cancer.
• Exposure to the drug diethylstilbestrol(DES), which may have been administered during the 1940s, 50s and 60s is thought to increase risk either of the women who took the drug or of the women who were born of women who took the drug when pregnant with them.
• Lifestyle factors such as leading a sedentary lifestyle, eating a high fat diet, or being obese are all seen to increase the risk.
• Smoking and alcohol consumption of more than two drinks a day also is seen to increase the risk.
• Studies have shown that breast feeding one’s baby up to the age of one and a half to two years may decrease risk of breast cancer.

There are many risk factors that may be contributory factors for breast cancer; however it is difficult to collate a complete list or to predict who will develop breast cancer and who will not.

If you go here, you can fill out a simple form with a few personal details so that your personal risk of breast can be calculated for you. Here as well, the Cancer.org’s Breast cancer risk assessment tool will also help you calculate your risk factor.

However, in a recent study called the “British Million Women Study,” authored by Ruth Travis, DPhil who works at the Cancer Epidemiology Unit at Oxford University, UK, proved this “fact” as untrue.

What is the Risk?

In a statement, she staid that, “We looked at whether lifestyle factors for breast cancer, such as hormone-replacement therapy (HRT), alcohol consumption, and reproductive history, influence the genetic risk. The answer is they do not.” Other lifestyle factors looked at in the study included:

• Age at first menstruation
• Number of births
• Age of mother at first birth
• Menopausal status and age at menopause
• Body-mass index and height
• Alcohol consumption history

What this means is that although these lifestyle factors do indeed pose a risk of contracting breast cancer, that risk is separate than that of genetic predisposition.

Staying healthy

Because lifestyle factors, such as breastfeeding, environmental choices, food eaten and exercising among other factors, are still a risk, every woman should do what they can to lead a healthy lifestyle. This includes getting more exercise, eating healthy and getting a breast cancer screening when needed and at regular intervals.

Source: Medscape

According to Vincent Tuohy, an immunologist in Cleveland Clinic’s Lerner Research Institute, this is tremendously significant and that if it is seen to work in human beings the same way that it has in rodents, then it may be possible to “eliminate breast cancer”!

In the study, mice were genetically altered to develop a predisposition or an increased susceptibility to cancer. They were then given a vaccine made of an anti cancer antigen.

The mice that had been given the vaccine did not get the cancer, whereas the mice that did not get the vaccine were seen to develop it.

As of now researchers think that the vaccine will be restricted to women over 40 since it can interfere with breast feeding and can also reduce fertility. Also chances of developing breast cancer are much higher in women over the age of 40.

There are certain risk factors that increase one’s chances of developing breast cancer:

Gender and Age: Women are literally a hundred times more likely to have breast cancer as compared to men. For every man who develops breast cancer, a hundred women do so.

And the risk of getting breast cancer increases with a woman’s age. Statistics show that two out of three women who have invasive breast cancer are 55 years of age or older by the time the cancer is detected.

Genetic factors or Predisposition: As many 10% of breast cancers are linked to genetic factors; such as mutations in certain genes. There is also family history that affects a woman’s chances of getting breast cancer.

If a woman has close female relatives who have had breast cancer, her chances of getting breast cancer are significantly higher; the risk is said to double in this case according to certain experts.

Previous Cancer: Here we are talking not about the reemergence of a previous cancer but the development of a new cancer in the same or another breast.

Hormonal factors: Women who have had the longest exposure to the female hormones; in particular estrogen, are more likely to develop breast cancer.

So breast cancer causes include higher exposure to female hormones, such as those who started to menstruate early (before age 12) and those that have a late menopause are more at risk.

Also women who have used the birth control pill over long periods of time have had more hormone exposure and consequently are more at risk.

Women who have had no pregnancies, or have had late pregnancies are also more at risk. Women who have undergone hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for a considerable duration are also more at risk.

Fitness levels: Exercise would appear to lower risk of breast since exercise has been seen to reduce estrogen production and can affect ovulation and hence lack of exercise could indirectly be said to be a cause of breast cancer.

High body fat could also be termed as a cause for breast cancer since it is not only the ovaries but also body fat that produces the estrogen hormone.

Lifestyles related factors: There are several lifestyle related factors that could be said to be breast cancer causes. Smoking increases risk of developing a number of different cancers including breast cancer.

Smoking also reduces the kinds of cancer therapies that are available for treatment. For instance reconstructive surgery may not be possible. Women with certain high fat diets also increase their risk of getting breast cancer.

Alcohol use is also thought to increase one’s chances of getting breast cancer, because having more than two drinks a day has been seen to increase the proportion of estrogen in the blood stream. Certain occupations that increase exposure to radiation and certain environment pollutants also increase risk.

It is suggested that rather than any particular vitamins, it is likely that the interactions between the different vitamins is what is responsible for the lowered risk.

So rather than a single vitamin, multivitamins reduce the risk. Earlier studies have indicated that Vitamin E and Vitamin C are seen not to increase protection against cancer.

It was seen that those women that took calcium supplements were able to repair their DNA, which is a function that is very important for limiting cancer risk.

The calcium supplement takers were able to reduce their risk of developing tumors by 40%, those that took multivitamins decreased risk by 30%.

So should you start to pop those supplements right away? Not yet would be the answer. This was a very small study, and it did not take into account any deficiency or the subjects’ levels of calcium and vitamins to begin with. The results were tabulated based on questionnaires and though the results are interesting, they cannot yet be said to be conclusive.

Source: Newzfor

The news could come as a life altering event that possibly one of the first questions that may enter the mind as regards this could be “What are the breast cancer survival rates?”

We all know that breast cancer is a potential killer but with the advances in medical science now, breast cancer survival rates are improving and there is no need to panic just yet. There are several factors that indicate breast cancer survival rates:

Stage: The stage which a breast cancer has reached is vital in determining the survival rate of the person; the states are graded from 0 to IV.

The key to surviving breast cancer is early detection; 0 being the earliest stage of the cancer.

If detection is early, this ups the chances of survival, whereas when a cancer has developed to the later stages the survival rates are lower.

According to figures published by Cancer.org, the overall survival rate is five years for 98% of those with localized breast cancer. If the cancer has spread to the chest wall or lymph nodes then this rate of 5 year survival dips to 80%.

However breast cancer survival rates are constantly improving and in Scotland researchers are currently examining the use of a ‘biomarker’ that is found in blood which may be a useful indicator in detecting cancer at a very early stage among those who are at higher risk of the disease.

Age: Women below 40 years of age have a slightly lower breast cancer survival rate than do women who are above that age. It is observed that women under 40 develop the kind of cancers, which develop more aggressively.

Type of Cancer: When the cancer cells as examined by pathologists resemble normal breast tissue more closely, this is said to be a low grade or well differentiated kind of cancer as against a poorly differentiated cancer which is by contrast more abnormal appearing and which grows faster. This poorly differentiated cancer is more dangerous and requires stronger therapy.

Epithelial cancer is the most common type of cancer; however the less common types of cancer are observed as having a more favorable prognosis with better breast cancer survival rates.

Sometimes it is female hormones estrogen and progesterone that seem the aid and abet the growth of a cancer. In such a case hormone therapy is indicated, which will help control the cancer from growing.

These are the general factors that determine breast cancer survival rates. However, there are others as well and since there are so many factors that contribute to the prognosis of a breast cancer sufferer, generalized statements regarding survival rates are difficult to make.

Breast cancer survival rate is a subjective matter, and the physician or the oncologist is therefore the best person, who can make a judgment based upon several different objective as well as subjective considerations.

It is important to understand the stages of breast cancer in order to understand chances of survival, kind of treatment to be obtained and understand the prognosis or the outcome of the cancer.

The stages of breast cancer are standardized so that healthcare providers the world over are able to understand the nature and extent of a given person’s disease; which are 0 through IV stages.

According to the National Breast Cancer website, those who are at the 0 stage have 100% chance of 5 year survival; at Stage I that rate is 98%, at Stage II the five year survival rate drops to 80%, at stage III it is between 56% and 49% and at stage IV the five year survival rate is only 16%. The different stages of cancer correspond to the following situations:

Stage 0 (Carcinoma in Situ): This is breast cancer at the earliest stage, when the abnormal cells have not spread outside the lobules of the ducts which produce milk during lactation.

This stage could signify the woman’s risk of developing cancer or it signifies a very early stage wherein it is easy to treat the cancer before it starts to spread and go on to the next stage.

Stage I: At this stage the size of the tumor is two centimeters or less and has not yet spread to areas other than the breast or the surrounding lymph nodes.

Stage II (A & B): At the stage of breast cancer II A the cancer is about an inch in size and has spread to the lymph nodes situated in the underarm. If the tumor is between 2 and 5 centimeters but hasn’t spread to the lymph nodes, it is still classified as being Stage II A.

At Stage II B the tumor is between 2 and 5 centimeters in size but has spread to three lymph nodes. If the tumor is larger than 5 centimeters but has not spread to the lymph nodes, then this is still classified as Stage II B.

Stage III (A & B): At stage III A, the cancer is between 2 and 5 centimeters in size and has also spread to the nine auxiliary lymph nodes. If the cancer has spread to areas such as the ribs, chest wall, skin of the breast, or the lymph nodes of the chest wall or collar bone.

Stage IV: This is the last of the stages of breast cancer, when the cancer has spread to surrounding areas such as the lungs, the liver, the brain, the skeletal system or the collar bone lymph nodes.

It is important to understand the different stages of breast cancer so as to be able to make informed decisions about treatment, and form opinions and expectations about survival.