There are lots of factors in any disease. However, this is an environmental blog, so this post for Pink for October looks at the link between the environment and breast cancer. See this article from Breast Cancer Action for more information.
‘Known risk factors’ for breast cancer, like late menopause, having children late and family history are apparently present in only 30% of breast cancer cases.
More and more harmful chemicals are being produced and finding their way into the environment. Some chemicals, are known to act like the hormone estrogen in the body and stimulate cell growth. Many damaging chemicals are all pervasive and it would be impossible to avoid them. However you can reduce your exposure to harmful chemicals, for example:
* Eat organic food – organic food is produced without the use of pesticides, many of which have been linked with cancer
* Avoid cosmetics and toiletries that contain harmful chemicals. This document from Women’s Environmental Network draws attention to some chemicals you should avoid. I will post later this month about green toiletries that are kinder to your health and to the environment.
It is of course also important to have regular health checks to catch the disease early enough to be treated.