Best Ways To Decrease Risk Of Dying From Breast Cancer

3. Limit time spent sitting. Evidence is growing that sitting time increases the likelihood of developing cancer, especially for women. In an American Cancer Society study, women who spent 6 hours or more each a day sitting when not working had a 10% greater risk for invasive breast cancer compared with women who sat less than 3 hours a day, and an increased risk for some other cancer types as well.

4. Limit or avoid alcohol. Research has shown that women who have 2 to 3 alcohol drinks a day have about a 20% higher risk compared to women who don’t drink at all. Even women who have 1 drink a day have a small (about 7% to 10%) increase in risk. Excessive drinking increases the risk of other cancer types, too.

The American Cancer Society recommends women have no more than 1 alcohol drink in a single day. A drink is 12 ounces of regular beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of hard liquor.

5. Avoid or limit hormone replacement therapy. Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) was used more often in the past to help control night sweats, hot flashes, and other symptoms of menopause. But researchers now know that postmenopausal women who take a combination of estrogen and progestin are more likely to develop breast cancer. Breast cancer risk typically increases after about 4 years of use, and appears to go back down within 5 years after stopping the combination of hormones.

Talk with your doctor about all the options to control your menopause symptoms, and the risks and benefits of each. If you do decide to try HRT, it is best to use it at the lowest dose that works for you and for as short a time as possible.