Susan Love Celebrity Guru

Dr. Love, co-founder of LLuminari, is a clinical professor of surgery at UCLA and the president and medical director of the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the eradication of breast cancer. She is one of the founders and a director of the National Breast Cancer Coalition, and was appointed by President Clinton to the National Cancer Advisory Board. Her research on an intraductal approach to breast cancer led her to found Pro-Duct Health, Inc., a medical device company now owned by Cytyc Health Corp.

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Radiation Exposure

Occupational exposure to radiation has been linked to an increased risk of breast cancer in a sample of medical diagnostic x-ray workers in China, in female employees at a nuclear plant, in female and male Finnish airline cabin attendants, and in radiological technologists in the United States

Magnetic Impact

Try to increase the space between yourself and devices that might emit magnetic fields. Avoid being too close to computers, microwave ovens, and televisions. Turn off electric devices when your aren't using them. Avoid electric blankets, and don't keep electric alarm clocks close to the bed.

A Healthier Outlook

According to Canadian epidemiologist Anthony Miller, the major factors that seem amenable to change and that therefore have potential for prevention are diet, reduction in obesity, reduction in the use of estrogens at menopause, and (more controversially) a shift back to women having their first babies at an earlier age.

Age Matters

The older you are, the greater your chance of getting breast cancer. Most breast cancer occurs in women over 50 - about 80% of cases. Your risk at age 30 is 1 in 5900 per year, but by age 80 it's 1 in 290. Whenever you look at risk factors you need to think about age. Whatever other factors exist - family history, hormonal factors, etc -- will be most likely to cause breast cancer in combination with rising age.

Exercise is Essential

Exercise is likely to be an important factor in the prevention of breast cancer. A study in the mid-90s showed that women who participated in 4 or more hours of exercise a week during their reproductive years have a marked decrease in breast cancer risk. Another study has shown that women who were involved in athletics in high school and college also have a decreased risk of breast cancer. The key effect is hormonal and may be related to the fact that in young girls there is a correlation between exercise, delayed menstruation, and changes in ovulatory frequency. Since late onset of menstruation protects against breast cancer, this is significant. A good long term approach to prevention might be to increase high school athletics for girls, get them into the habit of exercising, and thus reap the benefit of the protective effect of exercise when it is greatest, in youth. This approach would also prevent future osteoporosis and heart disease.

Eat Your Vegetables

Growing evidence suggests also that soy protein and vegetables containing antioxidants may also protect against breast cancer. Vitamin A, in the form of beta carotene found in vegetables, seems to decrease the incidence of several cancers, and vitamin C and folic acid may play a similar role. Minerals such as zinc and selenium may affect cancer growth and decrease risk. As a result, the National Cancer Institute has developed the "five a day" plan, encouraging people to eat at least 5 servings of fruit and vegetables a day. However, the evidence for this is contradictory and more studies are needed. Again, the dietary component of the Women's Health Initiative, should provide enough dietary evidence.

Limit Your Alcohol Consumption

It also makes sense to moderate your alcohol consumption. The Nurses' Health Study and others have indicated that risk begins to increase with more than 1 drink a day. At least one study, which linked blood estrogen levels with alcohol consumption, determined that blood estrogen levels rise dramatically almost immediately after we take a drink.

Prevention Starts Early

A good, long-term prevention approach would be to increase adolescent athletics and thus get girls into the habit of exercising. Rose Frisch of Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health has also shown that women who were involved in athletics during high school and college have a decreased risk of breast cancer.