Blog Post: Module 12

    One disease of civilization that I find the most interesting is cancer, or more specifically breast cancer. Breast cancer has impacted several of my family members over the years, some of which were able to beat it and survive, and some that weren’t as lucky. I’ve learned through multiple articles from the National Center for Biotechnology Information that the prevention of breast cancer is possible, however, there are also factors that increase the development of breast cancer that we must consider. So it is extremely important to focus on an individuals lifestyle and what they are doing that helps, but also what might hurt their body. There are many lifestyle factors that have been associated with the rise of breast cancer including an individual’s diet, socioeconomic status, height, weight, physical activity, smoking and alcohol use, aging, family history, and stress. All of these factors can increase the chances of an individuals developing breast cancer, but if we can find the right ways to balance these factors and create healthy habits, then the prevention of breast cancer is possible. Low physical activity is linked to women who were diagnosed with breast cancer, but studies have shown that higher physical activity can lower a woman’s estrogen, insulin, and and inflammation levels which ultimately help decrease their risk of breast cancer. Studies have also shown that women who participate in the Mediterranean diet have had beneficial effects on their survival rate. Another lifestyle habit that can increase breast cancer mortality is smoking and alcohol consumption. Evidence has shown that those that those who smoke before diagnosis tend to have poorer outcomes and have about a 6.7 higher breast cancer recurrence rate compared to those who haven’t smoked at all. Overall, one’s lifestyle changes plays a huge role in whether they increase or decrease their chances of being diagnosed with breast cancer. 

Links:

1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5715522/

2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4324293/

3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5318212/


Comments

  1. Megan McCoyDecember 1, 2021 at 10:35 AM

    Lauren great post. I thought I knew quite a bit about breast cancer, but you still gave me new information that I did not know. I had no idea that a Mediterranean diet could help with survival rates. Good work!

    ReplyDelete

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