Breast Cancer Prevention

Breast Cancer Prevention – 5 Ways to Lower Your Risks

With breast cancer being the most common form of cancer impacting women in Singapore, you ask what you can do to aid in breast cancer prevention. There is unfortunately no action that can remove the risks completely, and even certain risk factors like family history cannot be changed. However, there are changes to your lifestyle that can lower the chances of developing the disease. The Breast Cancer Foundation recommends the following five lifestyle changes that you make to help prevent breast cancer:

1. Keep your lifestyle healthy
2. Keep active by exercising 3 – 5 times a week. Do it for 30 minutes or more each time.
3. Keep your body weight in the healthy range.
4. Maintain a diet rich in fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Keep your consumption of fats low – ideally monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, rather than saturated and trans fats (“bad fats”).
5. Limit your alcohol intake to less than one drink a day.

Another lifestyle change that may help reduce the chances of breast cancer is to give up smoking.

For mothers of new-borns, there is an additional preventive measure – breastfeeding your children can also help to prevent breast cancer!

While these preventive measures may help to lower the risks, the best way for women to protect themselves against breast cancer is screening. Carry out DIY breast self-examinations and go for mammographic screenings as per recommended guidelines for early detection and treatment.

[Updated 18 Oct 22]