Are oral contraceptives associated with breast cancer?

Although there is no sure way to prevent breast cancer, there are several things you can do that may lower your likelihood of getting it.

This is because certain breast cancer risk factors are related to personal or lifestyle behaviors, such as diet and physical activity. Other lifestyle-related risk factors include decisions about taking medicines that contain hormones. Here are 5 ways to help protect your breast health.

1. It's best not to drink alcohol. Women who drink should have no more than 1 drink a day.

Drinking alcohol is clearly linked to an increased risk of breast cancer. The risk increases with the amount of alcohol consumed. Women who have 1 alcoholic drink a day have a small (about 7% to 10%) increase in risk compared with those who don't drink, while women who have 2 to 3 drinks a day have about a 20% higher risk. Alcohol is linked to an increased risk of other types of cancer, too.

2. Get to and stay at a healthy weight. 

Being overweight or obese, especially after menopause, increases breast cancer risk and gaining weight as an adult adds to your risk.

After menopause, most of your estrogen comes from fat tissue. Having more fat tissue increases the amount of estrogen your body makes, raising your risk of breast cancer. Also, women who are overweight tend to have higher levels of insulin. Higher insulin levels have also been linked to breast cancer.

If you’re already at a healthy weight, do what you can to stay there. If you’re carrying extra weight, work with your health care team and try to lose some. There’s some evidence that losing weight may lower breast cancer risk. Losing even a small amount of weight can also have other health benefits and is a good place to start.