Fall is also jeans and sweater weather… hmmm….can I still get into my jeans with all that delicious gumbo? Perhaps it’s time to start that exercise program I’ve been putting off.
I tell my patients every day that daily exercise can help prevent breast cancer. Studies have proven this. A new study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology finds that obese women have four times the risk of developing a rare type of breast cancer called inflammatory breast cancer, which makes up 1% to 6% of breast cancers.
Maintaining a healthy body weight and exercising regularly helps reduce your risk of developing breast cancer. Estrogen can fuel breast cancer and it has been shown that body fat raises levels of estrogen. So by reducing your body fat you can help reduce your risk.
But don’t panic, you don’t need to go on a crash diet, or worse, give up gumbo. Losing as little as 5-10% of your body weight can make a big difference in your breast cancer risk. So talk to your doctor about your breast cancer risk, get an annual screening mammogram, and remember you can still enjoy a bowl of gumbo just in moderation.
Dr. Reatha Williams
Breast Surgeon
337-989-7350
