Are you at risk?
About 50,000 of women and 400 men in the UK are diagnosed with breast cancer every year, and for 12,000 it proves fatal. Looking after our wellbeing, by giving up smoking, drinking alcohol moderately and eating a nutrient-rich diet could reduce our risk of cancer. Although, we could still fall into at-risk groups for breast cancer despite making these kinds of changes to our lifestyles. For example, if we have parents who suffered from the disease and we’re over a certain age, or have reached menopause, then we could be more likely to get breast cancer.
Preventative hope
Now a new review by the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is taking on-board studies that could change the way we are treated for the disease. NICE highlights studies showing women in at-risk groups were less likely to get the illness if they were prescribed some medicines as a precaution. In one study, women who had gone through the menopause were given tamoxifen for five years and their chances of getting breast cancer were cut by a massive 50 per cent. In the second group, at-risk women were prescribed raloxifen for the same amount of time and their breast cancer rates were cut by over a third. The health group could soon be introducing new guidelines, meaning that these drugs could be used to prevent rather than just treat breast cancer, giving us more ways to beat the condition and protect wellness.