Can Breast Cancer Be Avoided? Researchers Give Their Input

Abstract

Only about 55% of breast cancer cases are explainable by recognized risk factors other than age, most of which cannot be changed by the time a woman has her first mammogram. By the age of 50, heredity, in particular, is immutable, and choosing the age at which to have a first full-term pregnancy or to have children at all is a decision made years in the past. Aside from seeking medical intervention through the prophylactic use of drugs or surgery, both unproven methods, is there anything a woman can do to reduce her risk of developing a disease that will claim 46,000 lives in 1994? Maybe Yes