How to Prevent Breast Cancer in Your 40s

By Vera Viner

It is vital to stick to a healthy lifestyle every year of your life. However, when it comes to breast cancer prevention, remaining proactive may be even more important in your 40s. This is the time that you may have young children and a family that relies on you. This is not the time to be lax regarding your health nor do you have time – or desire! – to become incredibly sick for the next five years. You want to spend your life seeing your children grow up, start a career and have a family of their own. As such, remaining healthy is considerably important!

Women that are middle-aged have a higher risk of contracting breast cancer than younger women in their 20s or 30s. This means that pursuing early diagnosis approaches is even more of a necessity at this age than younger ages. Below we will outline how to be proactive with your breast health in your 40s.

Have an Annual Mammogram and Perform Monthly Self Exams

Starting at age 40, women are recommended to see their doctor and have a mammogram performed every year. Your doctor should also perform a yearly breast exam to see if anything is out of the ordinary. Women should continue to perform monthly self-exams to check for lumps. If a lump is found, see your doctor immediately to possibly have a biopsy and determine whether a bulge is cancerous.

Remain at a Healthy Weight

If you are a mother who’s had multiple pregnancies, you’ve probably struggled with your weight after giving birth. Along with the extra weight this may cause, you are also probably incredibly busy raising a family, growing your career, and maintaining friendships in your community. As such, it may be harder than ever before to keep exercising and eating healthy. The older we get, the harder it may become to lose extra pounds.

There are ways to combat these difficulties. You may want to begin eating smaller meals more frequently and sticking even more to a plant-based diet. Reduce the amount of high-caloric foods in your diet like cakes, sweets, potato chips, or sodas. Also, get a friend to take to the gym or on a daily walk.

Use a Non-hormonal Contraception

Once you have given birth and created a family with your significant other, you may be looking to reduce your chances of getting pregnant as much as possible. While this is important, you should also understand the risks associated with oral hormone-based contraceptives (i.e. the birth control pill). These could cause serious complications like blood clots, stroke, and a rise in breast cancer risk. The birth control pill is just not safe for use in women in their 40s. As such, you should look to use non-hormonal contraception like a diaphragm or condom.

 Get Plenty of Sleep

With all the stress and on-going projects, whether it be at work or at home, you deserve and need to get plenty of sleep to start the next day with plenty of energy. Make sure to keep your pets or kids from waking you up in the middle of the night! You may want to try ear plugs if your house tends to get loud. Getting enough sleep and reducing your stress could go a long way in preventing breast cancer and keeping you healthy overall.

If you are in your 40s, please follow these tips in order to see your children grow up and be there to help them through all of their hurdles and see their achievements. You need to remain healthy in order to have a long life and grow old with your significant other. Please keep these tips in mind every day. Your children will thank you for it.

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