Friday, June 24, 2011

Important to Get Moving After a Breast Cancer Diagnosis.

Exercise and Breast Cancer

You don't have to start running triathlons or training for a boxing match to reduce your risk of breast cancer. Doing regular exercise will cut down your risk of developing the disease, as well as preventing its return, if you're a survivor.

Being Sedentary Increases Your Risk
Physical inactivity may contribute to the rise in several types of cancer –- colon cancer, postmenopausal breast cancer, endometrial cancer, kidney cancer, and cancer of the esophagus. Women who are overweight produce and store more estrogen in their bodies than women who have a healthy lower body mass index (BMI). Increased exposure to estrogen and risk of breast cancer are linked, since the estrogen-receptor positive kind is the most common type of breast cancer. Obese women have a greater amount of breast tissue, and it is more difficult to detect breast tumors in obese women, as compared to lean women. This can lead to detection at a more advanced stage of cancer, when it's harder to treat.