Breast health during menopause

Your threat of breast most cancers will increase with age, particularly after menopause. Round eight out of 10 breast most cancers circumstances occur in ladies over 50.

Dr. Stephanie Faubion, director of the Mayo Clinic Middle for Ladies’s Well being and director of the Menopause Society, says sustaining breast well being is essential, together with common mammography screenings.

It is common to expertise breast adjustments throughout perimenopause or menopause.

“We typically have shoots in our estrogen ranges, so that may trigger some breast tenderness. Usually, our density within the breast tends to lower a little bit bit with menopause as a result of we lose estrogen,” says Faubion.

She says some age-related breast adjustments are regular, and ongoing breast care is important.

“It is essential to recollect while you’re in menopause to proceed with breast most cancers screening simply as while you have been premenopausal,” Faubion says.

It is advisable to start out common breast most cancers screening at age 40.

“We suggest mammography yearly. There are additionally ladies with elevated breast density, and we suggest supplemental screening for these ladies,” she says.

Faubion says 50% of ladies within the U.S. have dense breasts.

“It is essential to speak together with your well being care group about what the very best choices for you may be to do some additional screening when you fall in that class,” says Faubion.

Scale back dangers of breast most cancers, optimize breast well being

Some risk factors for breast and ovarian cancerlike age, reproductive historical past and genetics (corresponding to family history or BRCA gene adjustments), cannot be modified. Nevertheless, ensuring lifestyle changes might assist decrease your dangers.

How you can scale back dangers of breast cancer:

• Preserve a wholesome weight.
• Get common train.
• Restrict alcohol consumption.

Dr. Stephanie Faubion, medical editor of The New Guidelines of Menopause, is among the nation’s main specialists on menopause and usually treats women with menopausal issues.

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