MIA Femtech and Preservé consultation checklist
Prepare for your MIA Femtech or Preservé consultation in Madrid: questions about suitability, implant options, risks, recovery, costs, and planning your visit.
Research supports an important association: physical activity can help lower breast cancer risk. Regular activity and avoiding excess weight, particularly after menopause, are associated with a lower risk. Even light activity can be worthwhile, but 2 hours a week should not be interpreted as a guaranteed prevention threshold. Exercise does not eliminate risk or replace appropriate screening and medical advice.
A study on this topic, published online in July 2015 in JAMA Oncology, examined exercise and body fat in postmenopausal women. Its findings support a more careful conclusion: more aerobic exercise can help reduce body fat, which may contribute to a lower breast cancer risk after menopause. The trial measured changes in body fat, not how many participants developed breast cancer. It therefore does not prove that increasing exercise will prevent cancer in an individual woman.
Physical activity after menopause can also support general health. It may:
- Help lower blood pressure
- Help improve cholesterol levels, including LDL ("bad" cholesterol)
- Support HDL ("good" cholesterol) levels
- Support mental well-being, without replacing treatment for depression
- Improve sleep quality
What other factors can affect breast cancer risk?
- Genetic factors: Certain inherited gene changes, including BRCA mutations, can substantially increase risk. Genetic counseling and specialist assessment can help patients understand screening and risk-reducing options, which may include preventive mastectomy in selected circumstances.
- Alcohol: Alcohol consumption is an established risk factor for breast cancer.
- Smoking: Studies suggest an association between smoking and breast cancer risk. This relationship is less clear than the well-established risks for cancers such as lung cancer, but avoiding tobacco remains important for overall health.
- Breastfeeding history: Breastfeeding is associated with a lower breast cancer risk, with longer cumulative periods, including more than a year, generally linked to a greater reduction. It does not guarantee protection, and feeding decisions should take each family's circumstances into account.
- Pregnancy history: In population studies, having a first full-term pregnancy before age 30 is associated with a lower long-term risk than never having given birth. The relationship is complex and should not be used to prescribe reproductive choices or predict an individual's outcome.
- Night shift work: Night shift work is classified as probably carcinogenic, based in part on limited evidence in humans concerning breast cancer. Disruption of the body's daily rhythms may play a role, but this does not mean that every night shift worker will develop cancer. Research continues.
