Here are a few commonsense lifestyle strategies that will stand us in good stead for avoiding not just cancer, but a range of degenerative diseases.

• Limit your intake of processed foods and sugar, including alcohol. This keeps your blood sugar and insulin levels in check. High insulin levels increase estrogen levels, which can promote breast cancer. More that one or two alcoholic drinks per day can also tax the liver, so its capacity to remove excess estrogen from the body is compromised.
• Exercise is another way to stabilize insulin levels and keep your weight down. Obesity has been linked to breast cancer.
• Eat plenty of fresh vegetables and fruits. Cruciferous vegetables such as cauliflower, broccoli and Brussels sprouts help to reduce the risk of cancer by removing excess estrogen from the body. Berries, tomatoes, spinach, asparagus and garlic are also great inclusions in a healthy, antioxidant rich diet.
• Flaxseed contains lignans, which are a type of phyto-estrogen (plant estrogen). Like cruciferous vegetables, lignans help to remove excess estrogen. You could include a couple of tablespoons of ground flaxseed in your daily diet, perhaps in a smoothie. Don’t buy pre-ground flax because it goes rancid quickly — grind it yourself as you need it.
• Omega-3 fats appear to reduce estrogen levels and cancer cell growth, so take a good quality fish oil supplement.
• Many breast health experts consider the ‘big 3’ for breast health are iodine, selenium and vitamin D.
• Iodised salt is to be added to bread to counter the widespread iodine deficiency among Australians. Another way to boost your iodine levels is to include some seaweed in your diet. Add it to soups or stir fries, use nori to make wraps, or add half a teaspoon of powdered kelp to a breakfast smoothie. The low rates of cancer in Japan have often been attributed to soy, but more likely, the high consumption of iodine and trace minerals from seaweed has had a protective effect.
• Selenium is a powerful antioxidant and free radical scavenger. Take 100-200 micrograms per day.
• Professor Michael Holick from the Boston University Medical Centre argues that in Europe it’s estimated that 25% of women who die from breast cancer may not have died if they had maintained adequate vitamin D levels throughout their life. Check your vitamin D levels in a blood test called the 25-hydroxyvitamin D test or 25 (OH)D.
• Eat healthy fats such as unrefined coconut oil, pure butter and good quality olive oil, and avoid polyunsaturated vegetable oils and ‘trans fats’. Trans fats are commonly used in takeaways and processed foods.
• There appears to be a link between stress and breast cancer, so get help for destructive emotions or chronic anxiety.
• Get enough good quality sleep. Sleeping in a darkened room encourages normal melatonin levels. Melatonin is a hormone that regulates circadian rhythms and has cancer-fighting properties.
• Limit your contact with potential sources of ‘xenoestrogens’ or ‘fake estrogens’. These are chemicals that act like estrogens when they enter the body. To avoid them, minimise your exposure to pesticides, herbicides, chemical-laden household cleaners, synthetic air fresheners and air pollution. Xeno-estrogens are also released from heated plastics, which is why you may have been heard that it’s wise not to drink from plastic water bottles left in the sun.
• In line with this, eat organic as much as possible. If your budget is tight, buy some foods (such as chicken, meat and eggs) from organic sources, then buy fresh, local fruit and vegetables and wash them well to remove any pesticide residue.
• Keep track of your hormone levels as you head towards menopause. Salivary tests are the best way to do this. During peri-menopause, your estrogen and progesterone levels can shift dramatically, and if you have relatively more estrogen than progesterone, the estrogen can become toxic without progesterone to oppose it. As a result, the risks for breast and uterine cancer increase.
• Massaging your breasts and up into your armpit area boosts the circulation of blood and lymph. American physician Dr Christiane Northrup suggests doing breast massage in the shower. She says that every time you touch your breasts with love and care, you bring a positive, healing energy to them.