Month: September 2025

Breast Cancer: Do You Know Your Risks?

(Title image: Photo by Michael Shannon on Unsplash)

Since we’re creeping up on October, commonly known here as the very pink Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I thought it might be a good time to post the most common risk factors for breast cancer…and then explain the problem with focusing on them.

For reference, I used the risk factor list posted on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website. The CDC’s list focuses on women, as they are the ones at greatest risk of developing breast cancer; a shocking 1 in 8 women (~12%) will develop breast cancer at some point in their lives.

But on to the list. The CDC divides breast cancer risk factors into two categories: risk factors that you cannot change and risk factors that you can change.

The ones that you cannot change are the following:

Age – The older you are, the greater the risk, with the majority of cases occuring in women aged 50 and above. Last I checked aging was still a thing, so we’re all heading in this direction.

Genes – BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations put you at significantly greater risk for breast and ovarian cancer. This is one family heirloom that you’re better off not inheriting.

Age at first menstruation and menopause – Starting periods before age 12 and menopause after age 55 exposes you to higher levels of circulating female hormones for a longer time. The longer you steep in hormones, the more chance of developing the cancer. This is a little unfair, I think, because estrogen also helps maintain muscle mass, bone density and skin elasticity which are all good things, but that’s how it goes.

Breast density – The denser the breast tissue, the higher the risk. Denser tissue also potentially makes it more difficult to detect tumors. Dense breast tissue is less fatty and more fibrous and glandular…and more likely to occur in women with lower bodyfat, which is ironic considering it’s also better to leaner (see below).

Find out your family history of cancer and explore your genes.
(Photo by Antonino Visalli on Unsplash)

Personal and family histories of cancer and other breast diseases – Having had previous breast cancer yourself or in a close family member (including ovarian cancer) may raise your risk. This is a great reason to make health a family affair and encourage everyone around you to do what they can to reduce their risks.

Early exposure to radiation therapy – Having had radiation treatments to the chest prior to age 30 may raise your risk of developing a tumor later on. This is a double-whammy: survive one cancer (like lymphoma) by going through treatment…and get smacked with breast cancer.

Diethylstilbestrol (DES) – If you were given DES (to reduce chances of miscarriage; no longer prescribed) or your mother took this drug when pregnant with you, it may have increased your breast cancer risk. Again, proof that life isn’t fair.

The risk factors that you have some control over:

Physical activity – Being sedentary is associated with higher risk. If you ever needed a wake-up call to get moving, this is it (and while you’re at it, have your family members join you).

Postmenopausal overweight or obesity – Being an older woman with a higher bodyfat percentage may increase your risk, so menopause is a great time to reevaluate your diet and consider why you’re eating what you’re eating—is it just out of habit? Boredom? Depression?

Hormone replacement therapy – Taking hormones post menopause for more than five years may increase the chances of developing breast cancer (see “Age at first menstruation and menopause” above). So unfortunately, hormone replacement treatment to help with menopausal symptoms may end up working against you.

Pregnancy history – Never having a full-term pregnancy, getting pregnant after age 30 or never breastfeeding may all affect your risk. To be fair, these can be more difficult to control and no one should ever feel guilty about any of them.

Rethink your drink.
(Photo by Bermix Studio on Unsplash)

Alcohol – Drinking alcohol increases your risk of developing breast cancer. If you are using alcohol as a socially-accepted means of self-medication, consider quitting and using money you’d otherwise spend on drinks to find yourself a good therapist.

There are of course other, perhaps less well-established risk factors, but the above give an idea of the wide variety of different factors involved.

Okay, so what if you can say that you’re in the clear with most of these factors? I certainly did. Based on my lifestyle, I figured that breast cancer was something that I’d never have to worry about.

And I had reason to think this way. According to the National Cancer Institute’s risk calculator, at the time of my diagnosis, I had a 1.3% chance of developing breast cancer within the next five years. That is a very low percentage! And yet, I developed a tumor.

Does that mean the calculator’s answer isn’t meaningful or that risk factors don’t matter? Not at all. It means that your risk percentage is only that, your calculated risk. Everyone would be well-served to live as healthy a life as they can, keeping in mind that having a number of risk factors doesn’t definitively mean that you will get breast cancer.

At the same time, no one should assume that a low risk means you won’t get cancer. It’s still very important to get screened regularly and see your doctor about any lumps that you find, because while you might not be able to prevent breast cancer despite your best efforts, catching your tumor at an early stage provides you with the greastest chances for a positive outcome.

The Stuff after Cancer Treatment: Even When It’s Over, It’s Not Over

(Title image: Photo by Leon Seibert on Unsplash)

I stumbled across an article about another celebrity who has gone through breast cancer treatment. That’s not surprising, given the relatively high percentage of women, in particular, who have been diagnosed or are at heightened risk of the disease.

But this one—about celebrity organizer Clea Shearer (of The Home Edit, a home organizing company/brand/empire)—gave me pause for the specific reason that there was so much cancer-related hardship that continued after she finished her treatment.

In 2022, Clea was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer (“invasive mammary carcinoma”) and underwent the familiar treatments of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. However, it’s the complications of her double mastectomy that make her story very striking. To date (that is, as of the release of this article in People magazine a few days ago), she has undergone 14 surgeries and may be running out of options for breast reconstruction.

And just when you thought you were almost done…

This is not what anyone expects after they “finish” cancer treatment. In fact, Clea was declared cancer-free in November 2022. But it was clearly not the end of cancer-related effects for her.

I think it’s important for us to consider this when we try to be over-optimistic with cancer survivors. Pushing an upbeat attitude or telling survivors to “just be grateful” glosses over the reality of what they may continue to keep going through.

Yes, of course we are grateful. A cancer diagnosis is terrifying and for those of us who grew up when it was considered practically a death sentence, the idea of having it take your life is hard to get out of your head. In this day and age where social media describes the “condition” as d**th…well, cancer survivors have to meet the possibility head-on, minus the asterisks.

However long a survivor has survived is a cause for celebration and gratitude. But it’s not necessarily the end-of-story, fade-into-the-sunset ending. Clea’s experience is proof of that and I wish her strength and perseverance as she navigates the coming months.

Stories like Clea’s underscore the critical need to treat the whole patient, including offering emotional/mental health support, and not to simply stop the support when the cancer center-based treatment ends. Even when it might seem that treatment is done, it may just be the beginning of a new set of challenges.

Exercise and Cancer Cells: High-Intensity Exercise = High-Intensity Results [RESEARCH]

(Title image: Photo by Blocks Fletcher on Unsplash)

I am a huge proponent of exercise, both for prevention of cancer and its recurrence and in management of cancer treatment side effects, not to mention improving quality-of-life. Now a new study shows how even just one exercise session can have a powerful effect on cancer cells.

A randomized controlled trial conducted by researchers in Australia (Bettariga et al., 2025, Breast Cancer Res Treat) explored the effects of a single bout of vigorous activity (either weightlifting or interval training) on the production of anti-cancer myokines and investigated how blood drawn from study participants affected live cancer cells in the laboratory.

There has been a lot of research on the efficacy of exercise in reducing the risk of both developing cancer and preventing recurrence. However, this study focused exclusively on breast cancer survivors, which was important given that the physiology of survivors is affected by the treatments that they’ve gone through.

What was so gratifying to me was to see the significant effect of strenuous exercise. While the greatest benefit was seen from high-intensity interval training regarding its lethal effect on live breast cancer cells due to particularly high levels of a myokine called IL-6, the researchers stressed that strength training was likewise important as a cancer-fighting activity because building muscle through exercise also increased the amount of myokines circulating through the body.

The study participants engaged in strenuous exercise, but the program was created with noice exercisers in mind.
(Photo by Intenza Fitness on Unsplash)

It’s important to note that all thirty-two participants in this study were not exercising prior to joining the research group. Even so, they were able to tolerate the high intensity of the workouts. Keep in mind that “high intensity” is relative to the individual. That means strenuous exercise (for this study, reaching an effort level of at least a 7 or 8 on a scale of 1 to 10) will be different for a novice exerciser versus a highly-trained professional athlete.

So often, I encounter people who are willing to take a plethora of medications with considerable side effects, but roll their eyes when exercise is mentioned. Some people view physical activity as being only for those who are interested in looking a certain way or being mainly for those who have already reached a certain level of fitness.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Exercise is for everyone. We all start at different points; where exactly that is doesn’t matter. What does matter is that we are willing to exert enough energy to make a difference in our physiology and our well-being.

This is not “diet culture” or anything to do with body shaming. This is about doing what you can personally to increase your chances of a cancer-free life.

Survivors can talk to their healthcare team, show them this research and request that doctors lobby their insurance companies. Personal training, subsidized exercise equipment and gym memberships, fitness classes at cancer centers—all of these should be considered a critical part of cancer treatment and survivorship.

REFERENCES

Reader-Friendly Article:
Reynolds G (September 11, 2025) “A single exercise session may slow cancer cell growth, new study shows.” Washington Post. Free access via MSN: https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/a-single-exercise-session-may-slow-cancer-cell-growth-new-study-shows/ar-AA1Ml2oc?ocid=socialshare

Research Study:
Full publication
Bettariga F, Taaffe DR, Crespo-Garcia C, Clay TD, De Santi M, Baldelli G, Adhikari S, Gray ES, Galvão DA, Newton RU (2025) A single bout of resistance or high-intensity interval training increases anti-cancer myokines and suppresses cancer cell growth in vitro in survivors of breast cancer. Breast Cancer Res Treat, 213, 171-180. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10549-025-07772-w
PubMed Listing
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40608178/

Cancer This, Cancer That

(Title image: Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash)

Cancer, cancer, cancer.

There is a part of me that would like to stop talking about cancer. Really.

My cancer diagnosis tops my “Worst Things I’ve Gone Through” list, more than any other crappy things that I’ve gone through. Treatment brought me to a screeching halt and forced me to rethink my expectations for what “success” looked like.

It wouldn’t be surprising if I wanted absolutely nothing to do with cancer and chose to never speak of it again.

However, I DID go through this. I WAS angry and frustrated and literally fearing for my life. So I want to own the fact that I faced one of my greatest health fears and was able to come out of the other end of the cancer tunnel.

Undoubtedly, most of my “success” was sheer luck and well-established medical protocols. There are many other cancer patients who go through the same thing but are not so fortunate. Until we know exactly what triggers the development of a tumor and can determine how to effectively avoid that, we will still be riding by the seat of our pants

In that case, isn’t it sort of odd to wear the “cancer survivor” badge like an achievement?

This goes without saying.
(Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash)

And yet, it does feel like an achievement. Or perhaps, it feels like it gives me a purpose. The entire reason why this blog exists is because I had questions about the experience of being a cancer patient that I could not find answers for, and I wanted to offer what I had gone through in case it might help someone else.

As cancer recurrence became kinda, sorta, maybe less likely with each passing year, I still had an urge to let people know about the disease because it had been so huge in my life. At some point in a conversation, I’d stick in that I was a cancer survivor—it was hard not to, I realized, because there were so many ways that cancer had entangled itself in me.

And people would say congratulations for surviving and then the conversation would become a bit uncomfortable because no one really likes talking about cancer…and everyone would quiet down for a bit. I could easily keep going on about my experiences but I know I’d never get invited to another social event if I did, so I learned to shut up and change the subject.

This blog is my emotional, cancer-indulgent dumping ground.

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If someone mentions that they have a cancer diagnosis, I know what not to say first and foremost, but there’s a balancing act between allowing them the space to express themselves (especially if others around them don’t know what to say) and offering supportive bits of random information about things that actually matter to them.

In online forums, I’ve typed out a block of text…only to delete it before sending. Maybe it’s not as important for me to talk about what I went through as it is to simply be there to listen.