Ways to Protect Against Breast Cancer
10 Ways to Protect Against Breast Cancer a writer who’s focused on women’s health for the last 17 years, I know all too well the many myths and misperceptions that persist about breast cancer. Even a friend of mine who works in healthcare won’t wear an underwire bra or use antiperspirants because she’s afraid they’ll increase her risk of breast cancer—but she’s never had a mammogram. And that’s just the issue: Misinformation can make us concerned about the wrong things. “Women often focus on claims that wearing underwire bras or using antiperspirants causes breast cancer, even though there’s zero evidence that they do,” says Victoria Seewaldt, MD, director of the breast cancer prevention program and professor of medicine at Duke University. Meanwhile, too many women (like my friend) are delaying screenings such as mammograms that can help catch the disease in its earliest, most treatable stages. Another misperception is that the news is only bad when it comes to breast cancer....