Breast cancer is probably as bad as AIDS because fear, dread and other negative thoughts immediately come to mind when these two words are uttered.

Although, there is no cure yet, the following tips can lower your risk of breast cancer.

Have a regular breast self-exam reminder- One of the easiest ways to catch a tumor early is by relying on a monthly breast self-exam, to be performed by your or a partner. However, you have to remember to take the self-exam, hence the need for the reminder, it could be on your smartphone or manual calendar.Image result for breast cancer

Know your family history- In order to prevent this disease, you have to learn your family history. This way you know what your chances are. This tip also applies to other diseases like Diabetes and so on. Testing for women whose relatives have suffered from early breast cancer, cancer in both breasts or other.Image result for family history of breast cancer

Adopt a healthy lifestyle- The benefits of exercising and a healthy diet, apart from weight loss, include preventing breast cancer. Nutrition and fitness guidelines laid down by the American Cancer Society recommend keeping a lean body weight while chowing down on 2.5 cups of fruits and vegetables per day.

Reduce/stop your vices- Vices like drinking and smoking can increase your chances of having breast cancer. This is probably due to the fact that some studies have discovered that alcohol increases estrogen in the body. In fact,one 2011 study even indicated it only took three to six glasses of wine per week to up the risk of breast cancer by 15 percent. Concerning smoking, a research team in 2014 linked the consumption of a pack each day for 10 years to an upped risk of estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer. Participants were women between the ages of 20 and 44, meaning tobacco’s effect takes hold early.