Is Mammography Screening Necessary Even If I Eat Healthy and Exercise?

Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of death in women worldwide. Experts in the field believe that death due to breast cancer can be avoided and the person can be completely cured if the cancer is detected early. Hence, doctors and medical professionals recommend women over the age of 40 years to get regular mammography screening. However, there are many who avoid it believing that they cannot get breast cancer, since they exercise regularly and consume a healthy diet. Is there any truth to this belief? Let us find out.

Is Healthy Diet and Regular Exercise Enough to Prevent Breast Cancer?

Eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly are precursors of a good and healthy life. They are important to ensure that you do not get any lifestyle diseases like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, etc. However, they do not prevent the occurrence of any type of cancer, including breast cancer.

A healthy lifestyle may lower the risk of breast cancer. However, it cannot guarantee that the person would not get breast cancer. In fact, a person who exercises regularly, eats a healthy diet and has no history of breast cancer can be diagnosed with the disease. Studies believe that breast cancer can be caused due to the complex interaction between your genetic makeup and environment.

What is the Best Way of Preventing Breast Cancer?

In reality, there is no foolproof way of preventing breast cancer. However, with early detection, it is possible to recover completely. While many rely on self-examination and clinical examination to check the symptoms, the best way of detecting breast cancer early is mammography. Mammography can help to detect cancer cells even before a person experiences any physical symptoms like lumps. 3D mammography which is a new technology, helps to detect cancer cells more accurately.

Things to Know about Mammography

Here are some important things that you should know about mammography:

• Mammography or mammogram is an x-ray that uses small waves of radiation to take the images of the breasts. The risk caused by radiation is far lesser than being diagnosed with breast cancer.
• 3D mammography has the technology to take the images of different layers of the breasts, making it possible to detect breast cancer early in women with dense breasts as well.
• Women over the age of 40 years should get a mammography done every year, even those who have low risk of this disease.
• Women with a family history of breast cancer should start mammography screening early (i.e. before the age of 40) by visiting your nearby mammography screening center.

While mammography does not prevent cancer, it can surely save your life. Hence, include annual mammography to your to-do list while continuing to eat healthy and exercise regularly.