The medical community has long warned patients that a family history of cancer increases your own risk of developing this disease in your lifetime. Up to 10 percent of breast cancer cases, for example, are believed to be hereditary, according to the American Cancer Society. That risk is higher if your relative—mother, sister, father, or child—was diagnosed before age 50, reports the National Breast Cancer Foundation. While this genetic component is a red flag for some, it isn’t the main reason most women are facing breast cancer today.

“Shockingly, 85 to 90 percent of breast cancer happens in women who have no identifiable risk factors,” says Elisa Port, M.D., co-director of the Dubin Breast Center and Chief of Breast Surgery at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. If that makes you feel like a sitting duck, it’s important to understand that you’re not totally powerless. There are few things you can control in your life to lower your cancer risk, including weight management and alcohol intake.

In this video interview, Sonima.com founder Sonia Jones discusses these two lifestyle factors that may play a role in cancer risk with Port, who wrote about them in her new book, The New Generation Breast Cancer Book: How to Navigate Your Diagnosis and Treatment Options-and Remain Optimistic-in an Age of Information Overload.

Related: A New Approach to Breast Cancer Treatment

 

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