Breast Cancer and the Environment Research Program

This is a sponsored post in partnership with Breast Cancer and the Environment Research Program.

We are nearing the end of Breast Cancer Awareness month, and I want to focus your attention for a bit on research. It’s likely that we have all been touched in some way, shape or form by breast cancer. Whether you have had personal experience, had a family member with breast cancer, or lost someone close to you to the disease, it’s so important to participate in research to help better prevent, treat and eventually cure cancer.

Having lost a childhood friend and classmate to metastatic breast cancer, I want to do all that I can as an influencer to help spread the word about important research and knowledge that we can share with our children and families, especially our young girls. If we can learn what things to avoid to decrease breast cancer risk, they can start implementing those changes now to reduce their risk in the future.

While it’s premature to say for sure that avoiding certain chemicals or some foods lowers the risk of breast cancer, it certainly doesn’t hurt to avoid products containing phthalates (THAL-ates) and BPA. When possible, choose products without artificial fragrances and food storage containers that are made of glass. When using the microwave, reheat food in glass containers. If you see the number 3 in the recycling triangle, the plastic contains phthalates and if you see the number 7, it often contains BPA.

It is also important to teach young girls to embrace a healthy lifestyle with lots of whole foods, fruits and vegetables and plenty of exercise. Try to model these behaviors for your children–they often watch what you do, not what you say!

Scientists, physicians, and community partners in the Breast Cancer and the Environment Research Program (BCERP), which is supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), study the effects of environmental exposures (including certain chemicals and foods) on breast cancer risk later in life. They created a mother-daughter toolkit (http://bit.ly/BCERPtoolkit) mothers can use to talk to daughters about steps to take together to reduce risk.

There is an important research study going on right now that takes just a few minutes to complete. You can click HERE to fill it out. Please take a small bit of your time to participate– it can make a HUGE difference!