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Studies show that doing the following can reduce your risk of breast cancer:
- Exercise regularly
- Control your weight
- Eat a balanced, nutritious diet
- Limit your alcohol intake
- Women with significant risk of developing hereditary breast and ovarian cancer may be advised to use oral contraceptives
Breast cancer is treated with a combination of surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, and/or other drugs such as herceptin, tamoxifen, and aromatase inhibitors.
Precancer and cancer of the cervix often have no symptoms; however, some of the warning signs include:
- Abnormal bleeding
- Spotting or discharge
- Bleeding after intercourse
- Signs of advanced cancer include pain, problems urinating, and swollen legs
Precancers can be removed with a LEEP biopsy (loop electrosurgical excision procedure), which uses an electrified loop of wire to remove cells, cryotherapy (which freezes the cells), laser therapy (which vaporizes the cells), or a cone biopsy (in which a cone shaped wedge is removed from the cervix.
Cervical cancer may also require a radical hysterectomy and radiation with or without chemotherapy.
There are three types of ovarian cancer:
- Epithelial is the most common form of ovarian cancer (85% to 90% are this type); these are cells that cover the surface of the ovaries
- Germ cell tumors form on the cells in the ovary that develop into eggs
- Sex cord-stromal tumors occur in the connective tissue inside the ovary
Surgery is used to remove the cancer, often followed by chemotherapy or radiation. Women whose cancer is treated before it has spread have a 90% chance of living five years or more after treatment.
There are two types of uterine cancer:
- Endometrial the more common form of uterine cancer; it occurs when the lining of the uterus becomes too thick
- Sarcomas tumors that form from muscle or other tissue; it is more aggressive than endometrial cancer and has different symptoms
- Unusual vaginal bleeding
- Spotting or discharge
- Heavy menstruation
- Postmenopausal bleeding or spotting
- Symptoms that come and go
- Abnormal bleeding or discharge, especially after menopause
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