6 factors that make women more susceptible to cancer

1. Alcohol

A large number of studies have shown that the more frequently you drink, the greater your risk of breast cancer. This is because alcohol increases estrogen levels. Even drinking just one glass of wine a day can increase your risk of breast cancer by 10%. If you drink twice a day, the chance increases to 1.5 times the normal level.

2. Hormone replacement therapy

Hormone replacement therapy is a commonly used method to treat menopausal symptoms. However, studies have found that the longer hormone replacement therapy is used, the higher the risk of breast cancer. Moreover, the risks of combined hormone therapy, that is, the simultaneous use of estrogen and progesterone, are higher than the use of estrogen alone. Nevertheless, it is still an effective method for treating menopausal syndrome. Fortunately, the risk does not increase significantly if the drug is only used for two or three years. Five years after stopping the drug, the risk of breast cancer will be the same as that of people who did not take the drug.

3. Overweight

Fat tissue releases estrogen, and the more estrogen there is, the greater the risk of cancer. Studies have found that if women who are about 1.6 meters tall gain 12 kilograms between the ages of 20 and 50, their chances of developing breast cancer will double.

4. Contraceptive pills

Studies have shown that taking combined birth control pills containing estrogen and progestin can increase the risk of breast cancer. After stopping the medication, the risk of cancer will decrease, and 10 years after stopping the medication, the risk will be the same as that of people who have never taken the medication.

5. Smoking

Whether it is active or passive smoking, the high concentrations of chemicals emitted by both can induce breast cancer. Chemicals in smoke can not only reach breast tissue, but also enter breast milk.

6. Not breastfeeding

The longer you breastfeed, the lower your risk of breast cancer, especially if you breastfeed for more than two years. This may be because breastfeeding suppresses ovulation, reducing the number of menstrual cycles a woman experiences over her lifetime and reducing the number of changes in the body's progesterone and estrogen hormones.