Women reluctant to give up the good life to reduce disease risk.

2003 OCT 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Women are reluctant to make lifestyle changes to reduce their risk of breast cancer, according to results of a survey of 6,000 women in Britain.

The survey, designed by Cancer Research UK, showed that a worryingly small proportion of women take action to minimize their risk of breast cancer, despite knowing about research highlighting lifestyle links to the disease.

Questions about breast cancer were prefaced with information showing links between alcohol, obesity, hormone replacement therapy (HRT), and breast cancer risk. Research has also previously indicated an added breast cancer risk among women who delay having children and those who do not breast feed.

The questionnaire was intended to assess awareness of breast cancer risk and a woman's willingness to change her behavior to reduce the chances of getting the disease.

Around 30% of women had heard of the link between alcohol and breast cancer before completing the survey but only one in five of these women had cut down her consumption to reduce their risk of the disease. The survey also found that women who drank more than 21 units a week were less likely to believe alcohol was a risk factor.

Almost 40% said they had previously known about the link between obesity and breast cancer risk but less than a fifth of these said they had tried to reach or maintain a healthy weight to cut their risk of the disease. Awareness of obesity as a risk factor was higher among women with educational qualifications, non-smokers, and those classified as underweight.

Links between breast cancer risk and prolonged use of HRT were more widely known and had resulted in considerable behavioral change. More than 71% said they had been aware of the link before completing the survey. And a little over 40% of these had decided to reduce, stop, or avoid the treatment to lessen breast cancer risk. Women currently using HRT were less likely to believe HRT was ...