October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Chat with an RDN Breast Cancer Specialist

By Marissa Lau, WRDA Student Volunteer

PACE University Graduate Student, MS 2022

October 9, 2020

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and is recognized internationally to spread awareness of breast cancer.¹ Many foundations, organizations, and charities worldwide, use this month to educate people about this disease as well as to gain support and funds for research associated with breast cancer.¹  

What Is Breast Cancer?

Breast cancer is a disease where atypical cells in the breasts are unable to stop multiplying and can spread to other nearby tissues.^2,3 There are different types of breast cancer including ductal carcinoma, lobular carcinoma, and Paget’s disease which form in the milk ducts, the breast’s milk-producing lobules, and the skin of the nipple, respectively.⁴ Symptoms of breast cancer include:

As one of the most common cancers in women, there are approximately 1.38 million new cases diagnosed globally every year and 458,000 breast-cancer related deaths. Research continues its struggle in ascertaining the cause of the disease.¹

Causes, Risk Factors, And Risk Reduction in Breast Cancer

Researchers speculate that rather than being caused by a single trigger, breast cancer development is caused by multiple interactions between a person’s genetic makeup, environment, and lifestyle.^1,2 Prioritizing early detection is the primary recommendation for improving disease outcomes since the early stages of breast cancer are easier to treat, and these patients are more likely to be cured.¹ As of now, mammography, taking an X-ray picture of the breast, is the best method to screen for breast cancer.⁶ Routine screening is especially important for people who have certain risk factors including, being female, being over the age of 50, being obese, and having genetic changes to BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes.^3,5 Individuals aged 75 or older should consider refraining from routine breast cancer screenings since the screenings themselves can be harmful to an older individual’s health.⁷

Breast Cancer: A Clinical Dietitian Nutritionist’s Point of View

Cara Anselmo, MS, RDN, CDN, is a clinical dietitian nutritionist and breast cancer specialist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKKCC). I was fortunate enough to ask her a few questions about her input on breast cancer and her role as an RDN at MSKKCC.

Cara treats her patients on an individual basis to ensure that they are well-nourished and have a good nutritional status after receiving surgery or treatments. Such treatments include chemotherapy, radiation therapy, endocrine therapy, and biologic therapy. These treatments kill off cancer cells, but they also may cause a variety of side effects which vary, depending on the type of treatment and cancer. Cara helps breast cancer patients manage weight gain, which is a common treatment side effect. This is unique to breast cancer treatment because most cancer patients tend to lose weight. Cara helps patients lose and maintain an appropriate weight after treatments.

Some research has suggested the use of ketogenic diets for breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy, and these diets are gaining popularity among those in the general public who wish to lose weight.^8,9 Cara feels there is not enough research to recommend ketogenic diets to her patients. She also referred to pre-clinical studies that suggest that high fat diets may increase the risk of breast cancer. Upon further research, I found a study which speculated that increased consumption of saturated fats can increase the risk of breast cancer.¹⁰ Therefore, ketogenic diets which mainly rely on proteins and fats, may be harmful for those who have breast cancer or who are at risk for the disease.¹¹

Cara stays informed of emerging research on weight management and breast cancer in post-menopausal women. She recommended the work of Jennifer Ligibel, M.D., a Harvard researcher specializing in this area. According to Cara, appropriate weight management is key to reducing risk, and that body compositions consisting of high proportions of fat can also increase risk. She provided some tips that can lower one’s risk for breast cancer:

Diets To Reduce The Risk of Breast Cancer

Below are some eating plans that include more plant-based food components, which research suggests may help reduce the risk of breast cancer:

DASH Diet^12,13

The DASH acronym stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. This diet was designed to lower blood pressure without the use of medication. The Nurses’ Health Study followed 86,621 women for over 25 years and found an association between the DASH diet and a lower risk of developing breast cancer. Below are the DASH diet recommendations:

Mediterranean Diet^14,15,16

Several studies have found an association between adherence to the Mediterranean diet and reduced risk of breast cancer in both pre- and post- menopausal women. The Mediterranean diet consists of:

The New American Plate¹⁷

The American Institute for Cancer Research has new recommendations for healthy meals, called “The New American Plate,” that focus on cancer prevention. These guidelines consist of:

References