Postmenopausal women may be able to cut their risk of breast cancer in half by being active. When researchers followed 1,806 (average age 75) for 11 years, they found that those who were moderately active( walking, gardening or doing housework several times a week) had a 50% lower risk of breast cancer compared to sedentary women. The women who did vigorous activity- swimming, running or playing tennis at least once a week- were 80% less likely to develop the disease.

"Getting active- and that can mean starting to walk regularly_ or staying active appear to be important in the elderly," says study author James R. Cerhan, MD, PhD, of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Most of the research on the role that physical activity plays in the development of breast cancer has involved younger women. But this study suggests that it’s never too late.

Prevention, March 1999