Let’s Beat Breast Cancer! How to Reduce Your Risk

Hello, friend! As you may know, I’m now a registered dietitian with the Physicians Committee, and for the past 10 months I’ve been working hard on a project that’s near and dear to me: Let’s Beat Breast Cancer!

As many of you know, I’ve never had breast cancer, but I did get a frightening shot across the bow. If you aren’t familiar with my story, I recommend you read “Who Is Lee.” There you’ll find out how my experience led me to plant-based eating, the scary stuff that happened when I fell off the wagon, and what I decided to do about it!

Let’s Beat Breast Cancer

Needless to say, I’m thrilled to be overseeing the new Let’s Beat Breast Cancer project. A partnership between Dr. Kristi Funk (breast cancer surgeon to stars like Sheryl Crow) and the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, Let’s Beat Breast Cancer is a series of four simple steps women can follow to reduce their risk of getting breast cancer or having a recurrence.

As one of the authors of these four guidelines, I can say with confidence that they are rooted in the best science available. If you’re a skeptic or nutrition nerd (me on both counts!), you can read all about the science behind the four steps here.

What’s more, we have THE COOLEST advisory board of doctors, dietitians, survivors, and celebrities, including Dr. Neal Barnard, Tracey and Jon Stewart (yes, THAT Jon Stewart!), Suzy Amis Cameron and James Cameron, Hilaria and Alec Baldwin, Audrey and Jeff Dunham, former president of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Lucille Beseler, and many others…including yours truly. (Feeling a little outclassed right about now! 😉 ).

So, what are the guidelines?

4 Simple Steps for Healthier Breasts

1. Choose plant-based foods

2. Exercise

3. Limit alcohol

4. Aim for a healthy weight

It’s that simple…and that hard! In fact, for most people, following these steps will be a big, cancer-kicking, health-changing habit overhaul. That’s why I’m encouraging you to do two things:

1. Head over to LetsBeatBreastCancer.org and take the pledge to follow the four steps for 1 month. Because you can do anything for a month! When you pledge, you’ll get an awesome free e-cookbook with recipes from doctors, dietitians, and celebs (including some Veggie Quest specials), along with weekly emails packed with how-to tips and inspiration for the month.

2. Share Let’s Beat Breast Cancer with friends and family. If you’re like me, you want to keep your tribe—the women whose love and support keep you going—happy and healthy for as long as possible! So please share the message with them on social with the hashtag #LetsBeatBreastCancer and tag the Physicians Committee, @DrKristiFunk, and @VeggieQuest (FB) or @Veggie_Quest (Twitter)

A final note: You won’t find the phrase “prevent breast cancer” in this post, nor in the campaign, because there is no magic bullet when it comes to cancer. You can do everything “right” and still be diagnosed. However, the science is clear: You can stack the odds in your favor—and that’s what we’re going for.

So head on over to LetsBeatBreastCancer.org, take the pledge, then share it with your friends!

Together we can beat breast cancer—one bite at a time!