I was moved to read about Julia Bradbury's diagnosis of breast cancer and her subsequent mastectomy.

Julia's own cancer was detected after a routine mammogram, but sadly it was too late to do anything other than remove the breast.

She is younger than the typical breast cancer patient and she is neither overweight nor a big drinker, both of which, after genetics, are risk factors.

I was moved to read about Julia Bradbury's diagnosis of breast cancer and her subsequent mastectomy.

Julia's own cancer was detected after a routine mammogram, but sadly it was too late to do anything other than remove the breast.

Breast cancer tissue typically contains lower levels of bacteria called Lactobacillus, which produce anti-inflammatory compounds, and a study (albeit in monkeys) showed breast levels of these bacteria were boosted ten-fold by changing to a Med diet.

The charity Breast Cancer Now estimates that because of Covid-19 almost 1.5 million fewer women in the UK have had breast screening, and that 12,000 women in the UK could be living with undiagnosed breast cancer.

Not only is the Mediterranean diet tasty, it has widespread, beneficial effects, including reducing your risk of cancer, and specifically breast cancer.

Not only were the women on the Mediterranean diet half as likely to develop breast cancer over the five years of the trial (which is really impressive), but a follow-up study showed that those with breast cancer were at significantly lower risk of it recurring after treatment than those on the low-fat diet.

Not only is the Mediterranean diet tasty, it has widespread, beneficial effects, including reducing your risk of cancer, and specifically breast cancer.

One of the things that the beneficial bacteria in your gut do is dampen down chronic inflammation, which can lead to cancer, and it seems that bacteria in the breast can do something similar.

Breast cancer tissue typically contains lower levels of bacteria called Lactobacillus, which produce anti-inflammatory compounds, and a study (albeit in monkeys) showed breast levels of these bacteria were boosted ten-fold by changing to a Med diet!

We know this thanks to a seven-year study of women with breast cancer in the U.S.

Although the risk for light drinkers seems to be quite small (they have a roughly 4 per cent increased risk of breast cancer, compared with non-drinkers), it increases rapidly once you drink regularly and above the guidelines.

There are lots of benefits to being on hormone replacement therapy (HRT) but some forms, such as the combined version (oestrogen and progesterone) are associated with a small increased risk of breast cancer while you are taking it.