"The results of our month-long campaign will fund important research and prevention programs and help move closer towards ending the devastation of breast cancer," Larree Renda, a Safeway executive vice president and chair of the Safeway Foundation, said in the statement.

Research centers that will receive funding include The Carol Franc Buck Breast Cancer Center at the University of California San Francisco, The Revlon Women's Cancer Research Program at UCLA, City of Hope, Translational Genomics Research Institute, The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, The Susan G. Komen Foundation, and several others.

The company also plans to fund several mobile mammography screening units in low income areas throughout the United States.

Researchers say the protective factor most likely comes from the active form of vitamin D the body produces when exposed to sunlight. Fair-skinned women produce more vitamin D when exposed to sunlight than do their darker-skinned counterparts.

While experts warn against too much sun exposure, they also warn against the dangers of no sun exposure, especially in light of this study and other recent studies that indicate a direct correlation between vitamin D deficiency and cancer risk.

Breast cancer survivors are invited to submit essays of 150 words or less on how breast cancer has affected their lives. Friends and family members of survivors can also submit essays nominating a breast cancer survivor for the prize. Essays are being accepted from now until November 30, 2007.

Two winners will receive a $10,000 bedroom makeover from Queer Eye for the Straight Guy's Thom Filicia.

Serta will also donate $5,000 to Komen for the Cure in each of the two winners’ names.

Essays can be submitted online at Serta.com or at any America's Mattress store. Those who drop their essays off at an America's Mattress store will receive a special Serta Counting Sheep for the Cure gift.

Exercise regularly
Regular exercise may cut the risk of breast cancer by as much as 25 percent.

Maintain a healthy weight
Research suggests that women who maintain a BMI (body mass index) of less than 25 have a lower risk of breast cancer than women who are overweight.

Avoid red meat
A study of 90,000 women found that those who consumed a lot of red meat doubled their breast cancer risk compared to women who rarely ate red meat.

Limit alcohol consumption
Several studies have found a link between alcohol consumption and breast cancer. Some experts recommend women keep alcohol consumption to 7 drinks per week or fewer while others say women should avoid alcohol altogether.

Eat more garlic
Animal studies have shown that garlic may prevent breast cancer and slow its growth. Research has also shown that cooking garlic with red meat reduces carcinogenic chemicals in cooked meat.

Supplement with CoQ10
Several studies suggest that supplementation with CoQ10 may prevent breast cancer and slow its progress. CoQ10 is also an overall immune system booster and may prevent other types of cancer as well.

Consume plenty of cruciferous vegetables
Cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, radishes, and cabbage may reduce levels of two kinds of estrogen that may cause breast cancer.

Add turmeric to your diet
In animals studies, turmeric prevented breast cancer from spreading to the lungs and may prevent its occurrence as well.

Eat more eggs
In one study, women who consumed at least 6 eggs per week lowered their risk of breast cancer by 44%.

Get plenty of vitamin D
Studies show that women who live in places with less sunlight have higher rates of breast cancer. Other research has found lower levels of vitamin D in women with breast cancer compared to women without the disease. Several studies point to vitamin D as an important factor in the prevention and survival rate of many types of cancer.

There's no guarantee that anything will prevent breast cancer but doing some or all of the above just might tilt the odds in your favor and they're all good things to do for your body whether you're concerned about breast cancer or not.

---

Related Content
20 Health Benefits of Turmeric
10 Health Benefits of Eggs
12 Health Benefits of Garlic

Part of the problem may be that doctors treat white patients differently than black patients.

... one factor may be physicians' ability to communicate effectively with their patients.

"There has been some literature showing that physicians' perception of the patient may be affected by race," said Smitherman. "This includes perceptions of patients' ability to understand choices, a sense of affiliation with patients and the ability to engage patients."

"When we walk into a patient's room, it's not like there's pixie dust and we leave everything back at the door."

One other reason for the disparity, according to researchers, may be that many in the black community are distrustful of the medical establishment.

"There is some, perhaps appropriate, distrust of the medical community," said Smitherman. "It's been shaped from the Tuskegee study on down, and this is passed down through the generations," he added, referring to a notorious study in which black men were not informed of their diagnosis of syphilis, and in some cases, were denied treatment.

Thinking about the story we posted a couple days ago about the woman who had a double mastectomy after being misdiagnosed with breast cancer, perhaps all of us should be just a little distrustful of the medical establishment.

Racial Disparities Affect Breast Cancer Treatment

A woman's vulnerability to breast cancer, the study found, was greater if her mother's "intercristal diameter" -- the widest distance between the wing-like structures at the top of the hip bone -- was more than 30 centimeters, or 11.8 inches. The risk also was higher if these wing-like structures were round. The breast cancer risk was 2.5 times higher for the daughters of women in whom the widest distance was more than 3 centimeters greater than the distance at the front.

According to the study, breast cancer may be established in the growing embryo in the first trimester of pregnancy when it is exposed to high levels of sex hormones circulating in the mother's body.

Hip Size Of Mothers Linked To Breast Cancer In Daughters

"I remember the words, 'You don't have breast cancer, you never did,'" Eason said today on "Good Morning America."

The news was stunning.

"I have a philosophy that you have to laugh to keep from crying, so I try to laugh as much as I can," Eason said.

It seems unthinkable that such a thing can happen. The article suggests getting a second biopsy if you are diagnosed with cancer.

Eason is suing the laboratory that mixed up the biopsies for an undisclosed sum.

Mastectomy Mistake: 'You Don't Have Cancer'

During the 14 games played on those days, players such as Peyton Manning will be using special edition pink Gatorade towels. The towels will be autographed by the players and put up for auction.

Proceeds from the auction will go to two breast cancer organizations, the Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the American Cancer Society Making Strides Against Breast Cancer.

Visit the NFL auction site to take part.

In the past, researchers weren't sure if certain types of alcohol were riskier than others, but they now believe it doesn't matter which kind is consumed. Wine, beer, and spirits all appear to contribute to the risk.

Dr. Yan Li, the lead researcher and an oncologist at Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, California said, "if you drink three or more drinks a day [your breast cancer risk] -- rather than one in eight -- will be one in six."

The increase in risk was similar no matter which type of beverage was typically consumed. "It makes no difference whether women drink wine, beer or liquor in terms of their risk of breast cancer," Li said. "It's the alcohol itself. And it's the quantity consumed that increases breast cancer risk."

Though the new research found no protective properties from red wine, other studies suggest the resveratrol in red wine is protective against cancer. Some red wines, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, contain more resveratrol than others and it isn't clear which kind of red wine women in the latest study drank.

The leader of the study, Lorelei Mucci, ScD, said:

"At levels consumed in the diet, it appears unlikely that acrylamide in foods is related to breast cancer risk ... Although we do not rule out that very high levels of acrylamide could cause cancer, it appears that at the levels found in the diet, it is unlikely."

The same group of researchers also found no connection between acrylamide in food and bladder, kidney, and colon cancer.

Still, many experts agree that more studies on acrylamide in the diet and a link to cancer need to be done before the risk can be completely ruled out.

The Western diet raised the risk especially high for estrogen-receptor positive tumors, raising the risk of developing this kind of breast cancer by 90 percent.

The same increased risks were not found for pre-menopausal women eating a typical Western diet.

Marilyn Tseng of the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia said: "Most studies have tended to look at single dietary factors. And what was unique about this study is that we tried to describe patterns of intake -- foods that go together, that seem to occur together in the diet."

The researchers noted that the absolute risk remained small, and said the benefits of growth factors probably still outweighed their risks. But it is one more thing for cancer patients to take into account when deciding on a course of treatment.

Breast cancer treatment found to boost leukemia risk

However, there are those who have concerns about the test:

Lichtenfeld said he isn't convinced the test has a value in deciding if a woman should have chemotherapy or not. "We don't know, at this point, whether or not this is a test that should influence the decisions that women and their doctors should be making with regard to adjuvant therapy," he said.

Dr. Len Lichtenfeld is the deputy chief medical officer at the American Cancer Society.

FDA Approves Gene-Based Breast Cancer Test

The findings are alarming not only because triple-negative cancers can be so deadly, but also because many Latinas can face multiple barriers to obtaining comprehensive health care, from the most basic preventive screenings to sophisticated treatment regimens.

Aggressive breast cancer hits Latinas

Joint aches, bone pain, weight gain, hot flashes, insomnia and osteoporosis are among the most common symptoms cited by women taking aromatase inhibitors. The drugs also can affect bone density and increase the risk of osteoporosis and fractures.

Doctors are urging women to continue taking the drugs:

"These are lifesaving drugs for these women," says Dr. Cary Presant, a clinical professor of medicine at the University of Southern California and the author of a recent study on the side effects of these medications. "We want to see women continue taking them."

Many stop taking breast cancer drugs