Avoiding excessive dietary fat and caffeine may help avoid fibrocystic changes in the breast tissue. Most of the associated risk factors for breast cancer cannot be controlled and this eliminates a means of primary prevention.

Secondary prevention, early detection, and appropriate treatment early in the disease process may be promoted through routine breast self-examinations and screening mammography.

Experimental studies are underway to determine if the drug tamoxifen can decrease the risk of breast cancer in women with a family history of breast cancer (mother, maternal aunts, and the affected individual's sisters).

Preliminary results showed that tamoxifen significantly decreased the incidence of breast cancer in women at high risk for the disease. In some women, the risk of breast cancer can be reduced by as much as 49% when drugs, such as tamoxifen, are taken regularly.

Tamoxifen use is also associated with the development of blood clots in the legs and with uterine cancer. See your health care provider to find out if you should take tamoxifen to prevent breast cancer.