We've all heard the standard advice about battling breast cancer: Limit alcohol intake to no more than one drink a day; exercise most days of the week for 30 minutes a day; schedule your first mammogram at age 40 and every year thereafter--or start ten years earlier than the age of diagnosis for any close relative who had the illness at age 45 or younger. But there's even more you can do to take control of your health and the health of other Black women. Here, more ways to fight the good fight.

NEVER TAKE A "WAIT AND SEE" APPROACH

Breast cancer experts all agree: It's crucial for you to be proactive if you notice a change in your breasts. "If you're told that you have a lump and your doctor says, 'Let's watch it,' ask for more testing," says Marian Johnson-Thompson, Ph.D., director of education and biomedical research development at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. "Say 'I've been reading about breast cancer, and I'm really concerned. I want to make sure it's nothing.' Then urge your M.D. to send you for a mammogram or an MRI."

If you have a loved one who has just been diagnosed, help her navigate the rough road ahead. "When you've been told you have breast cancer, your brain tends to shut down," says Cheryl Kidd, director of education at the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. "You need someone to sit with you, listen to what the doctor is saying, and then help you formulate questions to ask." On the Komen Foundation's Web site (komen.org), you can find more tips to help keep your friend's spirits lifted and malee sure she gets the care she needs.

RECOGNIZE YOUR RISK

Factors you may never have considered--your weight or whether you've ever had a baby, for example--could impact your risk for developing the disease. So while you're on the site, check out the Foundation's risk assessment chart (at komen.org/riskmatrix) to see where you stand. Then talk the numbers over with your doctor--and don't forget to discuss race. Black women under 50 are twice as likely as White women of any age to get more aggressive forms of breast cancer. In addition, while inflammatory breast cancer, a little-known form of the disease that looks more like a rash than a lump, is rare, it disproportionately affects Black women as well and can lead to a rapid demise.

THINK OF YOUR SISTERS

If you've never had breast cancer yourself but have a sister who had or has the illness, researchers want to tall<>

GET TO KNOW YOUR BREASTS

While experts are divided on the benefits of breast self-exams, some women have found cancerous lumps through the process. (And you definitely don't want to miss your doctor's clinical breast exams.) "If you feel something in your breast, regardless of your age, get it evaluated and insist on a follow-up test," suggests Iris C. Gibbs, M.D., assistant professor of radiation oncology at Stanford University Medical Center. It could make all the difference in the world.