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Ask any woman what disease she's most afraid of, and chances are she'll say breast cancer.

``Almost everyone knows someone who did everything `right' and still got breast cancer,'' says Dr. Victoria Seewaldt, co-leader of the breast and ovarian cancer program at the Duke University Comprehensive Cancer Center.

``That can make women feel like they have no control.''

While you can't control your genes, there are powerful steps you can take to protect yourself. But experts say there's a lot of confusion about what really matters.

Here's what they want you to know:

LIFESAVING SCREENINGS

1. Clinical breast exams are as important as mammograms.

Mammograms starting at age 40 are crucial (get them earlier if you have a family history of the disease), but they're an imperfect screening tool, especially in women who have dense breasts. That's why an annual clinical breast exam from a doctor is a must.

``This is especially important for detecting inflammatory breast cancer (a rare but aggressive type that can make the breast swollen and red), which often doesn't show up on mammograms,'' explains Dr. Katherine B. Lee, a breast specialist at the Cleveland Clinic Breast Center.

On the other hand, ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), the earliest form of breast cancer, which is limited to the milk ducts, is most often found on mammograms. So both screenings are equally important.

2. Breast self-exams really can help.

It's good to do them at the same time every month, but don't stress out if you don't have them penciled into your planner. What self-exams do is help you become familiar with what's ``normal'' for your breasts. So when something's off, you'll know and can bring it to your doctor's attention.

3. Don't panic if you get called for a mammogram ``redo'' or have calcifications.

Many women over 40 have calcium deposits (calcifications) in their breasts, and most of them are benign.

``It's part of the aging process of the tissue,'' explains Lee. These can show up as white spots on a mammogram -- they tend to be harmless if they're large, coarse, solitary spots but suspicious if the tiny flecks cluster together in a linear pattern.

Most radiologists can distinguish between the two, and only the suspicious ones warrant a biopsy. Although the period between the initial and follow-up mammograms can be anxiety-filled -- a common reason some women delay their follow-ups, says research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston -- most of the time the callback turns out to be nothing.

HOW DIET AND EXERCISE LOWER YOUR RISK

4. Active women are less likely to develop and die from breast cancer.

Regular exercise has consistently been associated with a lower risk of breast cancer. ``Any type of exercise is likely to help by lowering estrogen levels,'' Seewaldt explains. What's more, a new study from the University of South Carolina suggests women with high aerobic fitness levels have a 55 percent lower chance of dying from breast cancer than their less-fit peers. So get moving!

5. Get your folate.

A growing body of research suggests getting enough of the B vitamin folate (in leafy green vegetables, beans and fortified cereals) may help mitigate the increased risk associated with drinking alcohol. (Having two or more drinks a day ups breast cancer risk by about 25 percent.) Go easy on the alcohol, but ``if you have one drink daily, getting plenty of folate from your diet or a multivitamin may help,'' says Dr. Claudine Isaacs, director of the clinical breast cancer program at Georgetown University Medical Center.