“I always make New Year’s resolutions, and I never keep them. Why bother?”

I’ll tell you why: because the following resolutions are on a different plane from your usual vows to call your mother at least once a week, or lose 10 pounds.

This year, you’re resolving to do everything you can to help prevent a breast cancer recurrence.

You went through the long, tough treatment – slash, poison, burn – that’s supposed to kill those cancer cells, ALL of them.

But is the cancer really gone? There’s no way to know for sure. You’re hoping if any cells are hiding out, they stay hidden. But…

There’s no way to KNOW cancer won’t come back.

Luckily, there are certain things you can do to help keep it at bay. And while none of these is a guarantee you’ll remain cancer-free, all of them at least improve your chances.

Some are absolutely proven – e.g., controlling your weight. The data’s in; we know obesity increases your risk of recurrence.

For some, the evidence is still anecdotal. For instance, most doctors believe that a healthy diet helps reduce your risk of recurrence. The National Cancer Institute hasn’t yet done the complicated, years-long clinical trials to prove it. But why not eat healthy anyway?

The following 10 resolutions are common-sense things all of us survivors can follow to limit our risk. As I said before, there are no guarantees with breast cancer – until we know what causes it, we won’t know how to prevent it. But go ahead, roll the dice; at least some of the following will probably help prevent a recurrence.

1) Take your drugs. The most common reason for the failure of long-term hormone therapy drugs is that we simply don’t take them. We let our prescriptions for Femara or tamoxifen lapse, due to expense or inertia. Or even if we have them, we let those little bottles sit at the back of the kitchen table, ignored as we down our daily multivitamin. Or we conveniently “forget” to take them, as we find the side effects disagreeable.

You want the absolutely proven benefit of these drugs? Take that pill EVERY DAY.

2) Don’t blow off appointments with your oncologist or surgeon. Every 4 months, every 6 months, once a year – whatever your schedule of regular appointments, you’re on it for a reason: so that the doctor can ask those questions whose answers can point to a recurrence.

“Any bone pain? Does it hurt when I press your side here? Shortness of breath?” Your doctor wants you to remain cancer-free as much as you do. Do yourself a favor – do NOT skip appointments.

3) Speaking of appointments, call and make one if you notice a new lump in your breast or, if you’ve had a mastectomy, any lumps or “gravelly” feeling around your incision scar, on your chest, or in your armpit.

A recurrence in the breast or armpit is far easier to treat then metastasis elsewhere in your body. But you have to notice and report it ASAP, not wait and see if it goes away. You’ve noticed a lump? Don’t waste time worrying – just call the doctor.