We know that aspirin can help relieve a headache, minimize joint pain, even save the life of someone having a heart attack. Now we have one more reason to celebrate the incredible value of this unassuming little pill -- it may help prevent women from getting breast cancer.

Researchers from the National Cancer Institute, which is part of the National Institutes of Health, have found that women who took aspirin daily cut their risk of developing estrogen-receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer by 16 percent. ER-positive breast cancer is fueled by estrogen, and aspirin is thought to interfere with this hormone.

ER-positive breast cancer accounts for the majority of breast cancers diagnosed each year, so the findings of this new study carry great significance in women's efforts to reduce their risk.

But before you start popping more pills each morning, check with your family doctor to make sure that taking aspirin every day will be OK for you. Remember that aspirin is a blood thinner and it can irritate the lining of the stomach; taking it regularly is not without potential side effects.

This is exciting news, especially because it's a relatively easy way for a woman to reduce her risk.