Any woman may develop breast cancer. However, the following risk factors may increase the likelihood of developing the disease.
A breast cancer risk factor is anything that causes it to be more likely you’ll get breast cancer. But having one or perhaps several breast cancer risk factors doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll develop breast cancer. Many women who develop breast cancer don’t have any known risk factors other than simply being women. Some risk factors can’t be modified, such as age or racial background. However, factors associated with a person’s behavior or lifestyle may be modified. Make some changes to these modifiable factors to reduce your likelihood of getting breast cancer.
The risk of developing breast cancer increases with age. The more a woman lives, the greater her chances of developing breast cancer. Breast cancer mostly happens in women between the ages of 50 and 69. With understanding of risk factors we can make changes in our lives to assist reduce our risk of breast cancer.
A family history of breast cancer
If your mother, sister or daughter was diagnosed with breast cancer, particularly at a young age, your risk of breast cancer is increased. Still, nearly all people diagnosed with breast cancer have no family history of the disease.
Gender
Simply being a woman may be the main risk factor for developing breast cancer. Men can develop breast cancer, however this disease is about 100 times more common among women than men. This might be because men have less of the female hormones estrogen and progesterone, which could promote breast cancer cell growth.
Age
After gender, age is easily the most influential risk factor for developing breast cancer. Women younger than age 40 account for just 4.7 percent of invasive breast cancer diagnoses and just 3.6 percent of in situ breast cancer diagnoses. Over 70 percent of all breast cancer diagnoses are made in women who are 50 or older.
Endogenous Hormones
Women who’ve higher levels of body hormones may be at increased risk for breast cancer. These hormones include estrogen, testosterone, insulin, prolactin, and insulin-like growth factor.
Postmenopausal Hormone Therapy
Women taking hormone therapy medications that combine estrogen and progesterone to treat the twelve signs and symptoms of menopause have an increased risk of breast cancer. The risk of breast cancer decreases when women stop taking these medications.
Breast Disease History
A history of non-malignant (not cancerous) breast disease increases a woman’s risk for cancer. Using a strong family history of breast cancer further increases one’s likelihood for developing breast cancer within the presence of benign lesions. Women who’ve a non-invasive type of breast cancer or a previous history of breast cancer in addition have a greater likelihood for developing an invasive type of cancer than women who do not have these lesions.
Genetic Risk Factors
Women who’ve certain inherited gene mutations (including BRCA1 and BRCA2) possess a significantly increased risk of breast cancer and account for around 5 percent to 10 percent of breast cancer cases. In many women, the normally functioning BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes assistance to prevent breast cancer by controlling cell growth. However, these genes aren’t able to control cell growth properly unmutated.
Dense Breast Tissue
Breasts comprise fatty tissue, fibrous tissue, and glandular tissue. Someone has been said to have dense breast tissue (as seen on the mammogram) when they have more glandular and fibrous tissue and fewer fatty tissue. Women with dense breasts have a higher risk of breast cancer than women with less dense breasts. Unfortunately, dense breast tissue can also make mammograms less accurate.
Risk Factors For Breast Cancer
Bodyweight
Postmenopausal women who’re overweight or obese have a higher possibility of getting breast cancer than those who are lean. The association between body mass index and breast cancer may be due to hormonal influence. Estrogen is secreted by fatty tissues in postmenopausal women. Obese pre-menopausal woman possess a lower risk for the disease and this may be due to their anovulatory cycles.
