Think Pink: Know The Top 15 Risks For Breast Cancer

We hear about a lot of studies that point to things that can increase our risk for breast cancer, and frankly, a lot of those can be confusing. While a specific food or drink can be beneficial for certain parts of our health, it can also have negative consequences for other areas. Take alcohol, for example. Alcohol–particularly red wine–has been proven to decrease your risks for heart disease, yet, some say drinking can also increase your likelihood for breast cancer. And then there’s hormone replacement therapy. Is it really good for you, or not? And what about genetics, radiation and weight? Do they really increase your odds for this disease? To find out, we did some research to uncover the facts.

According to the American Cancer Society, here are some of the top risk factors–some of which we can’t control–for breast cancer that you should be aware of:

1. Age. Your risk of developing breast cancer increases as you get older. About one out of eight invasive breast cancers are found in women younger than 45, while about two-thirds are found in women age 55 or older.

2. Genetics. About 5% to 10% of breast cancer cases are thought to be hereditary, resulting directly from gene defects (called mutations) inherited from a parent.

3. Family history. Having one first-degree relative (mother, sister or daughter) with breast cancer approximately doubles a woman’s risk. Having two first-degree relatives increases your risk three times that.

4. Personal history. A woman with cancer in one breast has three to four times the risk of developing a new cancer in the other breast or in another part of the same breast.

5. Race and ethnicity. White women are slightly more likely to develop breast cancer than are African-American women, but African-American women are more likely to die of this cancer. But, in women under 45 years of age, breast cancer is more common in African American women. Overall, Asian, Hispanic, and Native-American women have a lower risk of developing and dying from breast cancer.

6. Dense breast tissue. Women with denser breast tissue (as seen on a mammogram) have more glandular tissue and less fatty tissue and have a higher risk of breast cancer. This dense tissue can also make it harder to spot problems on mammograms.

7. Certain benign breast conditions. Women diagnosed with certain benign breast conditions may have an increased risk of breast cancer. Some of these conditions are more closely linked to breast cancer risk than others.

8. Menstrual periods. Women who have had more menstrual cycles because they started menstruating before the age of 12 are at a higher risk. Also, women who went through menopause after the age of 55 have a slightly higher risk due to a longer lifetime exposure to the hormones estrogen and progesterone.

9. Radiation. Women who, as children or young adults, had radiation therapy to the chest area as treatment for another cancer have a significantly increased risk for breast cancer. Radiation treatment after age 40 does not seem to increase breast cancer risk.

10. Diethylstilbestrol exposure. From the 1940s through the 1960s some pregnant women were given this drug because it was thought to lower their chances of miscarriage. The mothers and daughters of these women have a slightly increased risk of developing breast cancer.

11. Having children. Women who have had no children or who had their first child after age 30 have a slightly higher breast cancer risk.

12. Oral contraceptives. Studies have found that women using oral contraceptives (birth control pills) have a slightly greater risk of breast cancer than women who have never used them.

13. Hormone therapy. Hormone therapy with estrogen (sometimes with progesterone) has been used for many years to help relieve symptoms of menopause and to help prevent osteoporosis, but it may also be linked to breast cancer. This is a very complicated subject and one that should be discussed thoroughly with your doctor before taking hormones.

14. Alcohol. According to the American Cancer Society, the use of alcohol is clearly linked to an increased risk of developing breast cancer with the risk increasing with the amount of alcohol consumed daily. Women who consume one drink a day have a very small increase in risk, but those who have two or more drinks daily have about 1½ times the risk of women who drink no alcohol.

15. Weight. Being overweight or obese has been found to increase breast cancer risk, especially for women after menopause.

Photo: telegraph.co.uk