Risk Factors

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All women are at risk for breast cancer. Simply being a woman and getting older put you at risk. Having several additional risk factors for breast cancer does not mean that you will get breast cancer. It means that your chances of getting the disease are higher than women who have fewer risk factors. In fact, about 90% of women who develop breast cancer do not have a family history of the disease.

Doctors and scientists don’t yet know what causes breast cancer, or what you can do to prevent its development. They do know that breast cancer is not contagious. You cannot ‘catch’ breast cancer from contact with someone who has breast cancer.

There are some known risk factors that you can control and others that you cannot control.

Factors You Can't Control

Gender-being female increases your risk
Age-your risk of developing breast cancer increases as you get older
Family history of breast cancer-having a first-degree relative(mother, sister, or daughter) with breast cancer
Personal history of breast cancer-if you have had breast cancer your risk of developing the disease in your other breast is increased
Age at first menstrual cycle (before age 12)-increasing the length of time, to menopause, your breast tissue is influenced monthly by hormonal changes
Age at menopause (after age 55)-increasing length of time your breast tissue is influenced by hormones, especially estrogen
High doses of radiation-radiation therapy to the chest before age 30 for the treatment of other cancers, such as Hodgkin’s disease, or non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, is known to increase your risk for developing breast cancer
High bone density-your bone density is strongly influenced by estrogen levels. That is why once you reach menopause, when your body is not producing estrogen, you have an increased risk for developing osteoporosis (a weakening of your bones) that can cause your bones to break easily

Factors You Can Control

Weight-even though your ovaries are the major site of estrogen production, adipose (fat) tissue produces a small amount as well. If your extra weight is around your middle and gained as an adult, studies suggest that this increases your risk for developing breast cancer.
Exercise-being active is the key to reduce weight gain and the added estrogen production from excess body fat. Regular exercise has the added benefit of increased bone strength. This becomes even more important after menopause when your ovaries aren’t producing the estrogen to assist bone development.
Alcohol –increases the amount of estrogen you produce. Alcohol is also high in ‘empty’ (non-nutritional) calories leading to weight gain and the additional estrogen production from body fat. Current studies are being done to see exactly how alcohol combined with other known risk factors increases your breast cancer risk.
Diet-while eating high-fat foods alone has not been proven to increase your risk of developing breast cancer. It is clear that calories do count and dietary fat is the major source of these. Studies show the rate of breast cancer is lower in countries that have low dietary fat intake.
Postmenopausal hormone therapy (HRT)-the use of HRT does relieve some of the unwanted effects of menopause such as hot flashes and mood swings, it can reduce the effectiveness of your mammogram. An small change in your breast tissue could be more difficult to see on the mammogram and could delay diagnosis of a breast cancer.
Birth control pills-since hormones produced by your body can influence the development of breast cancer, artificially altering these levels with birth control pills can do the same thing.
Childbirth-if you have never had children, or if the birth of your first child was after age 30, your risk of developing breast cancer is increased due to uninterrupted influence of estrogen on your breast tissue.
Breastfeeding- breastfeeding interrupts your body’s estrogen production and can slightly lower your risk for developing breast cancer