Risk Factors For Breast Cancer

If you are a woman in the United States today, your chance of getting breast cancer is 1 in 8, according to the most recent report published annually by the National Cancer Institute’s [NCI] Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results [SEER] Program. Looked at another way, the chance that you will never have cancer is 87.6 percent or 7 out of 8. That’s good news, isn’t it? But your chances of getting cancer increase as you get older, although the risk varies from woman to woman.

So, apart from age, let’s look at other factors that impact your chance of getting breast cancer.

1. Family history – If your mother, sister or daughter was diagnosed with breast cancer, you are likely to get it. Another pertinent fact according to SEER: if you have a male relative who was diagnosed with breast cancer, your risk increases.
2. Breast density – Women who have dense breast tissue are more prone to breast cancer than those who don’t.
3. Breast cancer – If you have had breast cancer once, you are likely to get it again.
4. Alcohol – increases your risk of breast cancer
5. Reproductive and menstrual history – early menstrual onset and late onset of menopause – after age 55 – and not having children are all risks for breast cancer.
6. Obesity – carries with it an increased risk.
7. Hormone therapy – postmenopausal women who use combined estrogen and progestin for more than five years increase their risk of getting breast cancer.
8. Race – Caucasian women in the US have a higher incidence of breast cancer than women of other races.
9. Physical activity – Women who are physically inactive increase their risk of breast cancer.
If you have never had breast cancer, it is very likely you know someone who has, and this is why I’m focusing on it this month in an effort to help you help yourself or someone else. As you can see, many of these risk factors are outside our control, however we can and should do everything in our power to prevent ourselves succumbing to this horrible disease. Read my previous post for some pointers on what you can do. In my next post, I’ll go more in depth.
Until then, stay healthy.

From now until the end of the month, I’m offering four of these pink ribbon and hearts bangles free of cost to four women when you sign up for my mailing list. This beautiful bangle will brighten your day and contribute to the fight against cancer. Just fill in your information in the box below and in the comments section state why you would like to have one of these bangles. Four women will be chosen to receive one of these bangles free of cost. God bless you.[contact-form][contact-field label=”Name” type=”name” required=”true” /][contact-field label=”Email” type=”email” required=”true” /][contact-field label=”Website” type=”url” /][contact-field label=”Message” type=”textarea” /][/contact-form]