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About Breast Cancer > What is Breast Cancer? > Risk Factors

  • What is Breast Cancer?
    • What Is Cancer?
    • Causes of Breast Cancer
    • Breast Cancer Facts & Stats
    • Breast Tumors
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  • Types of Breast Cancer
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  • Breast Cancer Myths
    • Myth: Finding a lump in your breast means you have breast cancer
    • Myth: Men do not get breast cancer; it affects women only
    • Myth: A mammogram can cause breast cancer or spread it
    • Myth: If you have a family history of breast cancer, you are likely to develop breast cancer, too
    • Myth: Breast cancer is contagious
    • Myth: If the gene mutation BRCA1 or BRCA2 is detected in your DNA, you will definitely develop breast cancer
    • Myth: Antiperspirants and deodorants cause breast cancer
    • Myth: A breast injury can cause breast cancer
    • Myth: Breast cancer is more common in women with bigger breasts
    • Myth: Breast cancer only affects middle-aged or older women
    • Myth: Breast pain is a definite sign of breast cancer
    • Myth: Consuming sugar causes breast cancer
    • Myth: Carrying a phone in your bra can cause breast cancer
    • Myth: IVF increases the risk of breast cancer
    • Myth: All breast cancers are the same
    • Myth: Bras with underwire can cause breast cancer
  • FAQs
    • Can physical activity reduce the risk of breast cancer?
    • Can a healthy diet help to prevent breast cancer?
    • Does smoking cause breast cancer?
    • Can drinking alcohol increase the risk of breast cancer?
    • Is there a link between oral contraceptives and breast cancer?
    • Is there a link between hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and breast cancer?
    • How often should I do a breast self exam (BSE)?
    • Does a family history of breast cancer put someone at a higher risk?
    • Are mammograms painful?
    • How does menstrual and reproductive history affect breast cancer risks?
    • How often should I go to my doctor for a check-up?
    • What kind of impact does stress have on breast cancer?
    • What celebrities have or have had breast cancer?
    • Where can I find a breast cancer support group?
    • Can breastfeeding reduce the risk of breast cancer?
    • Is dairy (milk) linked to a higher risk of breast cancer?
    • Is hair dye linked to a higher risk of breast cancer?
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Risk Factors


Know Your Risk

Did you know that 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime? While you can’t prevent cancer, it is important to be proactive about your health. Get the free Healthy Living and Personal Risk Guide to help you protect your overall health and assess your breast cancer risk.

Where can we send your copy of this helpful guide?


What Do Scientists Actually Know About The Cause Of Breast Cancer?

Cancer grows when a cell’s DNA is damaged, but why or how that DNA becomes damaged is still unknown. It could be genetic or environmental, or in most cases, a combination of the two. But most patients will never know exactly what caused their cancer. However, there are certain established risk factors that are associated with breast cancer.


Genetic Factors

  • Gender:  Breast cancer occurs nearly 100 times more often in women than in men.
  • Age:  Two out of three women with invasive cancer are diagnosed after age 55.
  • Race:  Breast cancer is diagnosed more often in Caucasian women than women of other races.
  • Obesity: Obesity is a risk factor for both men and women.
  • Family History and Genetic Factors:  If your mother, sister, father or child has been diagnosed with breast or ovarian cancer, you have a higher risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer in the future. Your risk increases if your relative was diagnosed before the age of 50.  
  • Personal Health History:  If you have been diagnosed with breast cancer in one breast, you have an increased risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer in the other breast in the future. Also, your risk increases if abnormal breast cells have been detected before (such as atypical hyperplasia, lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS) or ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS)).
  • Menstrual and Reproductive History:  Early menstruation (before age 12), late menopause (after 55), having your first child at an older age, or never having given birth can also increase your risk for breast cancer.
  • Certain Genome Changes:  Mutations in certain genes, such as BRCA1 and BRCA2, can increase your risk for breast cancer. This is determined through a genetic test, which you may consider taking if you have a family history of breast cancer. Individuals with these gene mutations can pass the gene mutation onto their children.
  • Dense Breast Tissue:  Having dense breast tissue can increase your risk for breast cancer and make lumps harder to detect. Several states have passed laws requiring physicians to disclose to women if their mammogram indicates that they have dense breasts so that they are aware of this risk. Be sure to ask your physician if you have dense breasts and what the implications of  having dense breasts are.

Environmental And Lifestyle Risk Factors

  • Lack of Physical Activity:  A sedentary lifestyle with little physical activity can increase your risk for breast cancer.
  • Poor Diet:  A diet high in saturated fat and lacking fruits and vegetables can increase your risk for breast cancer.  
  • Being Overweight or Obese:  Being overweight or obese can increase your risk for breast cancer. Your risk is increased if you have already gone through menopause.  
  • Drinking Alcohol:  Frequent consumption of alcohol can increase your risk for breast cancer. The more alcohol you consume, the greater the risk.
  • Radiation to the Chest:  Having radiation therapy to the chest before the age of 30 can increase your risk for breast cancer.  
  • Combined Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT):  Taking combined hormone replacement therapy, as prescribed for menopause, can increase your risk for breast cancer and increases the risk that the cancer will be detected at a more advanced stage.

What Are The Stats?

60-70% of people with breast cancer have no connection to these risk factors at all, and other people with risk factors will never develop cancer.


These Do Not Cause Breast Cancer

  • Breast cancer is not contagious; you can’t contract cancer from a person who has the disease.
  • Breast cancer is not caused by wearing underwire bras, implants, deodorants, antiperspirants, mammograms, caffeine, plastic food serving items, microwaves, or cell phones, as myths often suggest.

Related reading:

  • What Is Cancer?
  • Causes of Breast Cancer
  • Breast Cancer Facts & Stats
  • Breast Tumors
  • Breast Anatomy
Breast Lump
Breast Cancer Symptoms…
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