How to Know Breast Cancer Risk Factors

Early detection is key to successfully treating and defeating breast cancer. Part of the early detection process is to know breast cancer risk factors. Self examination is important, but knowing if your age, family history or lifestyle contributes to developing this disease is crucial as well.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Refrain from assuming that it's strictly a woman's disease. Breast cancer is not exclusively a female problem. Men can develop breast cancer. However, women's risk factors increase as a result of the hormones estrogen and progesterone. Although men can develop breast cancer, the risk is 100 times more likely in women.
2. Evaluate your age. The risk factor for developing breast cancer increases with age. According to the American Cancer Society, two out of three women who have invasive breast cancer are age 55 or older. Conversely the incidents drops to about one in eight for women age 45 and younger.
3. Research your family's history. Purportedly about five to ten percent of breast cancer cases are hereditary. Therefore, if breast cancer is in your family the risk factors are higher and you should be vigilant in self-examination and visiting your doctor regularly.
4. Look at your own personal history. Women who have had breast cancer have a much higher risk of developing new cancer in the other breast. The risk factor increase is anywhere from 3- to 4-fold.
5. Know the facts for your ethnicity. Caucasian women are at highest risk for developing breast cancer. African-American women, although at a lower risk for developing breast cancer, appear to have more aggressive tumors that result in higher death rates than Caucasian women. Asian, Hispanic and Native-American women have lower risk factors for developing and dying from the disease.

Tips & Warnings

• If you are in the high-risk category for breast cancer, perform self-exams and visit your doctor regularly.