Every woman wants to
know what she can do to lower her risk of breast cancer. Perhaps, some of the factors
associated with breast cancer such as being a woman, your age, and your genetics, cannot be changed. Apparently, other factors like being overweight, lack of
exercise, smoking cigarettes, and eating unhealthy food, can be changed by
making choices. By choosing the healthiest lifestyle options possible, you can
empower yourself and make sure your breast cancer risk is as low as possible.
The known risk factors
for breast cancer are listed below. Click on each link to learn more about the
risk factor and ways you can minimize it in your own life. If a factor can't be
changed (such as your genetics), you can learn about protective steps you can
take that can help keep your risk as low as possible.
Being
a Woman
There is no doubt that being a woman is
the biggest risk factor for developing breast cancer. In America, there are about 190,000
new cases of invasive breast cancer and 60,000 cases of non-invasive breast
cancer concerning women this year. While men do develop breast cancer, less
than 1% of all new breast cancer cases happen in men. Approximately 2,000 cases
of breast cancer will be diagnosed in American men this year.
Age
Everyone living is
growing older. And perhaps with many other diseases, your risk of breast cancer goes
up as you get older. For example, according to the American Cancer Society,
about 1 out of 8 invasive breast cancers develop in women younger than 45.
About 2 out of 3 invasive breast cancers are found in women 55 or older.
In fact, the aging
process is the biggest risk factor for breast cancer. That's because the longer
we live, there are more opportunities for genetic damage (mutations) in the
body. And as we age, our bodies are less capable of repairing genetic damage.
Family
History
Women with close
relatives who've been diagnosed with breast cancer have a higher risk of
developing the disease. Thus, if you've had one
first-degree female relative (sister, mother, daughter) diagnosed with breast
cancer, your risk is doubled. If two first-degree relatives have been
diagnosed, your risk is 5 times higher than average.
If your brother or
father have been diagnosed with breast cancer, your risk is higher, though
researchers aren't sure how much higher.
Genetics
Apparently about 5% to 10% of
breast cancers are thought to be hereditary, caused by abnormal genes passed
from parent to child. Hence, genes are short
segments of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) found in chromosomes. DNA contains the
instructions for building proteins, while proteins control the structure and
function of all the cells that make up your body.
Think of your genes as
an instruction manual for cell growth and function. Abnormalities in the DNA
are like typographical errors. They may provide the wrong set of instructions,
leading to faulty cell growth or function. In any one person, if there is an
error in a gene, that same mistake will appear in all the cells that contain
the same gene. This is like having an instruction manual in which all the
copies have the same typographical error.
Personal
History of Breast Cancer
If you've been
diagnosed with breast cancer, you're 3 to 4 times more likely to develop a new
cancer in the other breast or a different part of the same breast. This risk is
different from the risk of the original cancer coming back (called risk of recurrence).
Radiation
to Chest or Face Before Age 30
If you had radiation to
the chest to treat another cancer (not breast cancer), such as Hodgkin disease
or non-Hodgkin lymphoma, you have a higher-than-average risk of breast cancer.
If you had radiation to the face as an adolescent to treat acne (something
that's no longer done), you are at higher risk of developing breast cancer
later in life. The amount of risk increase depends on how old you were when you
had radiation. The increase in risk is highest if you had radiation during
adolescence, when your breasts were developing.
Certain
Breast Changes
If you've been
diagnosed with certain benign (not cancer) breast conditions, you may have a
higher risk of breast cancer. There are several types of benign breast
conditions that affect breast cancer risk:
Excessive growth of
normal-looking cells: Doctors call this "proliferative lesions without
atypia." In these conditions, cells in the ducts (the pipes of the breast
that drain the milk out to the nipple) or lobules (the parts of the breast that
make milk) are growing faster than normal, but the cells look normal.
Race/Ethnicity
White women are
slightly more likely to develop breast cancer than African American, Hispanic,
and Asian women. But African American women are more likely to develop more
aggressive, more advanced-stage breast cancer that is diagnosed at a young age.
African American women are also more likely to die from breast cancer. Some of
these differences in outcomes may be due to less access to mammography and
lower quality of medical care, as well as various lifestyle patterns (eating
habits and weight issues for example) that are more common in some ethnic groups
than in others. These factors can be changed and improved.
Being
Overweight
Overweight and obese
women, defined as having a BMI (body mass index) over 25, have a higher
risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer compared to women who maintain a
healthy weight, especially after menopause. Being overweight also can increase
the risk of the breast cancer coming back (recurrence) in women who have had
the disease.
This higher risk is
because fat cells make estrogen; extra fat cells mean more estrogen in the
body, and estrogen can make hormone-receptor-positive breast cancers develop
and grow. Still, the link between
extra weight and breast cancer is complicated and affected by other factors.
For instance, the location of the extra weight matters. Extra fat around your
belly may increase risk more than the same amount of extra fat around your
thighs or hips.
Pregnancy
History
Women who haven't had a
full-term pregnancy or have their first child after the age of 30 have a higher risk
of breast cancer compared to women who gave birth before the age of 30.
Apparently, when breast cells are
made in adolescence, they are immature and very active until your first
full-term pregnancy. The immature breast cells respond to the hormone estrogen
as well as hormone-disrupting chemicals in products. Your first full-term
pregnancy makes the breast cells fully mature and grow in a more regular way.
This is the main reason why pregnancy helps protect against breast cancer.
Being pregnant also reduces your total number of lifetime menstrual cycles, which may be another reason why earlier pregnancy seems to offer a protective
effect.
Breastfeeding
History
Breastfeeding can lower
breast cancer risk, especially if a woman breastfeeds for longer than 1 year.
There is less benefit for women who breastfeed for less than a year, which is
more typical for women living in countries such as the United States. There are
several reasons why breastfeeding protects breast health:
- making milk 24/7 limits breast cells' ability to misbehave
- most women have fewer menstrual cycles when they're breastfeeding (added to the 9 missed periods during pregnancy) resulting in lower estrogen levels
- many women tend to eat more nutritious foods and follow healthier lifestyles (limit smoking and alcohol use) while breastfeeding
Beyond breast health
protection, breastfeeding provides important health benefits to the baby and
helps the bonding process.
Menstrual
History
Women who started menstruating
(having periods) younger than age 12 have a higher risk of breast cancer later
in life. The same is true for women who go through menopause when they're older
than 55. Over the past 15 years, girls have been starting puberty at younger
ages. Breast development has started even earlier than menstrual periods. This
unexpected shift has been attributed to the obesity epidemic and broad exposure
to hormone disruptors, since a rise in hormones triggers the onset of breast
development and puberty. The age when women go through menopause, however, has
stayed about the same.
The earlier your
breasts form, the sooner they're ready to interact with hormones inside and
outside your body, as well as with chemicals in products that are hormone
disruptors. This longer interaction with hormones and hormone disruptors can
increase risk. Hence, when girls start
menstruating at a younger age, the time between breast development and a first
full-term pregnancy is usually longer than when menstruation happens later.
During this time, breast tissue tends to be immature, overactive, and
particularly sensitive to hormonal influences.
The longer a woman
menstruates, the higher her lifetime exposure to the hormones estrogen and
progesterone. All of these factors are associated with a higher risk of breast
cancer later in life.
Using
HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy)
Current or recent past
users of hormonal replacement therapy (HRT) have a higher risk of being
diagnosed with breast cancer. Before the link between HRT use and breast cancer
risk was established, many postmenopausal women took HRT for many years to ease
menopausal symptoms (hot flashes, fatigue) and to reduce bone loss. However, since 2002,
when research linked HRT and risk, the number of women taking HRT has dropped
dramatically. Still, many women continue to use HRT to handle bothersome
menopausal symptoms.
Drinking
Alcohol
Research consistently
shows that drinking alcoholic beverages, beer, wine, and liquor; increases
a woman's risk of hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer. Alcohol can increase
levels of estrogen and other hormones associated with hormone-receptor-positive
breast cancer. Alcohol also may increase breast cancer risk by damaging DNA in
cells.
Compared to women who
don't drink at all, women who have three alcoholic drinks per week have a 15%
higher risk of breast cancer. Experts estimate that the risk of breast cancer
goes up another 10% for each additional drink women regularly have each day.
Having
Dense Breasts
Dense breasts have less
fatty tissue and more non-fatty tissue compared to breasts that aren't dense.
Dense breasts have more gland tissue that makes and drains milk and supportive
tissue (also called stroma) that surrounds the gland. Breast density can be
inherited, so if your mother has dense breasts, it's likely you will, too. One way to measure
breast density is the thickness of tissue on a mammogram.
Lack
of Exercise
Research shows a link
between exercising regularly at a moderate or intense level for 4 to 7 hours
per week and a lower risk of breast cancer. Exercise consumes and controls
blood sugar and limits blood levels of insulin growth factor, a hormone that
can affect how breast cells grow and behave. People who exercise regularly tend
to be healthier and are more likely to maintain a healthy weight and have
little or no excess fat compared to people who don't exercise.
Fat cells make estrogen
and extra fat cells make extra estrogen. When breast cells are exposed to extra
estrogen over time, the risk of developing breast cancer is higher.
Smoking
Smoking causes a number
of diseases and is linked to a higher risk of breast cancer in younger,
premenopausal women. Research also has shown that there may be link between
very heavy second-hand smoke exposure and breast cancer risk in postmenopausal
women.
Smoking also can
increase complications from breast cancer treatment, including:
- damage to the lungs from radiation therapy
- difficulty healing after surgery and breast reconstruction
- higher risk of blood clots when taking hormonal therapy medicines
Emerging risks factors includes:
- Low of Vitamin D Levels
- Light Exposure at Night
- DES(Diethylstilbestrol) Exposure
- Eating Unhealthy Food
- Exposure to Chemicalsin Cosmetics
- Exposures to Chemicalsin Food
- Exposure to Chemicalsfor Lawns and Gardens
- Exposure to Chemicalsin Plastic
- Exposure to Chemicalsin Sunscreen
- Exposure to Chemicalsin Water
- Exposure to ChemicalsWhen Food is Grilled/Prepared
Examine yourself of breast cancer risk; early detention is far better than treatment of breast cancer. #DubemickyInspiringGreatnessDaily. Good morning, and do have yourself a wonderful day.
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