Risk factors for Breast Cancer

Factors that increase your risk for breast cancer include:

• Sex: female, although men can also get breast cancer
• Age: 50 or older
• Personal history of breast cancer
• Family members with breast cancer
• Changes in breast tissue, such as atypical ductal hyperplasia, radial scar formation, and lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS)
• Changes in certain genes (BRCA1, BRCA2, and others)
• Race: Caucasian
• Increased exposure to estrogen over a lifetime through:
  • Early onset of menstruation
  • Late onset of menopause
  • No childbearing or late childbearing
  • Absence of breast-feeding
  • Taking hormone replacement therapy for long periods of time ( Prempro for more than four years)
  • Tobacco use
• Increased breast density (more lobular and ductal tissue and less fatty tissue)
• Radiation therapy before the age of 30 years old
• Overuse of alcohol

Note: Studies show that most women with known risk factors do not get breast cancer. Many women who get breast cancer have none of the risk factors listed above except age.