Here are key questions to ask yourself to understand your own risk for breast cancer.
Courtesy of Prevention.com
Are you over age 50? Age is the most important risk
factor for breast cancer. About 77 percent of women who develop the
disease are over age 50. Fewer than 10 percent are under 40.
Do you have a family history of breast cancer? In
fact, most women who develop cancer do not have a family history of the
disease. Fewer than 10 percent of cases are inherited. Nevertheless, if
you have breast cancer in your family, you are at above-average risk.
Has any member of your family, female or male, been found to carry a mutated BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene? BRCAs
are tumor suppressor genes; any damage to them can increase a woman's
risk of breast cancer. If you have this gene, you have a 50 percent
chance of inheriting the mutation, which means that you may want to
consider genetic counseling and testing. Should testing reveal that you
also carry the mutation, you have a 50 to 85 percent chance of
developing breast cancer. But remember that BRCA gene mutations account
for just up to 10 percent of breast cancers. Most cases are
sporadic--that is, they are not inherited.
Has anyone in your family had ovarian cancer? This
could signal the presence of a BRCA gene mutation, which also raises
breast cancer risk. With a BRCA2 mutation, the lifetime risk of ovarian
cancer is 16 percent. It climbs as high as 40 percent with a BRCA1
mutation.
Have you had cancer of the ovary, uterus, or colon?
Ovarian cancer slightly increases the risk of breast cancer,
particularly in those who carry BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutations. The risk
doubles with a personal history of uterine (endometrial) or colorectal
cancer.
Are you of Ashkenazi Jewish heritage? About one in
every 40 Ashkenazi Jewish women carries a BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation.
A study involving more than 200 of these women--all of whom had breast
cancer--found the mutation in 30 percent of those diagnosed before age
40. Among those over 40, the figure declined to 10 percent – which is
still higher than average risk. Women of Ashkenazi Jewish descent can
develop sporadic (noninherited) breast cancers as well.
Does your mammogram reveal that you have dense breasts?
While younger women normally have dense breasts, this tends to diminish
with age as fat replaces some of the breast tissue. Still, some older
women have dense breasts, which can make spotting abnormalities on
mammograms more difficult. Digital mammograms detect breast cancers
better than standard mammograms in women with dense breasts.
Have you ever had a breast biopsy that detected abnormal cells?
This condition, known as atypical hyperplasia, raises the risk of
developing breast cancer about fivefold. Fewer than 20 percent of women
under age 50 undergo breast biopsies for benign breast disease, but
studies show that those with such conditions are more likely to develop
breast cancer. The biopsy itself doesn't increase risk. Rather, the
fact that the procedure is done for a growth suggests what physicians
call an "active" breast.
Have you already had breast cancer? The risk of developing a new cancer in the same breast if you had a lumpectomy, or in the opposite breast, is increased.
Have you received radiation therapy to your chest for any other type of cancer? Women
who've undergone radiation therapy for Hodgkin's disease, for example,
are significantly more likely to develop breast cancer. In fact, some
experts recommend early mammography screening after Hodgkin's.
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