Persons at risk for breast cancer

Early detection of breast cancer is the key to its complete cure. Breast cancer is curable. Identify the risk factors to detect it early. Breast cancer is a hereditary disease, so one has to take extra precautions if there is family history of this disease.Breast cancer can be cured if it is detected at an early stage. Therefore, every woman must be aware of the risk factors that can cause breast cancer. Being aware of such risk factors can help in early detection. Let us take a look at some concerns of women related to risk factors associated with breast cancer. In this articleIs breast cancer hereditary?Is breast cancer age-related?Am I unlikely to get breast cancer since nobody in my family has it?What kind of radiations can increase the risk of breast cancer?Do certain breast conditions increase the risk? Are women of a particular race or ethnicity at risk?What are some other risk factors?Is breast cancer hereditary?Yes. Breast cancer is a hereditary disease. If your close female relatives (like your mother or your sister) have breast cancer, then you face a greater risk of contracting the disease. However, given that you know you are in a high-risk category, it is possible for you to take extra precautions. You should be more vigilant about factors that are in your control - such as your childbearing age and your diet. You should also be more watchful about lumps in your breasts - both through regular self-examinations as well as through routine mammograms.Is breast cancer age-related?Yes. The average age of women contracting this disease is 54. Women are also generally in the post-menopausal stage. It is very rare for breast cancer to affect women before the age of 35. Over 85% of tumours (benign or malignant) tend to develop in women above the age of 40. On the other hand, 30% of all breast cancers occur in women under the age of 50.Am I unlikely to get breast cancer since nobody in my family has it?This is not true. It has been seen that close to 80% of the women who have breast cancer have no family history of this disease.What kind of radiations can increase the risk of breast cancer?Exposure of chest or face to the radiations while undergoing treatment for cancer other than breast cancer, for example; diseases like Hodgkin disease or non-Hodgkin lymphoma can increase the risk of breast cancer. Women who are exposed to radiations on face at younger age to treat problems like acne are also at higher risk of developing breast cancer. Fortunately, such treatments for treating acne are no more in practice. There are also some suppositions about the link between treatment of thyroid in women with the help of radioactive iodine and breast cancer. However, there are no confirmed results supporting this theory.Do certain breast conditions increase the risk? Yes, if women are diagnosed with certain kind of breast conditions which are not actually characterised as cancer may have risk of developing breast cancer. These kinds of breast conditions include disorders like complex fibroadenoma, radial scar, sclerosing adenosis, ductal hyperplasia (without atypia) or papilloma or papillomatosis. Women who are diagnosed with such breast conditions are at higher risk of developing breast cancer.Are women of a particular race or ethnicity at risk?Race or ethnicity may have a role to play. It is marked that white women are at more risk of developing breast cancer as compared to Asian, Hispanic or African-American women. However, a more serious type of breast cancer ie; triple negative breast cancer is more common in African-American women. Lack of access to the proper medical facilities, faulty lifestyle and poor access to mammography are some of the causes of development of such severe type of breast cancer in women belonging some race or ethnicity.What are some other risk factors?Some of the factors that increase the risk of breast cancer in women are obesity, especially in women who are over 50 years of age, not carrying a full term pregnancy or opting to have first child after 30 years of age, premature onset of menstrual periods (early first menstrual period) or late menopause i.e; after completing 55 years of age. Faulty habits like smoking, taking alcoholic drinks and sedentary lifestyle may also increase the risk of breast cancer.Taking right preventive steps can greatly reduce the risk of breast cancer in women. Following a healthy lifestyle, maintaining healthy weight and having healthy food can also contribute to reducing the risk of breast cancer. Regular breast examination is the key to nip the breast cancer in bud. Therefore, women must seek advice from their doctors on how they can undergo regular breast examination in order to prevent breast cancer.