Factors that may increase your risk of Breast Cancer

The causes of Breast cancer are not fully known. However, researchers have identified a number of factors that increase one’s chances of getting breast cancer.

These are called risk factors. Risk factors are not necessarily causes of breast cancer, but are associated with an increased chance of getting breast cancer. Some women have many risk factors but never get breast cancer.

Some women have few or no risk factors but do get the disease. Being a woman is the number one risk factor for breast cancer.

Talk to your health care provider about your personal risk. There are some risk factors you can control, and others you cannot.

Remember, even if you do not have any of these risk factors, you can still develop breast cancer.

• being a woman
• having an inherited mutation in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 breast cancer genes
• having a previous biopsy showing hyperplasia or carcinoma in situ
• a family history of breast cancer
• having high breast density on a mammogram
• being exposed to large amounts of radiation, such as having very frequent spine X-rays for scoliosis or treatment for Hodgkin’s disease at a young age
• a personal history of breast or ovarian cancer
• starting menopause after age 55
• getting older — the older you get, the greater your risk of breast cancer
• never having children
• having your first child after age 35
• high bone density
• being overweight after menopause or gaining weight as an adult
• having more than one drink of alcohol per day
• currently or recently using combined estrogen and progesterone hormone replacement therapy (HRT)
• being younger than 12 at the time of your first period
• current or recent use of birth control pills