A risk factor is something that makes you more susceptible to developing a disease compared with the general population. Age, for instance, is a risk factor for breast cancer. The older you get, the greater your risk of developing the disease. Family history is another risk factor. Risk factors do not necessarily mean that you will get cancer, however. Studies show that some women with many risk factors never develop breast cancer. At the same time, some women with no known breast cancer risk factors do.
Knowing the risk factors for breast cancer can help you take steps to lower your risk.
What are the risk factors?
Some risk factors are things you can’t change, such as your age or family medical history. Others are within your control, such as diet and exercise. The major risk factors for breast cancer are:
Gender
Age
Family medical history
Ethnic/racial background
Alcohol use
Weight gain
Sedentary lifestyle
Toxic exposures
Dr. Alison Laidley talks about some of the risk factors for breast cancer. In addition to the risk factors mentioned, certain types of benign breast pathology may increase a woman's risk for breast cancer, such as atypical hyperplasia, lobular carcinoma in situ and papillomatosis. If you have concerns or questions about any of these risk factors, talk to your doctor for more information.
Video Transcript:
The risk factors for the development of breast cancer are many. Let me start with ones that are simple and intuitively obvious. Number one is being female, number two would getting older, which we have and number three is family history of breast cancer.
There are some risk factors that also are a little bit softer risk factors but still contribute and that has to do with our hormonal milieu. Early menarche and a late menopause is associated with an increased risk for developing breast cancer. Late age at first birth is also a risk factor. Breast feeding is kind of a complicated risk factor. It’s there for women who are pre-menopausal, but it falls out for the post-menopausal women. Hormone replacement therapy increases a women’s risk for breast cancer, slightly
Other risk factors that are harder to prove but are in association are some related to a woman’s body fat, so obesity. Heavy alcohol use is associated with a slightly increased risk of breast cancer. And I when I say heavy, what does that mean? Well you don’t have to be an alcoholic to actually consume a fair amount of alcohol. One or two beverages a day ends up being 14 over a week and that does kind of put a woman into the higher alcohol consumption category.
