Female Breast Cancer Health Center

One in eight women will develop breast cancer at some point in her lifetime. There are a number of things that can increase a woman’s chances of getting the disease.

But these risk factors don’t determine who does and doesn’t develop the disease. Some women with breast cancer have neither known risk factors nor a family history of breast cancer. Likewise, women who have strong risk factors don’t necessarily experience it.

Here are the major factors that can increase your breast cancer risks:

• Age. Your risks of breast cancer increase with age. The disease is most common in postmenopausal women who are over the age of 50.
• Family history. If your mother, father, sister or daughter has had breast cancer, your risks are greater. Your chances are also affected if other relatives on your father’s as well as your mother’s side of the family have had breast cancer.
• Personal history. If you’ve already had breast cancer, you are more likely to have it in the opposite breast. Having had in situ cancer increases your risk of developing invasive forms of breast cancer.
• Genetic changes. Certain genes that have been altered or changed – particularly BRCA1 or BRCA2 – increase your risks substantially. Genetic testing is available to determine if you have these mutations.
• Radiation exposure. Radiation therapy to the chest or breasts before the age of 30, ups your breast cancer risks.
• Age of your first period. Starting to menstruate before the age of 12 improves your chances.
• Pregnancies. The older a woman is when she has her first child, the greater her chance of breast cancer. Never having had children increases risk of breast cancer.
• Menopause. Going through menopause (when menstruation stops) after the age of 55 enhances breast cancer risks, as does a history of taking hormone therapy to treat menopausal symptoms.
• Race. More white women are diagnosed with breast cancer in the United States than in African American/black, Hispanic/Latina, Asian/Pacific Islander or American Indian/Alaska Native women.
• Breast density. Dense breasts, meaning they have less fatty tissue as seen on a mammogram, are more prone to cancer.
• Weight. Women who are overweight or obese after menopause are more likely to develop breast cancer than women who have a normal weight.
• Alcohol. Studies suggest that the more alcohol a woman drinks, the greater her risk of breast cancer.

Again, having one or more of these risk factors does NOT mean you’ll develop breast cancer. Still, you may want to look at the things you can change, such as weight and alcohol use, to lower your risks.