Risk Factors of Breast Cancer you Cannot Control

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in women today after lung cancer and is the most common cancer among women. Studies have shown that certain factors, called risk factors, increase the likelihood that a woman will develop breast cancer. Many of these risk factors are not reversible and cannot be under an individual’s control.

The factors that have been identified to increase the person’s chances of acquiring this particular disease which he cannot control are

Sex of the person
Cancer usually forms in tissues of the breast, usually the ducts (tubes that carry milk to the nipple) and lobules (glands that make milk). Being a woman itself increases your chances of getting breast cancer.

Age of an individual
Even the age group of the person implies on increasing the risk further. The older a woman gets, the higher her risk of breast cancer is. By the age of 30, the risk is 1 in 299, that jumps to 1 in 68 by the age of 40, and 1 in 37 by the age of 50. By the time you are in your 60s the rate has increased to be 1 out of 26.

Lack of childbearing and breastfeeding
Clinical studies have established inconsiderable detail how the risk of breast cancer increases when childbearing is delayed or reduced. Women who for some genetic or biological reasons have not been able to bear child are therefore at a higher risk of breast cancer. Women who have by no means had a full-term pregnancy, or had their first pregnancy after age 30, have an increased risk of breast cancer. For women having children, breastfeeding may slightly lower their breast cancer risk, especially if they continue breastfeeding for 1 1/2 to 2 years.

Higher hormone levels
Since estrogen (a female hormone) invigorate breast cell growth, revelation to estrogen over a longer periods of time, can enhance the probability of breast cancer occurrence. Some of these risk factors are not under your control, such as:
•    Menstruation starting  at a age before 12
•    Going through menopause at a late age

Personal history of breast cancer
A woman who had a previous history of an emergent breast cancer in one breast has an increased risk of getting cancer in her other breast.

Family history
A woman’s possibility of having breast cancer is higher if her mother, sister, or daughter had breast cancer. The risk is increased if her family member got breast cancer before age 40. Having other relatives with breast cancer or ovarian cancer may further increase the risk.

Certain breast changes
Unusual changes in breast cells found during biopsy of a breast tissue can be a risk factor for developing breast cancer. Having certain types of abnormal cells like hyperplasia increases the risk of breast cancer.

Exposure to diethylstilbestrol
Women who procured diethylstilbestrol (DES) as medication to prevent miscarriage have a slightly increased risk of breast cancer. Women whose mothers took DES at some stage in pregnancy may have a higher risk of breast cancer as well.