Is anyone in your family suffering from breast cancer? Are you worried that you might suffer the disease yourself? Do you know the factors that put you at greater risk of developing breast cancer?

Early detection and treatment are the best ways to combat breast cancer. Here are several factors that put a person at greater risk. These factors are divided into two groups; those which you cannot control and those which you can control. You should be diligent about self-examination and mammography if you have several of the factors found in the first group and your doctor can help you take some preventive medications. On the other hand, if you have several factors that are found in the second group, you can take specific steps to eliminate the risk.

The breast cancer risk factors that you cannot control include:

1. Advancing age. The risk of developing cancer increases with age. According to studies, your breast cancer risk is 1 in 19,608 if you are at the age of 25. However, by age 40 it becomes 1 in 217. Once you reach the age of 65, your risk of developing cancer increases dramatically and it can be 1 in 17.
2. Family history. You have a higher risk of suffering breast cancer if you have one or more family members who have developed breast or ovarian cancer themselves. The more members of your immediate family suffering from breast cancer, the greater your risk of developing the disease. If this is the situation, be keen on doing monthly self examination.

3. Women who had their first menstruation before the age of 13 are at higher risk. Equally exposed to higher risk of breast cancer are women who reached menopause after the age of 51.

4. Reproductive history. A Woman who gave birth to her first child after the age of 30 has a higher risk of developing breast cancer. Women who have few or no children at all are also at greater risk of contracting the disease.

The breast cancer risk factors that you can control include:

1. Hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Your risk of developing breast cancer is slightly raised with HRT although cessation of the treatment will restore your level of risk prior to treatment.

2. Person's weight. Overweight individuals have higher risks of breast cancer than normal weight individuals. The risk usually increases especially for women after menopause. Restoring back to a normal weight by eating healthy foods and engaging in worthwhile healthy activities and exercise routine will usually lower the risk.

3. Alcohol consumption. Higher alcohol consumption increases a person's risk of developing breast cancer. Studies show that a person who drinks alcoholic beverages three or more times a day doubles her risk of breast cancer. By limiting alcohol consumption, a person will also lower her risk of developing breast cancer.

Breast cancer is a spiteful disease. It is therefore beneficial to know your level of risk so that you will be able to make the necessary steps to lower it. In cases where the risk cannot be controlled, proper preventive measures should be done with the help of your doctor to live a healthier and breast cancer free life.

Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers affecting women. In the US, about 180,000 women develop it each year. The disease can also occur in men, although cancer of the male breast accounts for less than 1 in 100 cases. The risk of it increases with age, doubling every 10 years.

The disease is most commonly diagnosed in women over age 50. Very few women under age 30 develop it. Despite the rise in incidence, there has been a small drop in the number of deaths in the recent years and only about one-fifth of cases prove fatal. This reduction is due to improvements in treatment and the increased use of mammography for screening, which means that tumors can be detected early, when they often respond well to treatment.

Screening may reduce the number of deaths in women over age 50 by up to 4 in 10. In the US, many doctors recommend that women over age 40 have a mammogram every 1-2 years and every year over age 50. A cancerous tumor may first develop in the breast lobules (the structures in the breast that produce milk). A tumor that originates in the milk ducts may lead to Paget's disease of the breast. Tumors may spread to other organs, such as the lungs or the liver, before being detected.

It is a cancer that originates in the breast tissue of women and men. It can spread to the lymph nodes under the arm before diagnosis. With advanced disease, metastasis can be seen in many body organs, including bone, brain, lung, liver and skin.

Causes:

The underlying cause of most is unclear. However, some risk factors have been identified, many of which suggest that the female hormone estrogen is an important factor in the development and progress of the disease. It is known that women who have their first menstrual period before age 11, or who have a late menopause, seem to be at increased risk of developing this cancer, probably because they are exposed to high levels of estrogen for longer. The number of menstrual cycles before a first pregnancy is also significant. And a woman who has her first child before age 20 has chances. Breast feeding is thought to have an additional protective effect.

Risk factors for developing it include

. Early onset of menses or late menopause
. First pregnancy after age 30
. Family history of the disease
. Radiation exposure

Possible risk factors include

. High fat diet
. Excessive alcohol intake
. Estrogen replacement therapy
. Oral contraceptive use

Symptoms:

It is usually manifest as a painless lump anywhere in the breast or under the arm. Occasionally, its symptoms can be more subtle, such as:

. An inverted nipple
. Bloody discharge from the nipple
. Changes in the skin overlying the breast making it resemble the skin of an orange.

Diagnosis:

Any Breast pain or lumps felt on physical examination by a woman or her physician and any lumps found on mammography (Radiography) should be considered for biopsy. Lumps seen on mammography, but not palpable on examination can be located by ultrasound or mammogram for biopsy. If a diagnosis of it is established, staging tests include:

. Liver function tests
. Alkaline phosphates test to check for bone disease
. Chest X-ray (Radiography)
. Bone Scan (Nuclear Medicine)

Complications:

Complications of it are related to areas of metastasis:

. Metastasis to bone can cause pain, bone fractures or elevated calcium levels in the blood.
. Metastasis to the brain or spinal cord can cause seizures, headaches, weakness, numbness or confusion.
. Metastasis to the lungs can cause breathing difficulty, chest pain or swelling of the face and neck.

Treatment: Self Treatment:

. A well balanced diet should be maintained. Once a diagnosis of it is made all estrogen medication should be stopped, including birth control pills.

Medical Treatment:

Many women will require additional drug therapy after surgery to prevent it from returning. Either tamoxifen (a hormonal pill) or chemotherapy (intravenous medication) may be recommended, depending on the type of tumor. More advanced case is also treated with chemotherapy or hormonal therapy.

Surgical Treatment:

Two alternative initial treatments for it are:

. Lumpectomy with lymph node dissection followed by radiation therapy to the breast.
. Mastectomy (mastectomy, partial or mastectomy, modified radical)

Prevention:

Early detection of it by regular beast self-examination and regular mammography (Radiography) screening is important. A low - fat diet and moderate alcohol intake may be important. Some researchers theorize that exercise for preadolescent girls may be helpful as it delays the age of onset of menstruation.

What is breast cancer?

Breast cancer is caused by the abnormal or uncontrollable growth of breast cells. It has the potential to also spread to other parts of the body. While cancer is almost always caused by an abnormal gene the chances of inheriting it from your mother or father is only 5 to 10 percent. The genetic abnormalities that occur as a result of the ageing process and other factors however cause 90 percent of the breast cancers.

. Who is affected by breast cancer?

Women are the most affected by the commonest cancer that is breast cancer. 216,000 new cases of invasive cancer and 59,000 new cases of non-invasive breast cancer were diagnosed in the USA in 2004.

Every woman at some point in her life is at risk from breast cancer. Each woman will have different risk factors.

. The period in your life when you gain weight also affects the risk of breast cancer.

After menopause, a woman who is overweight is at greater risk from breast cancer when compared to a woman of average weight. Being overweight also increases the risk of the disease coming back in women who have had it earlier.

Studies also show that the risk factor is greater for women who gain a significant amount of weight as an adult when compared with women who maintained more or less the same weight. Studies also show that gaining weight after menopause also increases the risk of breast cancer. Therefore maintaining a healthy weight as you advance in age will help minimize your risk of breast cancer.

. Having ovarian cysts means your chances of getting breast cancer are low.

Benign ovarian cysts, generally a result of hormonal imbalance, cause several problems such as irregular menstrual cycles and infertility and were originally thought to be linked with a higher risk of breast cancer. Research has shown however that the opposite is true, that is, women with ovarian cysts are less likely to get breast cancer. The reason for this association is still not clear.

. Taking the contraceptive pill may increase your risk of getting breast cancer.

According to research, it is shown that taking the contraceptive pill slightly increases your risk of getting breast cancer. For women who are most at risk from developing breast cancer, that is, women who have given birth and who have used the pill for a period of 4 years before they became pregnant for the first time, the absolute risk is minimal.

There are certain benefits too from taking contraceptive pills. They are that it improves bone mineral density, it decreases the chances of an individual getting endometrial and ovarian cancer and it relieves menstrual disorders, ovarian cysts and pelvic inflammatory disease.

Every woman runs the risk of getting breast cancer and as she gets older, the chances are greater. The chances of a woman getting breast cancer is 14 percent or one in every eight women, when you consider a lifetime of a woman, assuming she lives up to the age of about 90 years. If you consider that in your lifetime of 90 years, the chances are 14 percent that you will get the disease. The good news is that 86 percent you will not get the disease.

How does genetics affect your chances of getting breast cancer?

Most of the inherited cases of breast cancer have been linked with the two genes Breast Cancer gene 1 (BRCA1) and Breast Cancer gene 2 (BRCA2). These two genes play a role in keeping the breast cells growing normally and preventing any cancerous cell growth. However, abnormal BRCA 1 and BRCA2 gene increase an individual's risk from breast cancer. These genes usually account for almost up to 10 percent of all breast cancers.

Whilst a majority of women who get breast cancer have no family history of the disease, the women who are diagnosed with the disease and also have an abnormal BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene often are women with a family history of the disease.

These abnormal BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes can either be acquired or inherited. Acquired is non hereditary and the gene becomes abnormal as a result of an error in how the gene reproduces, wear and tear, exposure to toxic material, hormonal influence, diet, environmental factors or sometimes even unknown factors. Inherited from parent, that is one normal gene from one parent and one abnormal gene from the other parent. They are born with this abnormal gene. 85 percent to 90 percent of breast cancers are as a result of acquired genetic abnormalities.

The chances that an individual will have an abnormal breast cancer gene are:

. If a single individual in the family suffers from both ovarian and breast cancer.

. If on either the individual's mother's or father's side sisters, aunts, mother or grandmothers have had breast cancer diagnosed before the age of 50.

. A male in the individual's family has had breast cancer.

. The women in the individual's family have had cancer in both their breasts.

. If the individual is from Eastern Europe.

If an individual's mother or father has an abnormal breast cancer gene, the chances of the gene passing onto that individual is 50 percent. The chances of the individual passing it onto their children is 25 percent, provided the father does not have an abnormal gene. It does not necessarily mean that all family members will have an abnormal gene if one family member has it.

Men and breast cancer

Men are at an increased risk from breast cancer if they inherit the abnormal breast cancer genes. Over a man's lifetime, the risk is about 6 percent, which is about 80 times more than for a man with no abnormal breast cancer genes.

Research has also shown that men who have an abnormal breast cancer gene are more likely to get prostate cancer than men who do not have it. This abnormal gene also has the same increased effect on cancer of the digestive tract or on cancer of the skin.