October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month! Learn the stats and risk factors of breast cancer when you read this article.
Stats and Risk Factors of Breast Cancer: Cited from National Breast Cancer Foundation
- When breast cancer is detected early, and is in the localized stage, the 5-year relative survival rate is 100%.
- 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime.
- Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women.
- Each year it is estimated that over 220,000 women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer and more than 40,000 will die.
- Although breast cancer in men is rare, an estimated 2,150 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer and approximately 410 will die each year.
- According to the World Health Organization, breast cancer is the most common cancer among women worldwide, claiming the lives of hundreds of thousands of women each year and affecting countries at all levels of modernization.
- Less than 1% of all breast cancer develops in males.
- Male breast cancer can exhibit the same symptoms as breast cancer in women, including a lump. Anyone who notices anything unusual about their breasts, whether male or female, should contact their physician immediately.
- A female child of a man with breast cancer who inherits the defective gene has a risk between 40% and 80% of eventually developing breast cancer.
- Things that DO NOT CAUSE breast cancer: Caffeine, deodorant, microwaves, cell phones, contact with someone who has cancer
- Some risk factors (such as drinking alcohol) can be avoided. But most risk factors (such as having a family history of breast cancer) can’t be avoided. Having a risk factor does not mean that a woman will get breast cancer. Many women who have risk factors never develop breast cancer.
Stats and Risk Factors of Breast Cancer: Genetic Factors
- Gender: Breast cancer occurs nearly 100 times more often in women than in men.
- Age: Two out of three women with invasive cancer are diagnosed after age 55.
- Race: Breast cancer is diagnosed more often in caucasian women than women of other races.
- Family History and Genetic Factors: If your mother, sister, father or child has been diagnosed with breast or ovarian cancer, you have a higher risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer in the future. Your risk increases if your relative was diagnosed before the age of 50.
- Personal Health History: If you have been diagnosed with breast cancer in one breast, you have an increased risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer in the other breast in the future. Also, your risk increases if abnormal breast cells have been detected before (such as atypical hyperplasia, lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS) or ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS)).
- Menstrual and Reproductive History: Early menstruation (before age 12), late menopause (after 55), having your first child at an older age, or never having given birth can also increase your risk for breast cancer.
Stats and Risk Factors of Breast Cancer: Environmental and Lifestyle Risk Factors
- Lack of Physical Activity: A sedentary lifestyle with little physical activity can increase your risk for breast cancer.
- Poor Diet: A diet high in saturated fat and lacking fruits and vegetables can increase your risk for breast cancer.
- Being Overweight or Obese: Being overweight or obese can increase your risk for breast cancer. Your risk is increased if you have already gone through menopause.
- Drinking Alcohol: Frequent consumption of alcohol can increase your risk for breast cancer. The more alcohol you consume, the greater the risk.
- Radiation to the Chest: Having radiation therapy to the chest before the age of 30 can increase your risk for breast cancer.
- Combined Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT): Taking combined hormone replacement therapy, as prescribed for menopause, can increase your risk for breast cancer and increases the risk that the cancer will be detected at a more advanced stage.
Stats and Factors of Breast Cancer: We do know that cancer spreads in three important ways:
- Damaged cells replicate, creating more damaged cells and tumor growth.
- Our body’s hormones and chemicals can accelerate the growth of some tumors.
- Lymph and blood vessels can carry the cancer to others areas of the body. Lymph node examination can help pinpoint the progression of the disease.
By National Breast Cancer Foundation: The best way to fight breast cancer is to have a plan that helps you detect the disease in its early stages. The National Breast Cancer Foundation’s Early Detection Plan (EDP) enables you to be proactive about your health. You will learn how to perform routine breast self-exams and to schedule clinical breast exams and mammograms. Learn more about clinical breast exams, mammograms, risk factors, and how to perform a breast self-exam.
