Know The Breast Cancer Risk Factors

October is breast cancer awareness month and throughout the month we will be sharing vital information on it.

Today we decided to talk about things that c0uld put you at risk of developing breast cancer. These are not all the risks but some of the most well known.

Being a woman: Although there are cases of men developing breast cancer the risk is much much higher in women.
Age: Invasive breast cancer is found in 2 out of 3 women over the age of 55.
Family history: women who have relatives who have breast cancer are at high risk. The risk is doubled if the relationship is first degree.
Genetics: 5-10% cases of breast cancer cases are as a result of an abnormal gene passed from mother to child
If you’ve had it before then you have a chance of developing it in the other breast.
Being overweight
Pregnancy: Women who haven’t had a full term pregnancy or had a first child before the age of 30 are more likely to develop breast cancer than those who did it before the age of 30.
Breastfeeding history: A woman who breastfeeds for longer than a year develops risk.
Menstrual history: women who started menstruating before the age of 12 and women who experienced menopause after 55 are at risk.
Using hormone therapy treatment
Alcohol consumption
Birth control pills: Studies show that women who use birth control are at risk and when they stop their risk returns to normal over time.
Smoking
Lack of exercise: A moderate or intense level 4 to 7 hours a week of exercise can reduce your risk significantly.
Unhealthy food: No food diet can prevent you from getting breast cancer but there are foods that can boost your immune system. bad food is linked to 30-40% of breast cancer cases.

There are a other risks you can read more about from Breastcancer.org. There you can also find out more about how to lower your risk and a lot more about breast cancer issues.