Breast Cancer: 10 Key Facts You Need To Know
Can men get breast cancer?
Yes - men can also get breast cancer. In the United States, About 2,600 are diagnosed annually – a lifetime risk of about 1 in 1,000. While this disease does primarily affect women – it’s important to remember that it also affects men.
What is the leading risk factor for breast cancer?
The answer here is simple: being a woman. While breast cancer occurs in men – the disease is 100 times more common in women than in men. Or put another way – a woman has 200 times the risk of developing the disease as compared to a man.
What are the chances of a woman being diagnosed with breast cancer over her lifetime?
According to the National Cancer Institute – a woman born today will have a one in eight chance of being diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime. So what does this statistic mean? Perhaps something different than you think – as this refers to the risk for a woman over her entire lifetime, including the possibility that she might die from another cause before she would have been diagnosed with breast cancer.
Do most women who get breast cancer have a family history of the disease?
This one is surprising – most women who get breast cancer – about 75 to 85 percent – occur in women who have no family history of breast cancer. So, while it’s true that women with a family history of breast cancer have an increased risk of developing the disease, most of these women will never get breast cancer.
What percentage of breast cancers are linked to inherited gene mutations?
Thought widely discussed in the media, in part due to celebrities like Angelina Jolie, only about 5 to 10 percent of breast cancers can be traced to specific, inherited gene mutations like BRCA1 and BRCA2. And only less than 1 percent of the general population has a BRCA mutation.
What is the impact of breastfeeding on breast cancer?
Studies have shown that breastfeeding for a year of more slightly reduces overall risk of getting breast cancer – about 4 – 5% for every 12 months of breastfeeding. So why is this the case? One possible explanation: typically, breastfeeding women have fewer menstrual cycles (added to the 9 periods missed during pregnancy) resulting in lower estrogen levels. Meanwhile, other researchers suggest that the around-the-clock production of breast milk limits breast cells’ ability to act abnormally, and as well, that reduced risk can be credited to structural changes in the breast after lactation and weaning.
Are overweight women at higher or lower risk of developing breast cancer?
Being overweight increases risk for many diseases – including breast cancer. In fact - the risk of overweight women developing breast cancer after menopause is 1.5 times higher than in lean women. And obese women are at twice the risk of lean women.
Are cigarettes a risk factor for breast cancer?
Simply put – yes. Cigarettes are a risk factor for many diseases – breast cancer included. And younger women that smoke have a considerably higher risk of breast cnacer than their non-smoking peers. Want to cut your risk? If you smoke – quit. Talk to your doctor if you need help doing so.
Do women who have had breast cancer have a higher risk of getting breast cancer again?
Sadly – yes. Women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer before turning 40 have nearly 4.5 times increased risk of developing another breast cancer in the future.
How many women that undergo mastectomy choose to have reconstructive surgery?
Many of us are under the impression that most women who undergo mastectomy choose to have reconstructive surgery. But in reality – only 42 percent of women, who have a mastectomy choose to move forward with reconstructive surgery, according to a recent study published by JAMA Surgery
