Breast Cancer: Causes and Risks

By EmpowHER

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Breast cancer used to be seen as an inevitable death sentence. Things have improved for most of the women. Early detection clearly saves lives, but the disease is still claiming more women each year than any other cancer, except lung cancer.

When it comes to breast cancer prevention, there are risk factors you can’t change, and some you can. The biggest risk factor for getting breast cancer is being a woman. Men also get breast cancer, but according to the American Cancer Society (ACS), it is about 100 times more prevalent in women.

Other significant risks include age, race and having a family history of breast cancer. Statistically, women 55 or older are more likely to get breast cancer than younger women, and African-American women are more likely than Caucasians to get breast cancer before menopause.

A woman doubles her risk of developing the disease if her female relatives had it.

https://www.empowher.com/cancer/content/what-causes-breast-cancer