Breast cancer risk factors are those variables that can increase the probability of suffering from the disease but are not determinants. These are some of them:
Risk factors for breast cancer
- Being a woman
Although there are cases of breast cancer in men, the majority of people who suffer from it are female.
- Aging
With the passage of time, the cancer risk of any tissue increases.
- Genetic factor
Only 5% of breast cancers are hereditary.
- Having had previous breast cancer
Women who have had the disease in one breast have a higher chance of developing cancer in the other breast.
- Race and origin
The chances of developing breast cancer are higher in white women than in African, Latina and Asian women.
- Radiation
Women who receive radiation therapy to the chest have an increased risk of breast cancer, although this varies depending on the age of the patient at the time of treatment and the exposure.
There is no such thing as breast cancer prevention. But leading a healthy lifestyle can significantly reduce the weight of risk factors. We are talking about following a healthy diet, exercising, controlling weight, not smoking, etc.
What does exist are the means to make an early diagnosis, guaranteeing very high cure rates. And for this there is no more effective method than mammography.
Mammograms are unpleasant and painful for all of us, but having them regularly can save our lives.
At Gynecology Doctoras Pérez we recommend trying to have a mammogram during the first phase of your cycle - with your period or immediately after - so that it is much less painful.
