Breast Cancer

Causes and Risk Factors

Female hormones, estrogen and progesterone, stimulate the growth of breast cancer. Many of the identified risk factors for breast cancer are related to a person’s exposure to   these hormones.

Risk Factors for Breast Cancer

• Female gender
• Older age
• Family history of breast cancer
• Personal history of breast cancer
• Early onset of menstruation (before age 12) or late menopause (after age 55)
• Chest radiation
• Women without children or first birth after age 30
• Ongoing use of oral contraceptives
• Hormone replacement therapy for menopause
• Sedentary lifestyle
• Alcohol
• Obesity after menopause

Some breast cancers are linked to inherited defects (mutations) in certain genes. BRCA1 and BRCA2 are two genes associated with hereditary breast and ovarian cancer. DNA health testing can help you determine if you are at genetically higher risk of breast cancer due to BRCA1 and BRCA2.
A female’s age at menarche (first period), age at menopause, and reproductive history are important because women with a greater number of menstrual cycles over their lifetime have a higher exposure to estrogen.

Symptoms

The typical symptoms of breast cancer include:

• A breast lump
• Swelling or redness of the breast
• Dimpling of the skin
• Pitting of the skin (like an orange)
• Inversion of the nipple
• Redness, scaliness or thickened of the nipple
• Nipple discharge
• Enlarged lymph nodes under the arm or near the collarbone.