Causes of Breast Cancer

The only risk factors for most women, who develop breast cancer is gender and age. Here are some of the causes of breast cancer.

Genetic Causes

Family history of cancer has been long known as a risk factor for breast cancer. When looking at the family history of breast cancer, it is important to count both the maternal and paternal relatives of a breast cancer patient. The risk of developing breast cancer is the highest if one of his/her family members developed breast cancer at a young age is a close relative or had cancer in both the breasts. About 5-10 percent of breast cancers have been reported to be hereditary.

Hormonal Causes

Hormonal influences play a vital role in the development of breast cancer.

1. Women who experience an early start of menstruation cycles or late menopause are at a slightly higher risk of breast cancer.

2. Conceiving before 30 years of age provides the woman protection against the risk of developing the cancer. Conversely, not conceiving at all increases the chance of a woman developing cancer.

3. The use of contraceptive pills increases the risk of development of breast cancer, though a woman can reduce the risk of developing the cancer by slowly reducing the usage to an almost negligible level. Women who have not used contraceptive pills will be safer than those who have used them.

4. Woman willing to undergo hormone therapy for menopausal symptoms must check with their health care provider about the possible risks of developing breast cancer.

Some Facts

* Gender is one of the biggest risks of breast cancer because it mostly affects women.

* Age is a critical factor that decides whether someone should have breast cancer or not. Although, breast cancer may occur to any gender at any age, the risk of its development increases with increase in age. An average woman in her 30s will have one chance in 280 of the total developing breast cancers in the following ten years. It is this chance that increases to one in 70 when women ages 40 years are taken to account. A woman aged 60 year old will have one in 30 chance of developing breast cancer in the following 10 years.

* White woman are more likely to develop breast cancer than African-American women in the United States.

* A personal history of cancer may increase the chance of a woman to develop breast cancer over time.