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Breast Cancer Prevention

The risk of breast cancer increases gradually as a woman gets older. This disease is uncommon in women under the age of 35. All women age 40 and older are at risk for breast cancer. However, most breast cancers occur in women over the age of 50, and the risk is especially high for women over age 60.

Who Is at Risk for Breast Cancer?
Simply being a woman and getting older puts you at some risk for breast cancer. Your risk for breast cancer continues to increase over your lifetime. Several known factors can further increase your risk for breast cancer. Most women who get breast cancer have no known risk factors such as a family history of the disease.

Talk to your doctor about the known risk factors for breast cancer.

What Should You Do?
Your teens and twenties are the best years to begin adopting healthy habits and breast cancer prevention practices, such as:

• Knowing your family history of breast cancer;
• Visiting your doctor annually for a clinical breast exam;
• Beginning monthly breast self-examinations (BSE);
• Eating balanced meals as part of a healthy diet;
• Exercising and maintaining an active lifestyle;
• Drinking alcohol in moderation;
• Not smoking.

Other Factors to Consider:
Women who have their first child in their early twenties experience a greater decrease in breast cancer risk than women who never have children or who have their first child after the age of 35.

Exercise, especially in young women, helps avoid obesity and may decrease hormone levels and contribute to a decreased breast cancer risk.