Breast Cancer
What Does 'Increased Risk' Mean to Me?
Understandably, women can become very anxious when they are told that they have an increased risk of developing breast cancer. It should be remembered that the normal risk of breast cancer for a woman aged 30-50 years is 1 in 1000 per year. If your risk were to double it would be 1 in 500 per year; in other words, one woman in every 500 would develop breast cancer within 1 year.
| Risk factor | Increase in risk of breast cancer |
|---|---|
| Age | × 10 (in the very elderly) |
| Family history | × 2–9 |
| Country | × 5 (in Western countries) |
| Cancer in the other breast | × 5 |
| Early menses (before 11 years) | × 3 |
| Late pregnancy (1st child after 40 years) | × 3 |
| Late menopause (after 53 years) | × 2 |
| Obesity after the menopause | × 2 |
| Contraceptive pill (4+ years when young) | × 2 |
| Social Class I & II | × 2 |
| Radiation | × 1.5–3.0 |
| Previous benign breast biopsy | × 1.5 |
| HRT (10+ years) | × 1.5 |
| High alcohol intake | × 1.1–2.0 |
- The Normal Breast
- What is Breast Cancer?
- What are the different Types of Breast Cancer?
- Am I at Risk of Getting Breast Cancer?
- What Does 'Increased Risk' Mean to Me?
- How Can I Reduce the Risk?
- Breast Screening
- Breast Lumps
- What Happens at the Breast Clinic?
- Emotional Reaction to a Diagnosis of Breast Cancer
- What are the Treatment Options for Breast Cancer?
- Radiotherapy - What is it and How it is Used
- Chemotherapy - What is it and How it is Used
- Hormone Therapy - What is it and How it is Used
- Reconstruction
- Treatment of Non-invasive Breast Cancer
- The Follow-up Clinic