The Facts:

1. Each year, more than 182,000 American women learn they have breast cancer and more than 40,000 women die.
2. Each year, more than 11,000 women under the age of 40 are diagnosed with breast cancer.
3. The use of early detection methods to catch cancer in the early stages greatly increases a woman's chance of long-term survival.

The Risks

1. A woman's risk for breast cancer increases with age.
2. A family history of breast cancer increases a woman's risk.
   1. Approximately 5 to 10 percent of breast cancer patients have a hereditary form of the disease.
   2. A woman's risk of cancer significantly increases if they inherit an alternation in the genes called BRCA1 and BRCA2 (short for breast cancer 1 and breast cancer 2)
3. Menstrual periods that started early in life (before age 12) or ended late in life (after age 51)
4. Use of post-menopausal hormonal therapies
5. Never having children or having a first child after the age of 30
6. Consuming one or more alcoholic drinks daily
7. Smoking
8. Having a sedentary lifestyle (little exercise)
9. Caucasian (non-Hispanic), Native Hawaiian, and African-American women are more likely to develop breast cancer than women of other ethnicities

Prevention

1. Get screened for breast cancer regularly
1. A women in the general population aged 40 or older should have an annual mammogram, or X-ray of the breast, and perform monthly breast self-examinations. If you have a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation, mammography should start at an earlier age.
2. Women aged 20 to 39 should have a clinical breast exam by a health professional every three years and perform monthly breast self-examinations. If you have a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation, clinical and self breast exam should occur more frequently.
3. MRI is one of the breast screening tests recommended by the American Cancer Society for women at increased risk for breast cancer. MRI is not recommended as a screening tool for women at average risk for breast cancer.
2. Know your family history
1. If you have a mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, or daughter who has had breast cancer, ask your doctor what about your risk of getting breast cancer and how you can lower your risk. Also, if there is a family history of breast cancer on your father's side of the family, be sure to tell your doctor. Hereditary risk for cancer can be inherited from either side of the family.
2. Talk to your doctor about genetic testing. Most health insurance companies will pay for genetic testing if a person meets particular criteria indicating that hereditary cancer might run in the family.
3. Control your weight and exercise.
1. Make healthy choices in the foods you eat and the kinds of drinks you have each day. Stay active.