Who Gets Breast Cancer?

30 Nov, 2021

Dr. Rajesh Bollam

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The risk for developing breast cancer increases with age. 

  • The average age of a woman diagnosed with breast cancer is 62.
  • The average age of a woman who dies from breast cancer is 68.
  • Breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in women between age 55 and 64.
  • About 10 percent of breast cancers occur in women younger than 45.

Women with a family history of breast cancer may be at a higher risk for developing the disease. 

For example:

  • Women whose mother, sister or daughter has or had breast cancer may have double the risk.
  • Women with a brother, father or son who has or had breast cancer also have a higher risk, as do women with a first-degree relative or multiple relatives who have or had ovarian cancer.
  • Women who have inherited mutations in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene are at higher risk.
  • Jewish women of Ashkenazi descent are more likely to have the inherited mutations in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes.

Other factors that may increase a woman’s risk for developing breast cancer include:

  • Obesity
  • Breast density
  • Menstrual history
  • A sedentary lifestyle
  • Heavy drinking
  • Previous medical treatments

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