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Understanding Your Breast Cancer Risk – And What To Do About It
Take your health into your own hands. Read more about ways to be proactive about your breast cancer risk.
High-Risk Breast Cancer
Understanding how to manage genetic and lifestyle factors that may increase your risk for breast cancer.
Breast cancer doesn’t discriminate. Gender, age, health -- it can strike anyone. However, certain people are at higher risk of developing breast cancer than others.
Understanding your personal and family history can help you take steps to lower your risk or get more screenings for the disease.
Am I at high risk for breast cancer?
Aging, being female, or having had breast cancer in the past puts you at higher risk for breast cancer. Other factors include:
- Family history: Some families carry genetic mutations that can be passed from parent to child. BRCA1 and BRCA2 are the most common genetic mutations associated with breast cancer. And even these account for less than 10% of breast cancer cases. Just because you carry these genes doesn’t mean you will develop breast cancer. BRCA mutations are more common in Ashkenazi Jewish families and women diagnosed with particular breast cancers such as triple-negative breast cancer.
- Radiation exposure: If you receive therapeutic doses of radiation to the chest, your risk for breast cancer will increase, especially if you have these during adolescence or early adulthood. Mantle radiation for Hodgkin’s lymphoma is an example.
- Postmenopausal obesity: Estrogen can cause some breast tumors to develop and grow. After menopause, the main source of estrogen comes from fat tissue. This increases breast cancer risk in obese women.
- Dense breasts : Dense breast tissue appears especially thick on a mammogram, so it’s harder to get a good picture. Not only that, but those who have dense breasts are four to five times more likely to get breast cancer.
- Menstrual history: Starting your period before age 12 and going into menopause after age 55.
- Reproductive history: Never giving birth or having a child after age 35.
- Alcohol consumption: Regularly drinking alcohol in excess.
What can I do if I’m at high risk for breast cancer?
Talk with your physician. You may be able to manage your risk by adhering to recommendations such as:
Increased screening and testing
- Early and more frequent screening: If your family has a history of early-onset breast cancer, you should begin annual mammograms five to 10 years before the youngest age of breast cancer diagnosed in your family.
- Supplemental imaging: In addition to a mammogram, we may recommend a breast MRI or breast ultrasound.
- Genetic testing: If you’re diagnosed with early-onset breast cancer or your family history points to a potential genetic mutation, we may recommend genetic testing to help you make proactive decisions about your health.
Healthy lifestyle changes
- Maintaining a healthy weight: Excess fat promotes estrogen production, and having more estrogen can increase your risk for breast cancer.
- Limiting alcohol consumption: Abstaining from alcohol is your best bet, as recent research has shown even less than one glass per day can increase your risk of breast cancer.
- Exercising regularly: The American Cancer Society recommends adults get at least 150 minutes of exercise per week.
- Eating a well-balanced diet: Red and processed meats have especially been linked to a higher incidence of cancer. Eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, healthy fats and lean protein while limiting processed foods.
Medical interventions
- Chemoprevention: Anti-hormonal therapy medicines can lower your breast cancer risk by 40-50%, depending on the medication. Anti-hormonal therapy with tamoxifen or raloxifene can be given for breast cancer prevention in high-risk, premenopausal and postmenopausal women. Here’s how they work: Breast cancer cells use estrogen to fuel their growth. These drugs block the estrogen receptor in breast cells to prevent cancer development and growth. Another type of anti-hormone agent that can only be used in post-menopausal women (for example, anastrozole and exemestane) blocks estrogen production in the body and consequently prevents cancer growth. These preventative drugs are not without side effects and you should weigh the risk/benefit ratio before deciding on chemoprevention.
- Preventive (or prophylactic) mastectomy: Removing both breasts can reduce the risk of breast cancer by up to 95%, but the surgery is serious, complex and irreversible.
- Preventive (or prophylactic) oophorectomy: Removing the ovaries pre-menopause can reduce breast cancer risk by 50%. This option has become more common among women with BRCA mutations.
Learn more about our high-risk breast cancer clinics to help prevent breast cancer – and detect it early, when it is most treatable.