What are risk factors for breast cancer?

No one knows the exact causes of breast cancer. Doctors often cannot explain why one woman develops breast cancer and another does not. They do know that bumping, bruising, or touching the breast does not cause cancer. And breast cancer is not contagious. You cannot "catch" it from another person.

Research has shown that women with certain risk factors are more likely than others to develop breast cancer. A risk factor is something that may increase the chance of developing a disease.

Studies have found the following risk factors for breast cancer:

• Age: The chance of getting breast cancer goes up as a woman gets older. Most cases of breast cancer occur in women over 60. This disease is not common before menopause.



• Personal history of breast cancer: A woman who had breast cancer in one breast has an increased risk of getting cancer in her other breast.



• Family history: A woman's risk of breast cancer is higher if her mother, sister, or daughter had breast cancer. The risk is higher if her family member got breast cancer before age 40. Having other relatives with breast cancer (in either her mother's or father's family) may also increase a woman's risk.



• Certain breast changes: Some women have cells in the breast that look abnormal under a microscope. Having certain types of abnormal cells (atypical hyperplasia and lobular carcinoma in situ [LCIS]) increases the risk of breast cancer.



• Gene changes: Changes in certain genes increase the risk of breast cancer. These genes include BRCA1, BRCA2, and others. Tests can sometimes show the presence of specific gene changes in families with many women who have had breast cancer. Health care providers may suggest ways to try to reduce the risk of breast cancer, or to improve the detection of this disease in women who have these changes in their genes.

How is the breast designed?

The breasts sit on the chest muscles that cover the ribs. Each breast is made of 15 to 20 lobes. Lobes contain many smaller lobules. Lobules contain groups of tiny glands that can produce milk. Milk flows from the lobules through thin tubes called ducts to the nipple. The nipple is in the center of a dark area of skin called the areola. Fat fills the spaces between the lobules and ducts.

The breasts also contain lymph vessels. These vessels lead to small, round organs called lymph nodes. Groups of lymph nodes are near the breast in the axilla (underarm), above the collarbone, in the chest behind the breastbone, and in many other parts of the body. The lymph nodes trap bacteria, cancer cells, or other harmful substances.

Christina Applegate Maimed by Surgeons with Double Mastectomy Following Breast Cancer Diagnosis

(NaturalNews) Following her diagnosis with breast cancer, actress Christina Applegate decided to have both of her breasts surgically removed, believing that physically removing her breasts would save her from cancer. The double mastectomy procedure is an all-too-frequent choice by women who have been scared into limited treatment options by mostly male doctors who think nothing of physically maiming a woman and cutting away organs that are often closely tied to a woman's self identity.

When pushing that high-profit double mastectomy procedure to Christina Applegate, what cancer doctors did not tell her is that breast cancer has many natural cures, and none of them require surgery. In fact, breast cancer is one of the most easily cured forms of cancer, and had Applegate been informed about her options, she might have chosen to avoid being surgically maimed, and she could have lived out her life with her natural-born breasts.

What kind of natural cures are available for breast cancer today? I've written an entire report on this topic that lists them.

Had Christina Applegate read that report (and been wise enough to act on it), she would be far healthier and happier today. She'd be free of cancer and still have her natural breasts. But instead, she has chosen a barbaric treatment route that has now left her without her breasts but still potentially metabolizing cancer!

Breast Cancer Link: Common Herbicide Disrupts Human Hormone

(NaturalNews) A common weedkiller in the U.S., already suspected of causing sexual abnormalities in frogs and fish, has now been found to alter hormonal signaling in human cells, scientists from the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) report.

The herbicide atrazine is the second most widely used weedkiller in the U.S., applied to corn and sorghum fields throughout the Midwest and also spread on suburban lawns and gardens. It was banned in Europe after studies linked the chemical to endocrine disruptions in fish and amphibians.

The UCSF study is the first to identify the pesticide's full effect on human cells. It was reported in the May 7 issue of the journal "PLoS One."

In studies with human placental cells in culture, the UCSF scientists found that atrazine increased the activity of a gene associated with abnormal human birth weight when over-expressed in the placenta. Atrazine also targeted a second gene that has been found to be amplified in the uterus of women with unexplained infertility.

In parallel studies of zebrafish, a widely used animal in development studies, the research team showed that atrazine "feminized" the fish population -- increasing the proportion of fish that developed into females. In water with atrazine concentrations comparable to those found in runoff from agricultural fields, the proportion of female fish increased two-fold. Environmental factors are known to influence the sex of zebrafish and many other fish and amphibians as they develop.

"These fish are very sensitive to endocrine disrupting chemicals, so one might think of them as 'sentinels' to potential developmental dangers in humans," said Holly Ingraham, PhD, senior author on the study and a UCSF Professor of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology. "These atrazine-sensitive genes are central to normal reproduction and are found in steroid producing tissues. You have to wonder about the long-term effects of exposing the rapidly developing fetus to atrazine or other endocrine disruptors."

Ingraham intends to determine precisely how atrazine affects human and other mammalian endocrine cells and why these cells are particularly sensitive to it. She notes that bisphenol A, a compound in many hard plastic consumer products, is also an endocrine disrupter and is now under increased study for its safety. In April, Canada announced a decision to ban the sale of consumer products with bisphenol A.

The lead author of the study is Miyuki Suzawa, a postdoctoral fellow in Ingraham's lab.

UCSF researchers exposed sexually immature zebrafish to atrazine and other chemicals for different periods of time. They found that exposure to atrazine for 48 hours at concentrations that might be found in water containing agricultural runoff, produced twice as many female fish.

Through genetic analysis, they found that atrazine preferentially activates a class of receptors in the cell nucleus, including two known as SF-1 and LRH-1. SF-1 regulates production of enzymes involved in the synthesis of steroids in the body and development of many endocrine tissues. One of these enzymes, known as Aromatase, plays a role in determining whether lower vertebrates, such as fish will become male or female. Aromatase is known as a feminizing enzyme.

In the human placental cell culture studies, the scientists found that a 24-hour exposure to atrazine activates a cluster of genes involved in hormone signaling and steroid synthesis.

They report, "Endocrine-related cell types with a capacity for steroid generation appear to be especially sensitive (to Atrazine), as demonstrated by the "exquisite" cellular specificity of the atrazine response."

The finding that a pervasive and persistent environmental chemical appears to significantly change hormone networks means that scientists must take a broader look at this herbicide's potential effect on human health, Ingraham said. Up to now, much of the focus has been on breast cancer, but since proper development of the endocrine system is important for normal reproduction, stress responses and metabolism, early exposure to this chemical in a fetus or infant might alter normal physiology later in life, she said.

The research was funded by the National Institutes of Health.

HRT Drugs Found to Cause Abnormal Mammograms, Increased Breast Cancer Risk

(NaturalNews) Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) may increase women's risk of developing breast cancer and interfere with cancer diagnostic techniques after as little as one year, according to a new large-scale study conducted by researchers from the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute and published in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine.

Researchers used data from 16,600 postmenopausal women who had participated in the National Institutes of Health's Women's Health Initiative (WHI), comparing those who underwent combined HRT as a treatment for menopause symptoms with those who were given a placebo. The study did not look at women who underwent estrogen-only HRT.

In combined HRT, women are treated with a combination of the hormones estrogen and progesterone.

The combined HRT treatment in the original WHI study was halted early in 2002, when researchers found that women undergoing the treatment had a higher risk of invasive breast cancer, heart disease and stroke. But analysis of those results suggested that it took at least five years for those problems to develop, and that they occurred mostly in older women.

The current study confirmed the WHI's conclusion that combined HRT led to one additional case of breast cancer per 1,000 treatments, but it also found evidence that problems could emerge more quickly than previously believed, and in younger women.

Most significantly, according to lead researcher Rowan Chlebowski, combined HRT increased women's risk of experiencing abnormal mammograms.

After only one year of combined HRT, women had a 4 percent higher chance of an abnormal mammogram than women not receiving HRT. After five years, their risk was 11 percent higher than those in the control group.

In absolute terms, this meant that while only 23 percent of the women in the placebo group had abnormal mammograms, 35 percent of the women in the combined HRT group did. Nearly twice as many women in the combined HRT group as in the placebo group - 10 percent as opposed to 6 percent - had breast biopsies ordered by their doctors. According to Chlebowski, this amounted to one "otherwise avoidable" biopsy for every 25 women taking combined HRT, and one abnormal mammogram for every 10 combined HRT patients.

In contrast to prior studies that found combined HRT relatively harmless for younger women, Chlebowski noted that "the finding may impact women just entering menopause as well."

Up to one year after the discontinuation of combined HRT, "adverse effects on mammogram and breast biopsy performance were seen even in younger women [in their 40s]," he said.

The rate of positive biopsies was slightly lower among women in the combined HRT group than women in the placebo group. This suggests that the early phases of combined HRT interfere with the ability of mammograms and biopsies to properly diagnose breast cancer.

This effect may come from the fact that combined HRT is well-known to thicken women's breast tissue; studies have shown that mammograms have more trouble detecting tumors in more dense breasts. But some researchers warned that the effects of HRT are complex, and that scientists do not necessarily understand them well.

"We have clinical trials that show women's mammograms over time, and anyone can see with a naked eye that the breast tissue has changed. There are so many hormone-sensitive cells in the breast," said Dr. Christina Clarke of the Northern California Cancer Center and the Stanford Comprehensive Cancer Center. "These mammograms are harder to read. It's concerning that mammography doesn't work as well in these women."

Chlebowski urged women who are considering HRT to "take the results of this study into consideration and consult with their physicians before undergoing even short-term hormone therapy."

Susan Kutner, of the Kaiser Permanente Santa Teresa Medical Center in San Jose, Calif., agreed. She encouraged women to consider not just the physical consequences, but also the psychological impacts of having to undergo more biopsies.

Breast Cancer : Your Pathology Report

In this section you'll find the web version of the breastcancer.org booklet: Your Guide to the Breast Cancer Pathology Report.

Wait for the Whole Picture

Waiting is so hard! But just one test can lead to several different reports. Some tests take longer than others. Not all tests are done by the same lab. Most information comes within one to two weeks after surgery, and you will usually have all the results within a few weeks. Your doctor can let you know when the results come in. If you don't hear from your doctor, give her or him a call.

Get All the Information You Need

Be sure that you have all the test information you need before you make a final decision about your treatment. Also, don't focus too much on any one piece of information by itself. Try to look at the whole picture as you think about your options.

Different labs and hospitals may use different words to describe the same thing. If there are words in your pathology report that are not explained in this booklet, don't be afraid to ask your doctor what they mean.

Breast anatomy showing close up of ductal cells

Breast Cancer Stage

The pathology report will help your doctor decide the stage of your breast cancer. It could be:

• stage 0
• stage I (1)
• stage II (2)
• stage IIIA (3A)
• stage IIIB (3B)
• stage IV (4)

Staging is based on the size of the tumor, whether lymph nodes are involved, and whether the cancer has spread beyond the breast. Your doctors use all parts of the pathology report as well as the breast cancer stage to shape your treatment plan.

How to Start

First, check the top of the report for your name, the date you had your operation, and the type of operation you had. Make sure they are right for you.

Parts of Your Report

• Specimen: This section describes where the tissue samples came from. Tissue samples could be taken from the breast, from the lymph nodes under your arm (axilla), or both.
• Clinical history: This is a short description of you and how the breast abnormality was found. It also describes the kind of surgery that was done.
• Clinical diagnosis: This is the diagnosis the doctors were expecting before your breast tissue sample was tested.
• Gross description: This section describes the tissue sample or samples. It talks about the size, weight, and color of each sample.
• Microscopic description: This section describes the way the cancer cells look under the microscope.
• Special tests or markers: This section reports the results of tests for proteins, genes, and how fast the cells are growing.
• Summary or final diagnosis: This section is the short description of all the important findings in each tissue sample.

Breast Cancer:Your Diagnosis

Breast cancers are as varied as the women affected by them. By looking at the many different characteristics of the cancer, you can size up its "personality" almost the way you analyze another person. Is the tumor small and low-key? Angry, aggressive, and fast-moving? Or is it very large but easy-going? Is its behavior wild and unpredictable, or does it play by the rules?

Many tests and analyses will be done over several weeks to figure out your diagnosis. The most critical test results—for your treatment and your long-term health—will tell you and your doctor:

• whether the cancer is non-invasive or invasive
• whether lymph nodes are involved and if so, how many?

In addition, be sure that your medical team looks at these features of the cancer:

• size
• tumor grade
• hormone receptor status
• HER2/neu oncogene overexpression
• margins of resection

You can get this information at any time, and you should always ask for it. The laboratory keeps your tissue samples for a long time after surgery, so these tests can be done later in the process of diagnosis if you insist on it. You may have to wait a few days or weeks for some of these results. The wait can be long and nerve-wracking. But remember: no matter what the doctors find, they can do something to help you. In this section of Breastcancer.org, you'll learn how your many different test results add up to your unique diagnosis—and what that means for your treatment and your future.

The medical expert for Your Diagnosis is Marisa Weiss, M.D., breast radiation oncologist, Thomas Jefferson University Health System.

Dr. Weiss is a member of the Breastcancer.org Professional Advisory Board, including more than 60 medical experts in breast cancer-related fields.

Breast Cancer:Screening and Testing

There's a whole world of testing that goes along with taking care of your breasts. No matter where you are on the line between healthy breasts and breast cancer, tests can be nerve-wracking. But they're an indispensable part of:

• finding breast cancer early, when it's most treatable
• helping your treatment team design the treatment that's right for you
• determining the effectiveness of your continuing care

There are two different stages of testing. Screening tests (such as an annual mammogram) look for signs of disease in women without symptoms; they should be part of every healthy woman's routine. Diagnostic tests (such as magnetic resonance imaging [MRI], blood tests, or bone scans) become part of the picture when breast cancer is suspected or has been diagnosed. Find out more about options for testing.

In this section you'll learn more about mammograms, ultrasound, MRI, PET scans, and more. You'll also see images of what these tests look like.

The medical experts for Screening and Testing are:

• Susan Orel, M.D., professor of radiology, the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Emily Conant, M.D., chief of breast imaging, the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Marisa Weiss, M.D. breast radiation oncologist, Thomas Jefferson University Health System, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

These experts are members of the Breastcancer.org Professional Advisory Board, including more than 70 medical experts in breast cancer-related fields.

Recurrent and Metastatic Breast Cancer

We know you really don't want to be here, reading about breast cancer recurrence or metastasis. If you've had breast cancer, the possibility of recurrence and spread (metastasis) of breast cancer stays with you. You may be here because you fear this possibility. Or you may be here because it's already happened.

Keep in mind that a recurrence of breast cancer or metastatic (advanced) disease is NOT hopeless. Many women continue to live long, productive lives with breast cancer in this stage. It is also likely that your experience with treatment this time will be somewhat different from last time. There are so many options for your care and so many ways to chart your progress as you move through diagnosis, treatment, and beyond.

Because there are so many options, this is a long section. You may want to read just a few pages at a time. You might find it very difficult to concentrate, think straight, and remember what you've read. That's natural when you're anxious, uncertain, overwhelmed. We'll do our best to help you find what you're looking for.

If you're already feeling stuck in the fear and you need to deal with that first, here are a few places to try right away:

• Read about coping with fear of recurrence.
• Visit the discussion boards and chat rooms, where other women who've been there are ready to reach out and help you get through the whole experience.

In this section, we'll give you the support, information, and practical tips you need to deal with breast cancer that has come back or spread. In the following pages, you can learn about:

Inflammatory Breast Cancer

Inflammatory breast cancer is a relatively rare but very serious, aggressive type of breast cancer. According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), 1% to 5% of breast cancer cases in the United States are inflammatory breast cancer.

The symptoms of inflammatory breast cancer can include:

• Redness of the breast. The most distinguishing feature of inflammatory breast cancer is redness involving part of or the whole breast. Sometimes the redness comes and goes.
• Swelling of the breast. Part of or all of the breast may be swollen, enlarged, and hard.
• Warmth. The breast may feel warm.
• Orange-peel appearance. In some people, the breast can swell and start to look like the peel of a navel orange (this is called "peau d'orange").
• Other skin changes. The skin of the breast might look pink or bruised, or you may have what looks like ridges, welts, or hives on your breast.
• Swelling of lymph nodes. The lymph nodes under the arm or above the collarbone may be swollen.
• Flattening or inversion of the nipple. The nipple may go flat or turn inward.

About 50% of women with inflammatory breast cancer have a lump or a mass in their breast, but it may be difficult to feel since the breast is often bigger and harder than normal.

Inflammatory breast cancer is usually categorized as stage IIIB breast cancer because of the possible involvement of the skin, chest wall, or lymph nodes along the breast bone inside the chest wall. If the cancer has spread to other organs, such as the bones, lungs, liver, brain, or to the lymph nodes in the neck, it is categorized as stage IV.

Antiperspirants Do NOT Cause Breast Cancer

Background

The following e-mail about antiperspirants and breast cancer has made the rounds on the Internet, and many of you sent it to us for comment. The e-mail, which claims that "The leading cause of breast cancer is the use of antiperspirants," has alarmed countless women around the world—unnecessarily.

The false claims

What? Yes, ANTIPERSPIRANT. Most of the products out there are an antiperspirant/deodorant combination, so go home and check your labels. Deodorant is fine, antiperspirant is not. Here's why:

The human body has a few areas that it uses to purge toxins: behind the knees, behind the ears, groin area, and armpits. The toxins are purged in the form of perspiration.

Antiperspirant, as the name clearly indicates, prevents you from perspiring, thereby inhibiting the body from purging toxins from below the armpits. These toxins do not just magically disappear. Instead, the body deposits them in the lymph nodes below the arms since it cannot sweat them out. This causes a high concentration of toxins and leads to cell mutations: a.k.a. CANCER. Nearly all breast cancer tumors occur in the upper outside quadrant of the breast area. This is precisely where the lymph nodes are located.

Additionally, men are less likely to develop breast cancer prompted by antiperspirant usage (though they are not completely exempt) because most of the antiperspirant product is caught in their hair and is not directly applied to the skin. Women who apply antiperspirant right after shaving increase the risk further because shaving causes almost imperceptible nicks in the skin that give the chemicals entrance into the body from the armpit area.

New information about antiperspirants and breast cancer

Intriguing as it is to consider whether antiperspirants and breast cancer are linked—after all, the armpit and the breast ARE next-door neighbors, and the start of antiperspirant use DID precede the subsequent rise in breast cancer incidence—there are no studies that prove any connection. While we'd all like to identify THE single cause of breast cancer so that we could all avoid getting the disease, antiperspirants are simply not a cause of breast cancer.

Here are some reasons why the myth about antiperspirants doesn't make sense:

• There are plenty of other areas where you can still sweat: your scalp, your face, the front of your neck and down along the cleavage, down your back, in your groin area, and behind the knees (think about your all-over sweat "sprinkler system" during a hot flash!).
• Why would antiperspirants affect only breast cancer risk? It doesn't increase the risk of skin cancer in the armpit, even though antiperspirant concentration is highest there. If antiperspirant is absorbed through the skin and stored in the armpit lymph nodes, then why isn't there a higher rate of lymph node cancer?
• Even if the antiperspirant were concentrated in the armpit lymph nodes, the lymphatic fluid would not drain away to the breast. The direction of lymphatic fluid flow starts in the breast, and drains out through the armpit lymph nodes, toward the neck, and back into circulation. Additionally, there are one-way valves along the lymphatic drainage channels that keep the fluid moving in one direction (AWAY from the breast, not TO the breast).
• It's not true that "nearly all breast cancers" occur in the upper outer aspect of the breast, the part closest to the armpit. Rather, 40–50% of all breast cancers occur in that region, in part because more breast tissue naturally "lives" in this area, compared to the three other quadrants of the breast: upper inner, lower outer, and lower inner.

Why is this important?

Don't assume that what you read is necessarily true. You have to be a careful reader as you plow through the enormous amount of information out there. Whenever you read something that makes a big scary claim or concerns you, analyze it critically, and ask your trusted healthcare professional for his or her perspective. You can also express your concern to us at Breastcancer.org and we can offer you our opinion.

Myths About Breast Cancer

What is your risk of breast cancer? Which breast cancer treatment is right for you? What about antiperspirants and breast cancer?

What you don't know CAN hurt you. Misinformation can keep you from recognizing and minimizing your own risk of breast cancer or getting the very best possible care. Arm yourself with the facts.

Here are ten common myths about breast cancer, followed by myths about specific types of breast cancer treatment.

1. Breast cancer only affects older women.
   No. While it's true that the risk of breast cancer increases as we grow older, breast cancer can occur at any age. From birth to age 39, one woman in 231 will get breast cancer (<0.5%>Assuming you live to age 90, the risk of getting breast cancer over the course of an entire lifetime is one in 7, with an overall lifetime risk of 14.3%.
2. If you have a risk factor for breast cancer, you're likely to get the disease.
   No. Getting breast cancer is not a certainty, even if you have one of the stronger risk factors, like a breast cancer gene abnormality. Of women with a BRCA1 or BRCA2 inherited genetic abnormality, 40–80% will develop breast cancer over their lifetime; 20–60% won't. All other risk factors are associated with a much lower probability of being diagnosed with breast cancer.
3. If breast cancer doesn't run in your family, you won't get it.
   No. Every woman has some risk of breast cancer. About 80% of women who get breast cancer have no known family history of the disease. Increasing age – just the wear and tear of living – is the biggest single risk factor for breast cancer. For those women who do have a family history of breast cancer, your risk may be elevated a little, a lot, or not at all. If you are concerned, discuss your family history with your physician or a genetic counselor. You may be worrying needlessly.
4. Only your mother's family history of breast cancer can affect your risk.
   No. A history of breast cancer in your mother's OR your father's family will influence your risk equally. That's because half of your genes come from your mother, half from your father. But a man with a breast cancer gene abnormality is less likely to develop breast cancer than a woman with a similar gene. So, if you want to learn more about your father's family history, you have to look mainly at the women on your father's side, not just the men.
5. Using antiperspirants causes breast cancer.
   No. There is no evidence that the active ingredient in antiperspirants, or reducing perspiration from the underarm area, influences breast cancer risk. The supposed link between breast cancer and antiperspirants is based on misinformation about anatomy and a misunderstanding of breast cancer.
   More on antiperspirants and breast cancer
6. Birth control pills cause breast cancer.
   No. Modern day birth control pills contain a low dose of the hormones estrogen and progesterone. Many research studies show no association between birth control pills and an increased risk of breast cancer. However, one study that combined the results of many different studies did show an association between birth control pills and a very small increase in risk. The study also showed that this slight increase in risk decreased over time. So after 10 years, birth control pills were not associated with an increase in risk. Birth control pills also have benefits:
   • decreasing ovarian and endometrial cancer risk
   • relieving menstrual disorders, pelvic inflammatory disease, and ovarian, and cysts
   • improving bone mineral density
   As with any medicine, you have to weigh the risks and benefits and decide what is best for YOU.
7. Eating high-fat foods causes breast cancer.
   No. Several large studies have not been able to demonstrate a clear connection between eating high-fat foods and a higher risk of breast cancer. Ongoing studies are attempting to clarify this issue further. We can say that avoidance of high-fat foods is a healthy choice for other reasons: to lower the "bad" cholesterol (low-density lipoproteins), increase the "good" cholesterol (high-density lipoproteins); to make more room your diet for healthier foods, and to help you control your weight. Excess body weight, IS a risk factor for breast cancer, because the extra fat increases the production of estrogen outside the ovaries and adds to the overall level of estrogen in the body. If you are already overweight, or have a tendency to gain weight easily, avoiding high-fat foods is a good idea.
8. A monthly breast self-exam is the best way to diagnose breast cancer.
   No. Digital mammography or high quality film-screen mammography is the most reliable way to find breast cancer as early as possible, when it is most curable. By the time a breast cancer can be felt, it is usually bigger than the average size of a cancer first found on mammography. Breast examination by you or your healthcare provider is still very important. About 25% of breast cancers are found only on breast examination (not on the mammogram), about 35% are found on mammography alone, and 40% are found by both physical exam and mammography. Keep both bases covered.
9. I'm at high risk for breast cancer and there's nothing I can do about it.
   No. There are several effective ways to reduce—but not eliminate—the risk of breast cancer in women at high risk. Options include lifestyle changes (minimize alcohol consumption, stop smoking, exercise regularly), medication (tamoxifen, also called Nolvadex); and in cases of very high risk, surgery may be offered (prophylactic mastectomies, and for some women, prophylactic ovary removal). Be sure that you have consulted with a physician or genetic counselor before you make assumptions about your level of risk.
10. A breast cancer diagnosis is an automatic death sentence.
    No. Fully 80% of women diagnosed with breast cancer have no signs of metastases (no cancer has spread beyond the breast and nearby lymph nodes). Furthermore, 80% of these women live at least five years, most longer, and many live much longer. Even women with signs of cancer metastases can live a long time. Plus promising treatment breakthroughs are becoming available each day.

Breast Cellular Changes

Breast cellular changes may be associated with an increased risk of breast cancer. These are found when a breast biopsy (tissue sample) is taken and the breast cells are examined under a microscope. Two cellular changes associated with breast cancer risk are:

• atypical ductal hyperplasia—an overactive growth of cells lining the breast ducts
• lobular carcinoma in situ—an uncontrolled growth of lobular cells, the cells that make breast milk

Who Gets Breast Cancer?

Breast cancer is the most common cancer to affect women. In 2007, it is estimated that there will be about 178,480 new cases of invasive breast cancer diagnosed in the United States, along with 62,030 new cases of non-invasive breast cancer.

Every woman is at SOME risk for breast cancer—this is merely the "risk" of living as a woman. But there are many risk factors that can make one woman's picture differ substantially from another's. When you understand your own particular risk profile, you are in a better position to manage it and don't have to fear the unknown.

The medical experts for Who Gets Breast Cancer? are:

• Carol Cherry, R.N., O.C.N., oncology nurse, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Pennsylvania
• Marisa C. Weiss, M.D., breast radiation oncologist, Thomas Jefferson University Health System, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

How Breast Cancer Happens

The breast is a gland designed to make milk. The lobules in the breast make the milk, which then drains through the ducts to the nipple.

Like all parts of your body, the cells in your breasts usually grow and then rest in cycles. The periods of growth and rest in each cell are controlled by genes in the cell's nucleus. The nucleus is like the control room of each cell. When your genes are in good working order, they keep cell growth under control. But when your genes develop an abnormality, they sometimes lose their ability to control the cycle of cell growth and rest.

Breast cancer is an uncontrolled growth of breast cells.

Cancer has the potential to break through normal breast tissue barriers and spread to other parts of the body. While cancer is always caused by a genetic "abnormality" (a "mistake" in the genetic material), only 5–10% of cancers are inherited from your mother or father. Instead, 90% of breast cancers are due to genetic abnormalities that happen as a result of the aging process and life in general.

While there are things every woman can do to help her body stay as healthy as possible (such as eating a balanced diet, not smoking, minimizing stress, and exercising regularly), breast cancer is never anyone's fault. Feeling guilty, or telling yourself that breast cancer happened because of something you or anyone else did, is counterproductive.

The Main Cause of Cancer

Cancer is the disease of the cells. It is an abnormal Growth of cells, which tend to reproduce in an uncontrolled way and, in some cases, spread or metastasize. A cancerous growth or tumor is also known as a malignant growth or tumor. A growth or tumor, which is non-malignant is called benign. Such tumors are not cancer.

Cancer is not a single disease. It is a group of more than hundred different and distinctive diseases. It is not contagious. Cancer can involve any tissue of the body and have many different forms in each body area. Most cancers are named for the type of cell or organ in which they start. If a cancer spreads (metastasizes), the new tumor bears the same name as the original(primary) tumor.

Cancer is the Latin word for crab. The ancients used the word to mean a malignancy, doubtless because of the crab-like tenacity a malignant tumor sometimes seems to show in grasping the tissues it invades. Cancer may also be called malignancy, a malignant tumor, or a neoplasm (literally, a new growth).

In medicine, common term for neoplasms, or tumors, that are malignant is known as Cancer. Like benign tumors, malignant tumors do not respond to body mechanisms that limit cell growth. Unlike benign tumors, malignant tumors consist of undifferentiated, or unspecialized, cells that show an atypical cell structure and do not function like the normal cells from the organ from which they derive. Cancer cells, unlike normal cells, lack contact inhibition; cancer cells growing in laboratory tissue culture do not stop growing when they touch each other on a glass or other solid surface but grow in masses several layers deep.

Cancer results from mutations of certain genes that allow the cells to begin their uncontrolled growth. These mutations are either inherited or acquired. Acquired mutations are caused by repeated insults from triggers (e.g., cigarette smoke or ultraviolet rays) referred to as carcinogens. There is usually a latency period of years or decades between exposure to a carcinogen and the appearance of cancer. This, combined with the individual nature of susceptibility to cancer, makes it very difficult to establish a cause for many cancers.

The most significant avoidable carcinogens are the chemical components of tobacco smoke. Dietary components, like excessive consumption of alcohol or of foods high in fat and low in fiber rather than fruits and vegetables that contain antioxidants and necessary micronutrients, have also been linked with various cancers. Some cancers may be triggered by hormone imbalances. For example, some daughters of mothers who had been given DES (diethylstilbestrol) during pregnancy to prevent miscarriage developed vaginal adenocarcinomas as young women. Aflatoxins are natural mold byproducts that can cause cancer of the liver.

Certain carcinogens present occupational hazards. For example, in the asbestos industry, workers have a high probability of developing lung and colon cancer or a particularly virulent cancer of the mesothelium (the lining of the chest and abdomen). Benzene and vinyl chloride are other known industrial carcinogens.

Risk to humans from carcinogens depends upon the dose and a person's biologic susceptibility. Factors influencing a person's biological susceptibility to cancer include age, sex, immune status, nutritional status, genetics, and ethnicity.

Awareness about the breast cancer

By now you should be familiar with the yellow 'Live Strong' rubber cancer awareness bracelets. They were popularized by seven-time Tour de France cycling champion and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong. The money from their proceeds goes for cancer research.
If he has planning to pitchfork cancer awareness into society's consciousness, Lance Armstrong has done a really good job. His rubber bracelets are ubiquitous today, an ever present awareness tool for cancer, and a fund-raising tool for cancer research.

Among cancer awareness bracelets, next to Armstrong's rubber wristbands come the breast cancer awareness bracelets. However, unlike the 'LiveStrong' rubber band bracelets, these breast cancer awareness bracelets come in different colors. The most popular color for breast cancer awareness bracelets is pink.

But why pink? There is a story behind it: Charlotte Haley, a 68-year-old woman, began making and distributing peach ribbons in the 1990s with cards that read: "The National Cancer Institute annual budget is $1.8 billion, only 5 percent goes for cancer prevention. Help us wake up our legislators and America by wearing this ribbon." Haley's daughter, sister and grandmother had breast cancer. Self magazine wanted to use Haley's ribbon but she refused saying they were too commercial. The magazine came up with another color then -- pink. Focus groups say pink is 'soothing, comforting and healing.' Soon the pink ribbon became the worldwide symbol for breast cancer, and Charlotte Haley's peach ribbon was history.

The National Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc. says that more than 211,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in America in 2005. Of these 43,300 will die. One woman in eight either has or will develop breast cancer in her lifetime. In addition, 1,600 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer and 400 will die this year.

However, the breast cancer awareness bracelets can come in all colors, a rainbow of them, depending on the organization or charity selling them. These bracelets usually have some message, such as 'Support Breast Cancer Research And Education' stamped on them.

Well, the breast cancer awareness bracelets needn't be made of rubber or silicone either. The bracelets can be made of pearl, or cats eye, or metal, or any other suitable material. There are even stainless steel breast cancer awareness bracelets! The difference between them is, of course, the price. The rubber ones would sell for around $1 a piece. The metal ones would sell higher. Some pearl breast cancer awareness bracelets sell for around $30 a piece. Such bracelets serve two purposes -- they are jewelry and also spread the message of charity and breast cancer research.

The advantage with rubber breast cancer awareness bracelets, apart from the price, is that they are infinitely customizable. Yes, you can order them in any color and with any message stamped on them. You needn't take them off while washing or playing -- they are all-weather bracelets. And you don't have to worry about losing them, unlike the pearl or cats eye ones.

The rubber breast cancer awareness bracelets can be ordered in bulk or bought in packets of a dozen or so from many Web sites.

Epidemiology and etiology

Epidemiological risk factors for a disease can provide important clues as to the etiology, or cause, of a disease. The first case-controlled study on breast cancer epidemiology was done by Janet Lane-Claypon, who published a comparative study in 1926 of 500 breast cancer cases and 500 control patients of the same background and lifestyle for the British Ministry of Health.

Today, breast cancer, like other forms of cancer, is considered to be the final outcome of multiple environmental and hereditary factors. Some of these factors include:

1. Lesions to DNA such as genetic mutations. Mutations that can lead to breast cancer have been experimentally linked to estrogen exposure. Beyond the contribution of estrogen, research has implicated viral oncogenesis and the contribution of ionizing radiation in causing genetic mutations.
2. Failure of immune surveillance, a theory in which the immune system removes malignant cells throughout one's life.
3. Abnormal growth factor signaling in the interaction between stromal cells and epithelial cells can facilitate malignant cell growth. For example, tumors can induce blood vessel growth (angiogenesis) by secreting various growth factors further facilitating cancer growth.
4. Inherited defects in DNA repair genes, such as BRCA1, BRCA2 and p53.

Although many epidemiological risk factors have been identified, the cause of any individual breast cancer is often unknowable. In other words, epidemiological research informs the patterns of breast cancer incidence across certain populations, but not in a given individual. The primary risk factors that have been identified are sex, age, childbearing, hormones, a high-fat diet, alcohol intake, obesity, and environmental factors such as tobacco use, and shiftwork.

No etiology is known for 95% of breast cancer cases, while approximately 5% of new breast cancers are attributable to hereditary syndromes. In particular, carriers of the breast cancer susceptibility genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2, are at a 30-40% increased risk for breast and ovarian cancer, depending on in which portion of the protein the mutation occurs

Signs and symptoms

The first symptom, or subjective sign, of breast cancer is typically a lump that feels different than the surrounding breast tissue. According to the Merck Manual, greater than 80% of breast cancer cases are discovered as a lump by the woman herself. According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), the first medical sign, or objective indication of breast cancer as detected by a physician, is discovered by mammogram. Lumps found in lymph nodes located in the armpits and/or collarbone can also indicate breast cancer.

Indications of breast cancer other than a lump may include changes in breast size or shape, skin dimpling, nipple inversion, or spontaneous single-nipple discharge. Pain is an unreliable tool in determining the presence of breast cancer, but may be indicative of other breast-related health issues such as mastodynia.

When breast cancer cells invade the dermal lymphatics, small lymph vessels in the skin of the breast, its presentation can resemble skin inflammation and thus is known as inflammatory breast cancer (IBC). Symptoms of inflammatory breast cancer include pain, swelling, warmth and redness throughout the breast, as well as an orange peel texture to the skin referred to as peau d'orange

Another reported symptom complex of breast cancer is Paget's disease of the breast. This syndrome presents as eczematoid skin changes such as redness and mild flaking of the nipple skin. As Paget's advances, symptoms may include tingling, itching, increased sensitivity, burning, and pain. There may also be discharge from the nipple. Approximately half of women diagnosed with Paget's also have a lump in the breast.

Occasionally, breast cancer presents as metastatic disease, that is, cancer that has spread beyond the original organ. Metastatic breast cancer will cause symptoms that depend on the location of metastasis. More common sites of metastasis include bone, liver, lung and brain. Unexplained weight loss can occasionally herald an occult breast cancer, as can symptoms of fevers or chills. Bone or joint pains can sometimes be manifestations of metastatic breast cancer, as can jaundice or neurological symptoms. These symptoms are "non-specific," meaning they can also be manifestations of many other illnesses.

Most symptoms of breast disorder do not turn out to represent underlying breast cancer. Benign breast diseases such as mastitis and fibroadenoma of the breast are more common causes of breast disorder symptoms. The appearance of a new symptom should be taken seriously by both patients and their doctors, because of the possibility of an underlying breast cancer at almost any age.

Breast cancer

Breast cancer is a cancer that starts in the cells of the breast in men and women.

Worldwide, breast cancer is the second most common type of cancer after lung cancer (10.4% of all cancer incidence, both sexes counted) and the fifth most common cause of cancer death. Worldwide, breast cancer is by far the most common cancer amongst women, with an incidence rate more than twice that of colorectal cancer and cervical cancer and about three times that of lung cancer. However breast cancer mortality worldwide is just 25% greater than that of lung cancer in women. In 2005, breast cancer caused 502,000 deaths worldwide (7% of cancer deaths; almost 1% of all deaths). The number of cases worldwide has significantly increased since the 1970s, a phenomenon partly blamed on modern lifestyles in the Western world.

The incidence of breast cancer varies greatly around the world, being lower in less-developed countries and greatest in the more-developed countries. In the twelve world regions, the annual age-standardized incidence rates per 100,000 women are as follows: in Eastern Asia, 18; South Central Asia, 22; sub-Saharan Africa, 22; South-Eastern Asia, 26; North Africa and Western Asia, 28; South and Central America, 42; Eastern Europe, 49; Southern Europe, 56; Northern Europe, 73; Oceania, 74; Western Europe, 78; and in North America, 90.

Women in the United States have the highest incidence rates of breast cancer in the world; 141 among white women and 122 among African American women. Among women in the US, breast cancer is the most common cancer and the second-most common cause of cancer death (after lung cancer). Women in the US have a 1 in 8 (12.5%) lifetime chance of developing invasive breast cancer and a 1 in 35 (3%) chance of breast cancer causing their death. In 2007, breast cancer was expected to cause 40,910 deaths in the US (7% of cancer deaths; almost 2% of all deaths).

In the US, both incidence and death rates for breast cancer have been declining in the last few years in Native Americans and Alaskan Natives. Nevertheless, a US study conducted in 2005 by the Society for Women's Health Research indicated that breast cancer remains the most feared disease, even though heart disease is a much more common cause of death among women. Many doctors say that women exaggerate their risk of breast cancer.

Because the breast is composed of identical tissues in males and females, breast cancer also occurs in males. Incidences of breast cancer in men are approximately 100 times less common than in women, but men with breast cancer are considered to have the same statistical survival rates as women.