Remember Betty | Breast Cancer Awarness

There are some risk factors to getting breast cancer that are inside and outside of your control:

Risk Factors That You Cannot Change:

* Age and gender. The older you are, the greater the risk. Woman are 100 times more likely to get breast cancer than men.

* Family history. Those with close relatives who have had breast, uterine, ovarian, or colon cancer are more likely to come down with the disease themselves. In fact, 20-30% of women with breast cancer have a family history of cancer.

* Genes — Certain gene defects found in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes can increase the risk of breast cancer.

* Menstrual cycle — Women who get their periods early (before age 12) or went through menopause late (after age 55) have an increased risk for breast cancer.

Other risk factors for contracting this disease which are in your control include:

* Alcohol use — heavy alcohol consumption may increase your risk for breast cancer.

* Childbirth — Women who have never had children, or alternatively had them after the age of 30 have an increased risk. Also, being pregnant more than once, or getting pregnant or who had them only after age 30 have an increased risk for breast cancer. However, being pregnant more than once or becoming pregnant at an early age can actually reduces the risk.

* Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) — Women that have received HRT for several years or more (a therapy used to reduce the symptoms of menopause) are more prone to getting breast cancer.

* Radiation — Radiation therapy in the chest area may increase your risk of getting breast cancer – and the younger you are when you started this radiation therapy, the higher the risk.