Breast Cancer

Causes of Breast Cancer

Experts are not definitively sure what causes breast cancer. It is hard to say why one person develops the disease while another does not. We know that some risk factors can impact on a woman's likelihood of developing breast cancer. These are: The older a woman gets, the higher is her risk of developing breast cancer; age is a risk factor. Over 80% of all female breast cancers occur among women aged 50+ years (after the menopause). Women who carry the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes have a considerably higher risk of developing breast and/or ovarian cancer. These genes can be inherited. The Mayo Clinic says that if a woman wants to drink, she should not exceed one alcoholic beverage per day Undergoing X-rays and CT scans may raise a woman's risk of developing breast cancer slightly. Scientists at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre found that women who had been treated with radiation to the chest for a childhood cancer have a higher risk of developing breast cancer both forms, combined and oestrogen only HRT therapies may increase a woman's risk of developing breast cancer slightly. Combined HRT causes a higher risk. French researchers found that women who worked at night prior to a first pregnancy had a higher risk of eventually developing breast cancer.