Risk Factors
Being a woman is the number one risk factor for breast cancer. The causes of breast cancer are not fully known. However, health and medical researchers have identified a number of factors that increase a woman’s chances of getting breast cancer. These are called risk factors.
Risk factors are not necessarily causes of breast cancer, but are associated with an increased risk of getting breast cancer. Importantly, some women have many risk factors but never get breast cancer, and some women have few or no risk factors but do get the disease. There are some risk factors you can control, and others you cannot. Remember, even if you do not have any of these risk factors, you can still develop breast cancer.
Age is a major factor. A woman’s chance of getting breast cancer increases with age. For a woman born today, her risk by age 30 is 1 out of 2,000.
By age 40: 1 out of 233
By age 50: 1 out of 53
By age 60: 1 out of 22
By age 70: 1 out of 13
By age 90: 1 out of 9
Ever: 1 out of 7
Learn more about the risk factors you can and can not control:
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