Neuroblastoma
Stage 4
Ovarian
Cancer
Warnings
Pancreatic
Cancer
Symptoms
Kidney
Cancer
Symptoms
Brain
Tumor
Symptoms
Bladder
Cancer
Symptoms
Cancer Information Tips :: Breast Cancer Causes
Breast Cancer Causes: Breast Cancer Risks, Not Causes
Custom Search
Breast cancer causes can't be generalized in a tangible or de facto way. While there are definite risk factors that can increase the chance of a woman developing breast cancer, causes are harder to pinpoint.
What is Breast Cancer?
The breast is much larger than one might think. Breast tissue covers more than just the two breasts. Breast tissue goes from the armpits across to the center of the chest - the breastbone - and up to the collarbone.
Your breast consists of the collarbone, muscle, connective tissue, fatty tissue, the areola, nipple, duct, glands, lymph vessels, lymph nodes, and, of course, the skin.
Breast cancer can start in any of the cells of the breast. They may start in the ducts or the glands or the cells can block lymph vessels and cause inflammation.
Inflammatory breast cancer causes an especially fast-moving disease and cannot usually be detected by a mammogram unless there is a tumor.
Stages of Breast Cancer
Stage 1 breast cancer sees the development of small tumors that are localized to the breast or breasts. Stage 2 and 3 breast cancer spreads to lymph nodes and other breast tissue. Stage 4 breast cancer spreads to other parts of the body.
Who is at Risk for Breast Cancer?
Every woman is at risk for breast cancer. The simple fact of having breasts puts a woman at risk.
Risk for developing breast cancer increases, however, as a woman gets older. There is also a greater risk if there is a family history of breast cancer or ovarian cancer. If two or more family members have had breast cancer, the risk is greater still.
There is also an increased risk of breast cancer in women who have above average estrogen production.
This includes women who started their periods young or reached menopause late, women who have either not given birth or gave birth for the first time after 30, and women who have had five or more years of hormone therapy.
It can't be stressed enough that these are not breast cancer causes, just areas that have been shown to add risk.
Just because you have not had a child it does not mean you will get breast cancer. And some women who develop breast cancer do not fit any of the above criteria.
How Can You Reduce Risk?
While you cannot do anything about genetic predisposition associated with any of the above risks, there are some lifestyle changes that can help reduce the risk of breast cancer.
These include smoking and excessive drinking, and maintaining a healthy weight.
While none of these can be pinpointed as definitive breast cancer causes, it never hurts to live as healthy a lifestyle as possible.
See also:
All Site Articles for Cancer Information Tips
Custom Search
Learn about alternative cancer treatments that could save your life with
Natural Cancer Treatments That Work
Order Online
24 Hours a Day
7 Days a Week
365 Days a Year!
Copyright 2008
CancerInfoTips.com :: Breast Cancer Causes