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Q: I am a 63 year old woman and feel fine. I was told by a friend of mine that even if one does not have any risk factors for getting breast cancer, there is still a rather significant chance of getting the disease. Is this true? Can you tell me something about this?
A: You bring up a very important point, i.e.: even though a woman does not have any risk factors for getting breast cancer, there is still a rather significant probability of catching the disease. In fact, more than 60% of breast cancer cases occur in women who do not have risk factors for the disease. Thus, it is important for every woman, particularly those above 50 years of age, to undergo yearly mammograms. Generally, one out of every eight or nine american women will develop breast cancer during their lifetime.
Risk factors for the disease include advanced age, breast cancer in mother, sister, or daughter, early onset of first menstrual period ( under age 12), late ending of menstrual periods (i.e., onset of menopause after age 50), late first pregnancy or not having had any children, being white, having a previous history of cancer of the uterus or cancer in the other breast, having a disease of the breast called fibrocystic disease, or having an abnormality (mutation) in certain genes (in particular, a mutation of the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes).
Updated: 12/22/98
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