Breast Cancer Facts
Did you know that one in eight women will develop breast cancer? That is a fact as has been repeatedly proven by several researches. However there’s more to that seemingly startling truth so let’s take a closer look at some of the Breast Cancer Facts to clear up the confusion and make matters clear once and for all:
Alternative Cancer Website Contributes to the Breast Cancer Awareness Efforts, Photo: Claudia Regina, Flickr
Breast Cancer Fact #1: One in Eight Women Will Get Breast Cancer in Her Lifetime
According to the latest statistics on Breast Cancer from Cancer Research UK, this type of cancer is getting more and more common among women. The risk of getting breast cancer used to be one in nine only a few years ago, but it has grown to be one in eight today. This however doesn’t mean that if you look outside the window, ten out of eighty women you will have seen will have a tumor growing in their breasts. This is not quite what this statistic tells us.
Fact of a matter is, breast cancer is a disease of old age. If you go back to those 80 women you will have seen by taking a look outside, you will be able to instantly strike all school girls out of the risk group, and you could also forget about virtually all women in their 20′s and 30′s. It is also very rare for a woman in her 40′s to develop breast cancer and as such, it is not until the woman reaches 50 years of age when invitations for mammography start coming.
The statistic which states that one in eight women will develop breast cancer at some point in her life takes into consideration that said women will live until the age of 70. When it comes to the 70+ demographics, that’s when you’ll find one in eight women who presently have, or had breast cancer in the past.
Australian pop singer Kylie Minogue was diagnosed with breast cancer when she was 35 year old but she’s the exception rather than the norm. As was said before – breast cancer is a disease of old age. It’s very rare for someone this young to grow a tumor in their breasts and as any cancer expert would confirm, age is by far the most important risk factor.
To be a little more specific, below is a little chart to show the relation between the age and the breast cancer risk factors:
- Risk of Breast Cancer at the Age of 29 – 1 : 2,000
- Risk of Breast Cancer at the Age of 39 – 1 : 215
- Risk of Breast Cancer at the Age of 49 – 1 : 50
- Risk of Breast Cancer at the Age of 70 – 1 : 8
Aging is a process none of us can revert. And since chances of developing breast cancer grow with every year added to women’s lives, it is essential that the importance of regular screening after the age of 50 is not underestimated.
Breast Cancer Fact #2: Any Woman Can Take Measures to Reduce the Risk of Getting Breast Cancer
This may (and will) sound like beating of a dead horse, but it must be said over and over again – the risk of getting cancer (any cancer, not just breast cancer) can be greatly reduced by simple lifestyle changes. However before I get any further, I would need to clarify that I do understand that certain aspects of our lives are more difficult to control than others. Some may even be entirely out of our control – such as age mentioned in Breast Cancer Fact #1, the fact that you are a female or genetically predisposed to cancer.
All cancers are genetic (it’s the mutation of genes that causes the cells to fail to die at their pre-programmed times, resulting in out of control growth of tissue that should not be there), but it’s the lifestyle and the environment that triggers them. Take the triggers away or suppress them by adopting healthy lifestyle choices and the chance of developing cancers diminishes strikingly.
While diet does affect some cancers (red meat for example has been linked to bowel cancer), there has been no evidence to suggest that it would have any effect on breast cancer. There are other risk factors that do however so let’s take a look at them.
Risk Factors That Increase Chances of Getting Breast Cancer:
- Alcohol – even a small dose of alcohol if consumed daily increases breast cancer risk by 6%
- Extra Pounds – oestrogen and several other hormones affect the cells’ ability to grow and divide. Carrying excess weight after the menopause results in fat pumping these hormones out
- Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) – it helps to diminish the distressing symptoms of the menopause, but it also contributes to increased risk of breast cancer
- Fewer Children Later in Life – read Breast Cancer Fact #3 for additional info
Exercise on the other hand is the best lifestyle change a woman can take in order to reduce the risk of developing breast cancer. It truly does reduce a chance of developing breast cancer but it can also help in diminishing other potential health problems so it should be on the radar of everyone looking to enjoy a healthy life.
It is important to understand that by eliminating the risk factors from your life and by adopting the healthy lifestyle which involves exercise, you still won’t get a 100% guarantee that cancer will not develop in your breasts. History shows us that many breast cancer patients were women who didn’t drink, had children early and breastfed them for a long time. Even if you do adopt positive lifestyle changes, it is important that you undergo regular screenings to ensure that if you do develop breast cancer, it is caught in its early stages so your chances of fast and uncomplicated recovery increase.
Breast Cancer Fact #3: Each Birth Decreases the Risk of Breast Cancer by 7%
Occurrence of breast cancer in developing countries, where women start to have babies at a much younger age and have more children than women in the west is significantly lower. It is because pregnancy and breastfeeding suppress ovulation which results in reduced amount of circulating hormones (such as Oestrogen) which are known triggers of breast cancer. Oxford collaborative group on hormonal factors in breast cancer published a study in 2002 the results of which state that every year of breastfeeding cuts the risk of developing breast cancer by 4.3%.
Breast Cancer Fact #4: Breast Cancer is a Disease That Most Women Survive
Nowadays, there are several treatment methods that can rid a woman of breast cancer effectively. Combined with the ability to diagnose the disease early, it is very rare to find a woman who would be dying because of breast cancer. On top of conventional breast cancer therapies, there are also ways to prevent and/or treat breast cancer through alternative healing methods.
Even though I was able to squeeze the breast cancer facts into 4 main points, a lot of information was provided in this article so I hope you were able to find answers you were looking for. Breast cancer can be a debilitating disease, however despite seemingly grim outlooks, we now have tools to make breast cancer less of an issue for women who do care about their wellbeing and take their health seriously.