Breast Cancer

Part I

For this semester, my class is divided into groups and each group is assigned to do a poster to raise health awareness. The topic of my group is breast cancer and I’m in charge of risk factors for breast cancer. I think this is an interesting topic, and a serious issue that we shall pay attention on. Therefore, I decided to share the part I’m doing.

Risk that cannot change
Gender:
Being a woman is the main risk factor for developing breast cancer. This is due to the breast cells of woman are constantly exposed to the growth-promoting effects of the female hormones estrogen and progesterone. Breast cancer can affect men as well. Male breast cancer accounts for approximately 1% of the total cases. So, never assume that man will not develop breast cancer!!!

Age:
The risk of developing breast cancer increases with age. Means older people have higher risk of getting breast cancer.

Personal history of breast cancer:
A woman with cancer in one breast has a 3- to 4- fold increased risk of developing a new cancer in the other breast or in another part of the same breast.

Family history of breast cancer:
Breast cancer risk is higher among women whose close blood relatives have this disease. Having 1 first-degree relative (mother, sister, or daughter) with breast cancer approximately doubles a woman’s risk. Having 2 first-degree relatives increases her risk 5-fold. Although the exact risk is not known, woman with a family history of breast cancer in a father or brother also have an increased risk of breast cancer. About 20% to 30% of women with breast cancer have a family member with this disease.

hmm…I think I don’t want to make this post till too long…although there’s still a lot more to go. I’m just afraid that you’ll lose appetite when you see such a long post. Haha….i’ll continue to post about this, soon. VERY SOON! Hope you’ll aware about breast cancer after reading this.

Picture:Mammography image of normal(left) vs cancerous(right) breast