Breast cancer affects one in eight women during their lives. Breast cancer kills more women in the United States than any cancer except lung cancer. No one knows why some women get breast cancer, but there a number of risk factors. Risks that you cannot change include

• Age - the chance of getting breast cancer rises as a woman gets older
• Genes - there are two genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2, that greatly increase the risk. Women who have family members with breast or ovarian cancer may wish to be tested.
• Personal factors - beginning periods before age 12 or going through menopause after age 55

Other risks include being overweight, using hormone replacement therapy, taking birth control pills, drinking alcohol, not having children or having your first child after age 35 or having dense breasts.

Symptoms of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in size or shape of the breast or discharge from a nipple. Breast self-exam and mammography can help find breast cancer early when it is most treatable. Treatment may consist of radiation, lumpectomy, mastectomy, chemotherapy and hormone therapy.

Men can have breast cancer, too, but the number of cases is small.

Are You at Risk for Breast Cancer? 

Each year, millions of women learn that they have developed breast cancer. Despite most commonly being found in women, breast cancer can also be diagnosed in men. That is why breast cancer is often considered one of the most common types of all diagnosable cancers. Fortunately, you if you are diagnosed as having cancer, there are a number of treatment options that may help you become cancer free. However, before that can occur, you need to be diagnosed as having breast cancer. 

When it comes to being diagnosed with breast cancer, a large amount of focus is placed on the signs and symptoms. While it is important to focus on the symptoms of breast cancer, they are not the only things that you should keep in mind. Although an exact cause of breast cancer has yet to be determined, there are a number of risk factors associated with the cancer. Determining whether or not any of these risk factors apply to you is one of the best ways, aside from regularly examining your body, to determine whether or not you may have breast cancer or end up developing it in the future. 

You may be at a greater risk of developing breast cancer if someone else in your immediate family has also been diagnosed with having it. It has been noted that the BRCA1 gene and the BRCA2 gene have something to do with the development of breast cancer. Research is still being conducted on this; however, it is looking as if damaged cells, which may later account for breast cancer, are being passed down through family members. Therefore, if someone in your family has been diagnosed with breast cancer, there is a good chance that you may also develop it. 

Your age may also increase your risk of developing breast cancer. While it is important to remember that breast cancer can occur at just about any age, there are a group of men and women who are more at risk. Those individuals are likely over the age of fifty. That is why it is recommended that all women over the age of forty undergo a yearly mammogram. Until that age, a self breast exam, performed by yourself or by a healthcare professional, should be enough. 

When you first started your menstrual cycle, as well as when it ended, may increase your risk of developing breast cancer. It has been noted that those who began their periods before the age of twelve are at an increased risk for developing breast cancer, later on in life. The same, in a way, can be said for menopause. Recent studies have shown that the later a woman begins menopause, the more at risk she is for developing breast cancer. Menopause should begin around the age of fifty-five. If it starts to occur any later, you will want to be on the lookout for the signs and symptoms of breast cancer. 

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and birth control pills have been known to increase a woman''s risk of developing breast cancer. These risk factors are not as high as the above mentioned risk factors, but a connection between breast cancer, hormone replacement therapy, as well as birth control pills has been established. Therefore, if you are currently on birth control pills or are undergoing hormone replacement therapy, it may be a good idea to speak to a healthcare professional. Your OBGYN or primary care physician should be more than willing to give you inside and updated information on the connection between breast cancer and these two widely used medications. 

In addition to hormone replacement therapy, birth control pills, a family history, late menopause, early menstrual periods, and age, there are a number of other risk factors that have been connected to breast cancer. These additional risk factors include, are not limited to, radiation, and excessive alcohol consumption. Now that you know whether or not you are at an increased risk of developing breast cancer, you may be able to better prepare yourself for what you may find, now or in the future. 

If, at any point, you notice a lump in your breast or have unexplained breast pain, you are advised to seek medical assistance immediately. The sooner breast cancer is detected, the sooner it can be treated and gone from your life, hopefully forever. 

The prognosis for breast cancer generally depends on its stage and there are typically five stages (0 to 5) with sub-stages: