Breast Cancer Awareness Month is a great time to consider your risk of breast cancer and make any necessary lifestyle changes. The most important risk factor for breast cancer is age. As women age, their risk of developing breast cancer increases. This is why all women age 40 and older should get a mammogram each year to screen for breast cancer. To make it easier to remember, schedule a mammogram around a significant date each year, such as your birthday.

If you, your mother, sister, or daughter has a history of breast cancer, your risk of breast cancer is higher. This is especially true if your family member was diagnosed before she was 40 years old. However, keep in mind that only 5 to 10 percent of breast cancer is inherited.

Other risk factors that may raise the chance of developing breast cancer:

• Women who are overweight or obese after menopause.
• Drinking more than one alcoholic drink per day will raise risk. One drink equals 12 oz of beer, 5 oz of wine, or 1.5 oz/1 shot of 80 proof liquor.
• Women who have their first menstrual period at age 11 or younger.
• Women who have their first child after age 35 or never have children.
• Women who go through menopause after 55 yrs old.
• Women who take hormone therapy (HT) or hormone replacement therapy (HRT) with estrogen and progestin after menopause.
• Women who have had past radiation therapy to the chest. The dose of radiation and the age that it was given will determine the level of risk. Risk is higher if radiation was given during puberty.
• Women who were treated for Hodgkin’s Lymphoma with radiation therapy by age 16.

Currently it is not known whether the following will increase a woman’s risk of breast cancer. Research studies will be ongoing.

• There is no proven link between abortion and breast cancer.
• Birth control pills containing estrogen may increase the risk of breast cancer by a small amount but this risk decreases over time. Injections or implants containing only progestin have not shown any increase in risk.
• Certain diets and foods are being studied as risk factors for breast cancer. It has not been proven that a low-fat diet or a diet high in fruits and vegetables will prevent breast cancer.
• Studies have not proven that exposure to certain chemicals, metals, dust, or pollution increase risk.
• Use of drugs that lower cholesterol, called statins, have not been found to increase or decrease risk.
• Active or passive smoking (breathing in secondhand smoke) has not been proven to increase risk.

University of Iowa Health Care has recently opened a Breast Health Clinic that offers care for breast problems, both cancerous and non-cancerous. The clinic draws several departments into a multidisciplinary team offering women both diagnostic testing and treatment options.

A patient newly diagnosed with breast cancer will work with the UI Breast Health Clinic’s nurse coordinator to arrange a visit where she may meet with all possible members of her care team. That day she might meet with a surgeon, a medical oncologist who works with chemotherapy, a radiation oncologist, and a plastic surgeon. This allows the woman to learn as much as possible about all her treatment options before choosing the best treatment for her. She may also meet with a dietician or social worker for additional support.

Phone: 1-800-237-1225
Email: cancer-information@uiowa.edu
Walk-in: 200 Hawkins Drive, 4802 JPP, Iowa City, Iowa 52242