Know Your Risk
Lifestyle factors that may reduce breast cancer risk.
Exercise, weight control, controlled alcohol use
Fact or Fiction: Breast cancer only occurs in females.
Fiction
Less than 1% of US breast cancer cases occur in males. Males face a 1 in 755 lifetime risk of developing breast cancer.
This is one of the most commonly recognized physical signs of breast cancer, although most are not cancerous.
Breast lump
Cancer develops when abnormal cells begin to divide in this uncontrolled manner.
Uncontrolled cell proliferation
This imaging technique uses low-dose X-rays to screen for breast cancer, sometimes before symptoms appear.
Mammogram
Mutations in these tumor suppressor genes are linked increased risk of both breast cancer and ovarian cancer.
BRCA1/BRCA2
Fact or Fiction: Deodorant causes breast cancer.
Fiction
There is no significant evidence of a link between breast cancer and underarm antiperspirant use, deodorant use, or underarm shaving.
Changes in breast skin that resemble the texture of an orange peel are medically referred to by this term.
peau d'Orange
A tumor that can invade nearby tissues and spread to other parts of the body is described by this term.
Malignant
This procedure involves removing a small sample of breast tissue to determine whether suspicious cells are cancerous.
Biopsy
Although non-Hispanic White women have a slightly higher overall incidence of breast cancer, women of this racial group experience higher mortality rates and are more likely to develop triple-negative breast cancer.
Black women
Black women have approximately a 34% higher breast cancer mortality rate than White women, despite having a slightly lower overall incidence.
Fact or Fiction: Birth control choice is associated with breast cancer risk.
Fact
Some breast cancers are hormone-sensitive, and exposure to estrogen and/or progestin in hormonal contraceptives may slightly increase breast cancer risk.
Interestingly, these contraceptives reduce the risk of ovarian and endometrial cancers.
Unexplained discharge from this part of the breast, particularly when bloody or occurring spontaneously on one side, can be a warning sign of breast cancer.
nipple
The spread of cancer cells from their original location to distant organs, such as the bones, lungs, or liver, is called this.
Metastasis
This type of breast-conserving surgery removes a cancerous tumor and a small amount of surrounding healthy tissue without removing the entire breast.
Lumpectomy
Women with this type of breast tissue may have greater difficulty feeling lumps, while tumors can also be harder to detect on mammograms.
Dense (higher proportion of glandular and fibrous tissue compared to fatty tissue)
Fact or Fiction: Wearing an underwire bra increases your risk of breast cancer.
Fiction
This region of the body, located beneath the arm, contains lymph nodes that may become enlarged when breast cancer spreads.
Armpit
This aggressive subtype of breast cancer lacks estrogen receptors, progesterone receptors, and HER2 overexpression.
Triple Negative Breast Cancer
This cancer treatment uses high-energy radiation to destroy cancer cells and reduce the risk of recurrence.
Women who begin their menstrual cycle after the age of 12 are more likely to develop breast cancer due to his factor:
Prolonged exposure to hormones
Fact or Fiction: Finding a lump in your breast always means you have breast cancer.
Fiction
This rare, aggressive form of breast cancer can cause rapid breast swelling, redness, warmth, and skin thickening, sometimes without a distinct lump.
Inflammatory Breast Cancer
This type of breast cancer begins in the milk ducts and is the most common type of invasive breast cancer.
Invasive Ductal Carcinoma
This type of cancer treatment uses medications that block estrogen's effects or lower estrogen levels to treat certain breast cancers.
Hormone/Endocrine Therapy