What is my risk of breast cancer?
Read about the factors you can and can't control.
What is my risk of breast cancer?
Everyone has some level of risk of breast cancer, but the good news is, you can take steps to reduce it. Understanding your personal risk factors is the first step toward prevention.
This guide breaks down the science in a clear, easy-to-understand way, explaining what influences your risk.
The factors you can't change.
Your risk of developing breast cancer is shaped by a combination of factors:
- Age: as you get older, your risk increases. This is largely due to the accumulation of genetic changes over time.
- Gender: being born female means higher lifetime exposure to oestrogens, which can stimulate cell growth in breast tissue.
- Breast density: high breast density is a risk factor. It’s partly genetic and can change over your lifetime.
- Ethnicity: Black women from Caribbean and African backgrounds in England, though less likely to have breast cancer overall, are up to twice as likely to be diagnosed with late stage, high-grade breast cancer than white British women.
- Reproductive history: starting your periods early (before 12) or reaching menopause late (after 55) means longer exposure to oestrogens.
- Physical traits: being tall increases risk. This may be due to higher levels of growth-related hormones.
- Birth weight: higher birth weight (above 4kg) is associated with a slightly increased breast cancer risk for both offspring and mother. This may be due to the higher levels of hormones (including oestrogen) seen during pregnancy.
- Hormones: higher levels of naturally circulating sex hormones (such as oestrogen) are linked to increased risk of certain types of breast cancer, particularly after menopause.
Genetic factors:
- Certain mutations: some people inherit gene mutations, like BRCA1 or BRCA2; they are uncommon, but they do increase your risk.
- Family history: if you have a family history of breast cancer (mother, sibling or daughter, especially at a young age), this approximately doubles your risk.
- Genes: small variations in many different genes can combine to influence breast cancer risk, even if no single high-risk mutation is present.
The factors you can influence.
Lifestyle
- Drinking: any amount of alcohol increases risk. It's been shown to raise estrogen levels and can damage DNA.
- Exercise: regular physical activity helps to regulate hormone levels, reduce inflammation and maintain a healthy weight. Staying active is a simple but effective way to reduce your risk.
- What you eat: a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and fibre is linked to a lower risk of breast cancer.
- Body weight: after menopause, being overweight increases breast cancer risk largely because fat tissue becomes the main source of oestrogen.
- Having children: at a younger age (before 30) and having more children is linked to a lower lifetime risk of breast cancer.
- Breastfeeding: can reduce your risk. The longer you breastfeed, the larger the risk reduction.
- Smoking: especially if you start young or continue long-term, smoking increases your risk.
- Contraception: the combined pill slightly increases risk, but this additional risk gradually reduces after stopping and is no longer evident 10 years after use has stopped. More research is needed on other types of contraception with regards to breast cancer risk.
- HRT: combined Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) can slightly increase your risk, especially with long-term use (over 5 years).
Environment and chemical exposures
- Pollution: long-term exposure to air pollution has been linked to an increased breast cancer risk.
- Everyday products: many everyday products often contain chemicals that can mimic hormones, known as Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs). EDC exposure has been linked to an increased breast cancer risk.
Other risk factors.
Where you live
- Country: breast cancer is more common in high-income countries compared to low-income countries.
- Socioeconomic status (SES): in the UK, women in higher-income areas have a higher incidence of breast cancer. However, women in lower-income areas often face later diagnosis, this could be due to lower screening uptake and awareness, which affects survival outcomes.
Medical and radition:
- Radiation: high-energy radiation, like from certain medical treatments or nuclear fallout, especially from a young age and during puberty, can damage your DNA and increase your risk.
- Diethylstilbestrol: if you or your mother were exposed to DES, a drug once used to prevent miscarriage, you may have a higher risk.
Next steps: Take our quiz to reduce your risk.
While not all risk factors are within your control, adopting healthier habits can make a significant difference. While you can't control everything, studies suggest that at least 30% of breast cancer cases could be prevented through lifestyle changes.
Take our short quiz, answer a few lifestyle questions and get your personalised action plan to help you reduce your risk of breast cancer.
Last review: Feb-26 | Next review: Feb-27.
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