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Breast
Cancer Facts
Getting the facts about breast cancer and
mammograms is an important step in taking care of your health.
This pamphlet will help you to get the information that
you need. It provides information on a woman's risk for
breast cancer, the National Cancer Institute's recommendations
about mammograms, and the benefits and limitations of the
procedure.
After skin cancer, breast cancer is the
most frequently diagnosed cancer in women in the United
States. It is second only to lung cancer in cancer-related
deaths. Approximately 180,000 new cases of breast cancer
are estimated for 1997, and about 44,000 women are expected
to die from the disease.
Who Is at Risk for Breast Cancer?
Simply being a woman and getting older puts you at some
risk for breast cancer. Your risk for breast cancer continues
to increase over your lifetime. Several known factors can
further increase your risk for breast cancer. Most women
who get breast cancer have no known risk factors such as
a family history of the disease. Talk to your doctor about
the known risk factors for breast cancer.
What factors can increase your risk for
breast cancer?
One or more of the following conditions place a woman at
higher than average risk for breast cancer:
- personal history of a prior breast cancer
- evidence of a specific genetic change
that increases susceptibility to breast cancer (BRCA1/BRCA2
mutations)
mother, sister, daughter, or two or more close relatives,
such as cousins, with a history of breast cancer (especially
if diagnosed at a young age)
- a diagnosis of a breast condition (i.e.,
atypical hyperplasia) that may predispose a woman to breast
cancer, or a history of two or more breast biopsies for
benign breast disease
- Additional factors can play a role in
a woman's risk for
breast cancer.
Women age 45 or older who have at least
75 percent dense tissue on a mammogram are at some increased
risk.
- A slight increase in risk for breast
cancer is associated with having a first birth at age
30 or older.
- In addition, women who receive chest
irradiation for conditions such as Hodgkin's disease at
age 30 or younger, remain at higher risk for breast cancer
throughout their lives.
Not having any of the above risk factors
does NOT mean that you are "safe." The majority of women
who develop breast cancer do not have a family history of
the disease, nor do they fall into any other special high-risk
category.
What Can You Do?
If you are in your 40s or older, get a
mammogram on a regular basis, every 1 to 2 years.
Talk with your doctor or nurse about planning your personal
schedule for screening mammograms and breast exams.
Gather as much information as you can about your family
history of cancer, breast cancer, and screening mammograms.
Call the National Cancer Institute's Cancer Information
Service for more information about breast cancer and mammograms
at 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237). People with TTY equipment,
dial 1-800-332-8615.
For the latest information on cancer, visit the National
Cancer Institute's CancerNet website at http://cancernet.nci.nih.gov.
What Are the Benefits of Getting
Mammograms?
- A mammogram can find breast cancer before
a lump can be felt.
- A mammogram is the best method available
today to detect breast cancer early. Early detection of
the disease may allow more treatment options.
What Are the Limitations*of Getting
Mammograms?
- Mammograms may miss cancer that is present.
- Mammograms may find something that turns
out NOT to be cancer.
*These limitations occur more often in
women under age 50.
To learn more about mammograms, call
the National Cancer Institute's Cancer Information Service
at 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237). People with TTY equipment,
dial 1-800-332-8615.
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