Breast Cancer Summary 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 are 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 (also called menopausal hormone 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. NIH: National Cancer Institute National Cancer Institute NIH MedlinePlus Magazine 6 Common Cancers – Breast Cancer Braving Breast Cancer: Just Do It! Breast Cancer Basics and You Breast Cancer: Match of Her Life Can Prolonged Stress Affect Whether Breast Cancer Returns? Preventing Breast Cancer: Making Progress Quiz: How Much Do You Know about Breast Cancer? Screening for Breast Cancer: #BeBrave: A Life-Saving Test Screening for Breast Cancer: Detection and Diagnosis Screening for Breast Cancer: Staging and Treatment Selected National Cancer Institute Breast Cancer Research Topics The Sister Study: Breast Cancer as a Family Affair: One Sister’s Story Related Issues Abortion, Miscarriage, and Breast Cancer Risk National Cancer Institute Antiperspirants/Deodorants and Breast Cancer National Cancer Institute Axillary Lymph Nodes and Breast Cancer Susan G. Komen for the Cure Breast Cancer and Bone Loss Hormone Health Network Breast Cancer and Women with Disabilities Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Breast Cancer Chemotherapy and Your Heart American Heart Association Breast Cancer in Young Women Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Diethylstilbestrol (DES) and Cancer National Cancer Institute Do We Know What Causes Breast Cancer? American Cancer Society Lymphedema: What Every Woman with Breast Cancer Should Know American Cancer Society Menopausal Hormone Therapy and Cancer National Cancer Institute Oral Contraceptives and Cancer Risk National Cancer Institute Protect Yourself from Breast Cancer Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Questions to Ask Your Doctor Metastatic Breast Cancer Network Reproductive History and Breast Cancer Risk National Cancer Institute Risks of Breast Cancer Screening National Cancer Institute What Breast Cancer Survivors Need to Know about Osteoporosis National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Array After chemotherapy – discharge BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene testing Breast biopsy — stereotactic Breast biopsy — ultrasound Breast cancer Breast cancer staging Breast lump Breast self exam Hormone therapy for breast cancer Lymphatics and the breast Seniors After Some Breast Cancer Treatments, Risk for Other Health Conditions May Rise Living Beyond Breast Cancer Breast Cancer National Cancer Institute Find an Expert American Cancer Society American Cancer Society Find a Cancer Doctor American Society of Clinical Oncology National Cancer Institute National Cancer Institute Organizations That Offer Support Services National Cancer Institute Prevention and Risk Factors Aromatase Inhibitors American Cancer Society Breast Cancer Prevention National Cancer Institute Breast Cancer: Early Detection American Cancer Society Environmental Factors and Breast Cancer Risk National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Medications for the Risk Reduction of Primary Breast Cancer in Women U.S. Preventive Services Task Force MedlinePlus: Mammography National Library of Medicine Prophylactic Oophorectomy: Preventing Cancer by Surgically Removing Your Ovaries Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research Surgery to Reduce the Risk of Breast Cancer National Cancer Institute Genetics BRCA1 and BRCA2 Mutations American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists BRCA1 and BRCA2: Cancer Risk and Genetic Testing National Cancer Institute Breast and Ovarian Cancer and Family History Risk Categories Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Does Breast or Ovarian Cancer Run in Your Family? Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Genetic Counseling and Evaluation for BRCA1/2 Testing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Genetics Home Reference: breast cancer National Library of Medicine Genetics Home Reference: Li-Fraumeni syndrome National Library of Medicine Learning about Breast Cancer National Human Genome Research Institute Start Here Breast Cancer American Academy of Family Physicians Breast Cancer Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research General Information about Breast Cancer National Cancer Institute What Is Breast Cancer? American Cancer Society What You Need to Know about Breast Cancer National Cancer Institute Children Breast Cancer Nemours Foundation Specifics Breast Cancer American Society of Clinical Oncology Breast Cancer — Inflammatory American Society of Clinical Oncology Ductal Carcinoma in Situ (DCIS) Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research Guide to Understanding Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Living Beyond Breast Cancer HER2-Positive Breast Cancer: What Is It? Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research Inflammatory Breast Cancer National Cancer Institute Lobular Carcinoma In Situ (LCIS) Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research Paget Disease of the Breast National Cancer Institute Recurrent Breast Cancer Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research Types of Breast Cancers American Cancer Society Statistics and Research Breast Cancer Death Rates Down 34% Since 1990 American Cancer Society Breast Cancer Patients with High Density Mammograms Do Not Have Increased Risk of Death National Cancer Institute Breast Cancer Rates by Race and Ethnicity Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Breast Cancer Rates by State Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Breast Cancer Risk in American Women National Cancer Institute Breast Cancer Trends Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC Vital Signs: Breast Cancer Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Sister Study: A Study of the Environmental and Genetic Risk Factors for Breast Cancer National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Ten Years of Tamoxifen Reduces Breast Cancer Recurrences, Improves Survival National Cancer Institute What’s New in Breast Cancer Research and Treatment? American Cancer Society Women with Breast Cancer Micrometastases in Their Sentinel Lymph Nodes May Not Need Axillary Dissection National Cancer Institute Health Check Tools Breast Cancer Risk Questionnaire Siteman Cancer Center Diagnosis and Tests Breast Cancer Screening National Cancer Institute Breast Exam Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research CDC Vital Signs: Cancer Screenings: Colorectal Cancer and Breast Cancer Centers for Disease Control and Prevention How Is Breast Cancer Diagnosed? American Cancer Society Lymphoscintigraphy Array MRI of the Breast Array Needle Biopsy Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research Nipple Aspirate Test Is No Substitute for Mammogram Food and Drug Administration Risk Assessment, Genetic Counseling, and Genetic Testing for BRCA-Related Cancer in Women U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Stages of Breast Cancer National Cancer Institute Ultrasound – Breast Array Understanding Breast Changes: A Health Guide for Women National Cancer Institute Your Pathology Report Living Beyond Breast Cancer Encyclopedia Breast cancer screenings Breast lump removal – slideshow Breast MRI scan Breast PET scan Breast radiation – discharge Breast ultrasound Chest radiation – discharge Cytology exam of pleural fluid Lymphedema Mammography Understanding your breast cancer risk Treatments and Therapies Breast Cancer Treatment National Cancer Institute Drugs Approved for Breast Cancer National Cancer Institute Early-Stage Breast Cancer Treatment: A Patient and Doctor Dialogue Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women’s Health Hormone Therapy for Breast Cancer National Cancer Institute Integrative and Complementary Therapies Susan G. Komen for the Cure MedlinePlus: Mastectomy National Library of Medicine Minimally Invasive Treatments for Breast Cancer Society of Interventional Radiology New Treatment Option for Young Women with Hormone-Sensitive Breast Cancer National Cancer Institute Radiation Therapy for Breast Cancer American Society for Radiation Oncology Surgery Choices for Women with DCIS or Breast Cancer National Cancer Institute Treatment Option Overview (Breast Cancer) National Cancer Institute Treatment Options for Ductal Carcinoma In Situ (DCIS) National Cancer Institute Reference Desk Breast Cancer Types: What Your Type Means Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research Dictionary of Cancer Terms National Cancer Institute Clinical Trials ClinicalTrials.gov: Breast Neoplasms National Institutes of Health ClinicalTrials.gov: Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast National Institutes of Health ClinicalTrials.gov: Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer Syndrome National Institutes of Health ClinicalTrials.gov: Inflammatory Breast Neoplasms National Institutes of Health Living With Coping with a Cancer Diagnosis Susan G. Komen for the Cure Eating Hints: Before, During, and After Cancer Treatment National Cancer Institute For Women Facing a Breast Biopsy American Cancer Society Genetic Testing for Breast Cancer: Psychological and Social Impact Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research Insomnia and Fatigue Living Beyond Breast Cancer Life After Breast Cancer Treatment Susan G. Komen for the Cure What Happens After Treatment for Breast Cancer? American Cancer Society Your Body After Breast Cancer American Cancer Society Videos and Tutorials Four Methods of Treating Breast Cancer National Cancer Institute Genetic Risk Factors National Cancer Institute Men MedlinePlus: Male Breast Cancer National Library of Medicine Journal Articles Breast Cancer Genetics of Breast Cancer Paget’s Disease of Breast Patient Handouts Understanding Chemotherapy National Cancer Institute What to Know about Brachytherapy (A Type of Internal Radiation Therapy) National Cancer Institute What to Know about External Beam Radiation Therapy National Cancer Institute Latest News Breast Cancer Gene Might Lower Women’s Fertility HealthDay Many Breast Cancer Patients Try Alternative Medicine First HealthDay Celebrity Cases May Help Spur Rise in Double Mastectomies HealthDay Breast Cancer Meds Won’t Raise Chances of Heart Attack, Stroke, Study Suggests HealthDay Nipple-Preserving Mastectomies Appear Safe for High-Risk Women HealthDay Healthy Living May Offset Genetic Breast Cancer Risk HealthDay Exercise Doesn’t Seem to Affect Breast Density HealthDay Fatty Foods During Teen Years May Influence Later Breast Cancer Risk HealthDay Common Class of Breast Cancer Drugs May Not Trigger ‘Chemo Brain’ HealthDay Race, Poverty May Affect Early Stage Breast Cancer Management HealthDay Teens Who Eat Lots of Fruit May Lower Their Breast Cancer Risk HealthDay Mindfulness Meditation Seems to Soothe Breast Cancer Survivors HealthDay Gene Test May Spare Some Breast Cancer Patients from Chemo HealthDay Drug Duo May Rapidly Shrink Breast Tumors in Some Patients HealthDay Many Breast Cancer Patients May Not Need Chemo HealthDay Acupuncture May Ease Hot Flashes for Breast Cancer Patients HealthDay Preventive Mastectomies Triple Among U.S. Women with Cancer in One Breast HealthDay Evening Snacking Might Raise Odds for Breast Cancer’s Return HealthDay About Half of Women May Benefit from Mammograms at 40: Analysis HealthDay
