Risk factors we can change

Anything that increases your likelihood of developing breast cancer is known as a risk factor. Having a risk factor does not guarantee you will get cancer, just as not having risk factors does not ensure you will remain cancer-free.

• Alcohol Consumption: Drinking alcohol increases the risk of developing breast cancer.
• First Pregnancy at an Older Age: Having your first child after age 30 can elevate the risk of breast cancer.
• Never Having Been Pregnant: Being pregnant at least once lowers the risk of breast cancer, while never being pregnant increases it.
• Hormone Therapy for Menopause: Using hormone therapy, particularly combined estrogen and progesterone treatments, to manage menopausal symptoms may increase breast cancer risk. The risk diminishes once the therapy is discontinued.
• Obesity: Being obese is linked to a higher risk of breast cancer.
• Breastfeeding: breastfeeding decreases your risk of breast cancer, the longer a woman breastfeeds throughout her life, the more she reduces her breast cancer risk.
• Physical activity: physically active women have a lower risk of breast cancer. Try to do at least 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous physical activity a week.
• Radiation Exposure: Receiving radiation therapy to the chest during childhood or young adulthood increases the risk of breast cancer.