Breast Cancer: What Are The Risks ?

You've heard or read the numbers: A woman has a one in nine chance of developing breast cancer.

A statistic that has driven fear into the hearts of many women. The problem is you probably don't have the full story. When we talk about a one in nine risk, we're talking about the risk a woman has of developing cancer at the end of her lifetime.

In other words, at different ages women have different risks for developing breast cancer. As age increases, the risk for developing breast cancer rises. To further clarify matters, a recent study in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (June 2/93) breaks down the numbers, specifying the varying risks for varying ages.

Age of a Healthy, Cancer Free Woman	Risk of Breast Cancer
20	1 in 2,500
30	1 in 233
40	1 in 63
50	1 in 41
60	1 in 28
70	1 in 24
80	1 in 16
95	1 in 8

As you can see, the risk of developing breast cancer is far from negligible. But in the absence of other factors, your risk rises to a significant level only as you get up in years, Also, despite what you read elsewhere, remember that the risk of dying of of breast cancer hasn't increased by a great deal in the last 20 years. In 1970 the risk of dying of breast cancer in the course of one's lifetime was 1 in 30. Today it is 1 in 28.

Taken from the People's Medical Society newsletter, October, 1993.