Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in North American women.
It is a leading cause of cancer death, second only to lung cancer. Simply being a woman and getting older puts you at risk for breast cancer. Risk for developing breast cancer is individual. Just knowing these risk factors for breast cancer will not establish you individual risk. At that time, you will be counseled about your individual risk and told about measures you can take to help detect breast cancer at an early stage - such as regular mammograms and timely checkups.