If a woman's mother or sister has breast cancer, he advises beginning routine mammograms ten years before the age of the youngest family member when she was diagnosed with cancer. Sometimes this does not reflect a change in ACS guidelines. Dr. Otteman adds that 70 percent of women with breast cancer do not have a family history of cancer. Studies have shown that trauma to the breast does not increase the risk of breast cancer. Likewise, the size of the breasts is not a risk factor.
Breast cancer develops in the milk ducts.
Larger breasts are composed of more fat but have the same size milk ducts as smaller breasts. If a woman has experienced another type of cancer, her risks for developing breast cancer increase in proportion to her age. In some families, a brother will have colon cancer and a sister will have ovarian cancer, while my patient develops breast cancer. Similarly, if a woman has experienced breast cancer she is at increased risk for colon, ovarian, and uterine cancer. Studies show that estrogen increases the risk of a woman developing breast cancer.