All women are at risk for breast cancer. The older you are, the greater your chance of getting it. Women who have a mother, sister or daughter with breast cancer are at a higher risk, particularly if this occurred before menopause or in both breasts.
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in African American women.
2 African Americans with breast cancer face more than twice the risk of dying compared with white Americans, primarily because they are diagnosed at more advanced stages of disease. Until more is known about preventing breast cancer, early detection of breast cancer will give women more treatment options and the chance to recover. However, this still lags behind whites, whose survival rate was 86 percent for cases diagnosed in 1986-1993. Annual screening mammography for women by age 40. Women under age 40 with either a family history of breast cancer or other concerns about their personal risk should consult a trained medical professional about when to begin mammography.