As women age, their risk of developing breast cancer increases. Some women who carry the recently identified breast cancer gene have an 85 percent chance of developing breast cancer throughout life. A woman who has her first child after age 30 or who has no children has a slightly increased lifetime risk of breast cancer. Women who began menstruating before age 12 or complete menopause after age 55 have a slightly increased risk. Premenopausal women with the non-cancerous breast disease, atypical hyperplasia, have an increased risk.
Atypical hyperplasia is characterized by a growth of abnormal cells within the milk ducts.
Women treated successfully for malignant lymphomas, such as Hodgkin's disease, with radiation therapy to the upper torso have an increased risk of developing breast cancer 10 years after their last radiation treatment. Treatment is provided more precisely and more efficiently. At the facility, patients can see a medical or radiation oncologist, receive chemotherapy and radiation therapy, as well as have access to a clinical nurse specialist, social worker, dietitian and pharmacist. UPCI at UPMC Passavant provides the most advanced technology, with a sophisticated, skilled team, all in the comfort of a community hospital. Active Studies suggest that physically active women have a reduced risk of breast cancer.