The American Cancer Society estimates that in the United States in 2000, over 175,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer and approximately 43,300 will die from this disease. It is important to note that many younger women vastly overestimate their risk of developing breast cancer, and believe that if they do get it, they will not survive. Breast cancer is serious and it is real, but other diseases are often more common and more dangerous. Family History Women whose mothers, grandmothers or sisters have had breast cancer are two to three times more likely to develop breast cancer.
Risk also increases with higher weight.
Age Risk increases with age. This disease is rare in women under the age of thirty. Alcohol Women who consume two to five alcoholic drinks a day have a higher risk of breast cancer than do non-drinkers. In the United States, white women from upper-socioeconomic classes living in urban areas are more at risk for breast cancer than other women, for reasons researchers do not yet understand. Environmental Factors Research has not yet proven whether there are breast cancer risk risks involved in a number of environmental exposures, including radiation, UV rays in sunlight, artificial sweeteners, pesticides and electromagnetic fields that surround electronic devices like microwave ovens and cell phones.