Early detection of problems provides the greatest possibility of successful treatment. Some people with one or more risk factors never develop a disease, such as cancer, while others develop cancer and have no known risk factors. Although certain factors MAY suggest or define a person's possible risks, they do not necessarily cause the disease. Different diseases, including cancers, have different risk-factor lists. Over her lifetime, a woman in the United States has a 1 in 8 risk of developing breast cancer, and a 1 in 28 risk of dying from breast cancer.
Relative risk is a measure of the strength of the relationship between risk factors and cancer.
With respect to breast cancer, it compares the risk of developing breast cancer in women who have a certain trait or exposure to women who do not have the trait or exposure. For example, women who have a family history of breast cancer are about 100 percent more likely to develop breast cancer than women who do not have a family history. National Cancer Institute Click here to view the Online Resources page of this web. Contact Information Copyright 2001 Methodist Health Care System, Houston, Tx. All Rights Reserved.