Your risk of getting breast cancer increases as you get older. Breast cancer is relatively uncommon before the age of 30, but risk increases with age thereafter, especially up to the menopausal years. Risk continues to rise with age following the menopause, but the rate of increase is less pronounced. One quarter of cases are diagnosed in women under 50, and 36% in women aged 50-64. The remaining 39% are distributed equally between women aged 65-74 and those aged 75 and over.
Age
Your risk of getting breast cancer increases as you get older. Breast cancer is relatively uncommon before the age of 30, but risk increases with age thereafter, especially up to the menopausal years. Risk continues to rise with age following the menopause, but the rate of increase is less pronounced. One quarter of cases are diagnosed in women under 50, and 36% in women aged 50-64. The remaining 39% are distributed equally between women aged 65-74 and those aged 75 and over.
Other risks:Women with any or some of the risk factors below may never develop breast cancer and women without them may develop the disease. These risk factors have been identified as increasing or decreasing your chances of developing breast cancer, but breast cancer has many causes so it is impossible to pinpoint any one cause in any individual woman.
Breakthrough Breast Cancer has a very good publication on Risk at www.breakthrough.org.uk which lists risks under the headings Established, Possible and Doubtful. Download & print this guide
|