What is your breast cancer risk?
Being a woman is the greatest risk factor for developing breast cancer. But other factors – like age, family history and lifestyle choices – can also influence your overall risk.
Learn more about these major and modifiable risk factors below.
1 in 7 women will get breast cancer
Most women with breast cancer have NO family history of the disease
Age is one of the biggest risk factors for developing
breast cancer
Major risk factors
Age
Besides being a woman, age is the most significant factor for developing breast cancer – with the risk increasing as you get older.
Over 75% of all breast cancers in Australia are diagnosed in women over the age of 50. . The average age of breast cancer diagnosis in women is 61.
Family history
Most breast cancers are not caused by genetic factors. This means a family history of breast cancer in most cases might be coincidental – reflecting unrelated cases rather than a genetic cause.
However, a small number of women with a family history may face an increased risk of cancer due to a genetic change in a blood relative.
Your family history becomes important when:
- More than one relative on the same side of your family (either mother’s or father’s) has been diagnosed with breast cancer
- Your relatives were diagnosed with breast cancer at a young age (below 50 years) and are more closely related to you (for example, your sister rather than your cousin)
- A family member has cancer in both breasts
- There’s a case of male breast cancer
- Both breast and ovarian cancer exists in your family
Various gene mutations – including BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 – increase the risk of breast cancer.
A family history of prostate and pancreatic cancer can increase the risk of breast cancer. Risks are also higher if you have many relatives affected by various cancers.
We recommend that you speak to your doctor to understand your personal risk and plan the best next steps.
Breast density
The higher the level of breast density, the harder it can be to see cancers on a mammogram. This is because fibroglandular tissue and cancers both appear white on a mammogram.
Having dense breasts can also increase the risk of developing cancer. Having dense breasts does not mean that a person will develop breast cancer, just that the risk is higher.
Read more about breast density
Previous breast cancer diagnosis
If you’ve been diagnosed with breast cancer before, you have an increased chance of being diagnosed with breast cancer again.
You can resume screening at BreastScreen Victoria if it’s been more than 5 years since your diagnosis, with your doctor’s approval. Once you rejoin the program we’ll also restart to send you reminders for annual screening.
Previous benign breast disease
Benign breast disease refers to a broad group of conditions with non-cancerous changes in the breast tissue.
Women with a history of proliferative benign breast disease, including LCIS, ADH and ALH, have a higher risk of breast cancer. We offer annual screening for women with these conditions.
Modifiable risk factors
Modifiable risks (that is, factors you can control) that may increase your breast cancer risk include alcohol consumption, smoking and obesity.
While you cannot change your age, family history or other major risk factors, you can adapt your everyday lifestyle to reduce your risk.
How to calculate your risk
You can find out more about your personal risk of developing breast cancer through:
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre’s iPrevent online risk calculator