The causes of breast cancer are still being researched, although it is known that a woman’s lifetime exposure to estrogen and her age at the time of her first childbirth play an important role.
The older a woman is, the more likely she is to get breast cancer.
White women are more likely to get breast cancer than women of any other racial or ethnic group. They also have a better chance of survival, primarily because their cancer is usually detected earlier.
African American women are more likely to die of breast cancer than white women.
Less than one of every 100 cases of breast cancer occur in men.
Only about 5 to 10 percent of all breast cancers occur because of inherited mutations such as in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 breast cancer genes.
The best way to detect breast cancer in its earliest stages is monthly breast self-exams.