by Dawn Allcot

Created on: July 27, 2009   Last Updated: August 12, 2009

Breast cancer rates in the U.S. equal approximately one in eight women, or 13%, according to Breastcancer.org, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing information and support to breast cancer survivors and their families.

Nearly everyone knows someone whose life has been affected by breast cancer; one in every four cancer diagnoses are breast cancer. Breast cancer is surpassed only by skin cancer as the most common cancer.

Even with all the media coverage breast cancer receives, many myths abound about this aggressive killer.

1. Breast cancer only affects women over 40. While advanced age and gender (being female) are the two key risk factors for breast cancer, the disease also afflicts younger women - even prepubescent girls - as well as men.

According to the American Cancer Society, close to 2,000 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009. Survival rates for men and women are about the same: approximately 95 percent when the cancer is diagnosed early.

2. Antiperspirant and tight bras are leading causes of breast cancer. It's tempting to blame chemicals and fashion for a pervasive disease, but several scientists, medical doctors and organizations, including the American Cancer Society, have refuted this claim, circulated internationally several years ago in an e-mail.

Again, the leading risk factors for breast cancer are gender and age. White women have a slightly higher incidence of breast cancer than black women, although white women have a higher survival rate, presumably due to better health care in many instances.

Breast cancer rates increase with age due to cell divisions in breast tissue caused by hormone changes during menstruation. For this reason, breastfeeding as long as possible after pregnancy (which postpones the return of menses in many women) is shown to decrease the risk of breast cancer, as does having more children.


3. If your mom was diagnosed with breast cancer, you will get it, too. It's true that a woman's risk of breast cancer doubles if her mother, sister or daughter has the disease. However, the odds of a woman getting breast cancer even if it runs in the family is still only 40% to 80%.

The genetic mutation that leads to 10% of all breast cancer cases is not only passed along the mother's genetic lines; to fully assess their genetic risk of breast cancer, a woman should look at the family history of the women on her father's side, as well.

4. Genetic testing for breast cancer will virtually obliterate the disease. It has long been established that a family history of breast cancer increases a woman's risk of being diagnosed with the disease.

A blood test is now available to test for BRCA1 and BRCA2, the genetic mutations that increase a person's risk of developing breast or ovarian cancer. Women with this genetic marker have an 80% chance of a breast cancer diagnosis, and it is most likely to happen before the age of 50.

If a woman is found to have the genetic mutation, lifestyle changes can decrease her chances of getting breast cancer.

However, since 90% of breast cancers are not due to hereditary or the presence of the BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation, genetic testing can help prevent only a small percentage of breast cancer diagnoses.

Additionally, a negative diagnosis of the genetic marker does not guarantee a woman will not get breast cancer and it does not mean she should become lax in preventative measures.

A woman's best way to avoid breast cancer, or to detect it early enough for successful treatment, include:

Yearly mammograms after the age of 40

Monthly self-exams beginning at puberty

A healthy diet/maintaining a healthy weight

Regular exercise

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