Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Breast cancer is when breast cells multiply and grow out of control. Breast cancer remains one of the leading causes of cancer death among women in the U.S. 1 in 8 women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime. It is important to go for regular yearly breast cancer screenings starting at age 40 or sooner depending on your risk factors.

Here are 18 Breast Cancer Risk Factors from Breastcancer.org to know your risk for developing breast cancer:

1. Sex: Being a woman, or a person assigned female at birth, is one of the most important risk factors for developing breast cancer.
2. Age: As with many other diseases, your risk of breast cancer goes up as you get older. About two out of three invasive breast cancers are found in women 55 or older.
3. Family History: Women with close relatives — especially sisters, mothers, or daughters — who have been diagnosed with breast cancer have a higher risk of developing the disease.
4. Genetics: About 5% to 10% of breast cancers are thought to be hereditary, caused by abnormal genes passed from parent to child.
5. Personal History of Breast Cancer: If you’ve been diagnosed with breast cancer, you’re three to four times more likely to develop a new cancer in the other breast or a different part of the same breast.
6. Radiation to Chest or Face Before Age 30: If you had radiation to the chest or face to treat another cancer or acne, you have a higher-than-average risk of breast cancer.
7. Certain Breast Changes:  If you’ve been diagnosed with certain benign (not cancer) breast conditions, you may have a higher risk of breast cancer.
8. Race/Ethnicity: White women are slightly more likely to develop breast cancer than Black, Hispanic, and Asian women. But Black women are more likely to develop more aggressive, more advanced-stage breast cancer diagnosed at a young age.
9. Being Overweight: Overweight and obese women have a higher risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer compared to women who maintain a healthy weight, especially after menopause.
10. Pregnancy History: Your age when you give birth to your first child and the number of times you’ve given birth — including if you’ve never had a full-term pregnancy — can affect your risk of developing breast cancer.
11. Breastfeeding History: Breastfeeding can lower breast cancer risk, especially if you breastfeed for longer than one year.
12. Menstrual History: Women who had their first period before they turned 12 have a higher risk of breast cancer later in life.
13. Using HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy): Some types of HRT can increase the risk of breast cancer in people with certain risk factors.
14. Using Hormonal Birth Control: Hormonal forms of contraception (such as the pill, patch, and hormonal IUDs) may slightly increase the risk of breast cancer.
15. Drinking Alcohol: Research shows that drinking alcoholic beverages of any kind increases a woman’s risk of hormone receptor-positive breast cancer.
16. Dense Breasts: Women with dense breasts have a higher risk of developing breast cancer.
17. Lack of Exercise: Research shows a link between exercising regularly at a moderate or intense level for four to seven hours per week and a lower risk of breast cancer.
18. Smoking: Smoking is linked to a higher risk of breast cancer in younger, pre-menopausal women.

Learn More: https://www.breastcancer.org/about-breast-cancer/breast-cancer-awareness-month

$16 Million Study on AI for Breast Cancer

A new $16 million study lead by UCLA and UC Davis has been launched to evaluate whether artificial intelligence (AI) can help improve breast cancer screening and reduce unnecessary callbacks and anxiety for patients. This study, known as the PRISM Trial (Pragmatic Randomized Trial of Artificial Intelligence for Screening Mammography, is the first large-scale randomized trial of AI in breast cancer screening in the United States.

Learn More: https://www.uclahealth.org/news/release/ucla-lead-16-million-national-study-artificial-intelligence