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Breast cancer is widely known, and it affects about twenty percent of women above forty years across the globe. Doctors have not yet identified the causes of the killer disease after many years of research. But breast cancer remains in the list of killer diseases. In addition to that, some women are in the risk of getting the disease more than others.

As mentioned earlier, the exact causes of the disease are not known, but doctors have identified some risk factors such that if you are in that zone, then you have a higher chance of getting the disease. In this article, we are going to discuss some of the observed risk factors. Read on.

Cancer in the Family

If your family has a history of breast cancer, then you stand in the high-risk sector. The risk is high even if far relatives have had breast cancer before. By distant relatives I mean aunts, cousins, great-grandmother and the rest. It gets complicated because also if a male relative has suffered prostate cancer or any other form of cancer, you are still in high risk of getting breast cancer. The chances are higher if multiple family members have had breast cancer.

Personal History of the Disease

Women who have suffered breast cancer before are at risk of getting the disease again. It recurs. The chances are high even if the tumor was removed in its early stages. Cancer is deadly, and some cancerous cells might have spread to the nearby lymph. Many times cancer recurs in the other breast. Studies have revealed that women who have had cancer before having a 60% chance of getting cancer in the other breast.

Breast Diseases

Cancer is not the only disease affecting the breast. If you have suffered diseases of the breast like atypical hyperplasia, you have higher chances of getting breast cancer. It would be the same case if the breast diseases affected women in your family. If you have suffered such conditions, take all the necessary precautions and tests to make sure that your breasts have not developed cancerous cells.

If you are reading this article and you can relate to the risks discussed, you should not panic. It should be an eye-opener that will help you make the right decisions. Going for a mammogram once a year is the best thing you can do for your breasts. Technology has come up with breast imaging technologies like Breast Tomosynthesis Markers which evaluate any abnormalities in the breast tissue.