Your Breast Care Starts With You
1 in 8 women in the United States is expected to be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime, but you can significantly affect the outcome. Learn about screening guidelines, prevention tips, risk factors, and symptoms to watch for so you can take an active role in your breast health.
What Type of Breast Screening Is Right For You?
Take our online breast cancer screening assessment to find out.
General Breast Cancer Screening Guidelines
Early detection is the best protection.
Breast cancer is sometimes found after symptoms appear, but many women with breast cancer have no symptoms which is why regular self-exams and breast cancer screenings are so important.
The following screening guidelines are for women at average risk for breast cancer.
(For screening purposes, a woman is considered to be at average risk if she does not have a personal history of breast cancer, a strong family history of breast cancer, or a genetic mutation known to increase risk of breast cancer (such as in a BRCA gene), and has not had chest radiation therapy before the age of 30.)
- All women should familiarize themselves with the look and feel of their breasts to proactively identify any changes.
- Women 25 – 39 should have a clinical breast exam every 1 to 3 years. This is often done during your annual well-woman checkup by your gynecologist.
- Women 40+ should be getting mammograms every year.
If you’re considered higher risk, your doctor may recommend more frequent breast exams and/or to start having mammograms before age 40. If you have a family history, you may also be recommended for genetic cancer screening.
Lifestyle Modifications to Help Minimize Your Breast Cancer Risk
Although there is no sure way to prevent breast cancer, there are several lifestyle changes you can make that may lower your likelihood of getting it.
Avoid or limit alcohol
Limit the amount of alcohol you drink to no more than one drink a day.
Limit hormone therapies
Talk with your doctor about your options to control your menopause symptoms.
Be physically active
Aim for at least 30 minutes of exercise five days a week.
Choose a healthy diet
Eat a diet high in plant-based foods, such as fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and nuts.
Breast Cancer Risk Factors
Unfortunately, there are a number of important breast cancer risk factors that women have no control over.
Rochester Regional Health's Breast Center offers a comprehensive High-Risk Breast Cancer Screening Clinic to help women with a strong family and personal history of breast cancer learn about and mitigate their risk. For some individuals, a combination of these various risk factors could indicate that they might benefit from being closely followed through our program.
Accordion
As you get older, your risk of breast cancer increases. Most breast cancers are found in women age 55 and older.
Breasts are made up of fatty tissue, fibrous tissue, and glandular tissue. Breasts that are considered dense have more glandular and fibrous tissue and less fatty tissue. Women with dense breasts on mammogram have a higher risk of breast cancer than women with average breast density. Unfortunately, dense breast tissue can also make it harder to see cancers on mammograms.
Learn more about what it means to have dense breasts.
Having a parent, sibling, or child (first-degree relative) or multiple family members on either side of your family who have had breast cancer puts you at higher risk.
Approximately 5-10% of breast cancer cases are thought to be hereditary, meaning that they result directly from gene changes (mutations) passed on from a parent. The most common cause of hereditary breast cancer is an inherited mutation in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene.
Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) — also called estrogen replacement therapy, menopausal hormone therapy, or post-menopausal hormone therapy — can be an effective treatment for menopausal symptoms, but it’s important to know prolonged therapy use (more than five years) can increase your risk of breast cancer.
HRT can also increase your risk of cancer coming back (recurrence) if you’ve been diagnosed with estrogen sensitive breast cancer in the past.
Women who were previously treated with high doses of radiation therapy to the chest before age 30 have a significantly higher risk for breast cancer.
Women with the following reproductive health history generally have a higher risk of developing breast cancer.
- First menstrual period before age 12
- Menopause after age 55
- First childbirth after age 35
- No pregnancies
The increase in risk may be due to a longer lifetime exposure to the hormones estrogen and progesterone.
Breast Cancer Signs & Symptoms
Different people have different symptoms of breast cancer. Some people do not have any signs or symptoms at all. Some common symptoms to watch for include:
- Lump or mass in the breast or armpit
- Breast pain or tenderness
- Change in size or shape of the breast
- Nipple discharge or tenderness
- Skin irritation or rash
- Dimpling or texture changes
- New inversion of the nipple
- Breast swelling or thickening
Please keep in mind that having any one of these symptoms does not necessarily mean you have breast cancer. They can indicate other problems that need to be treated. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, the specialists at the Breast Center can help.
Cancer Genetics Screening
Cancer genetics screening is offered to help women with a strong family history of breast cancer learn about and mitigate their risk.
Screening Requirements
High risk breast cancer genetic screening is offered to women with:
- Multiple affected members on the same side of her family
- A family or personal history of breast cancer diagnosed before age 50
- Pre-menopausal breast cancer
- A personal history of 2 breast cancer, either in the same breast or in opposite breasts
- Ashkenazi (Eastern European) Jewish descent with breast or ovarian cancer at any age
- A family history of breast and ovarian cancer
- A family history of male breast cancer
- A family history of BRCA1 or 2 mutation
- History of Atypical Ductal Hyperplasia or Ductal Carcinoma in Situ
Women who are at high risk for breast cancer are evaluated by our team and referred for genetic counseling and assessment as necessary.
Learn more about Cancer Genetics Screening.