Breast Cancer Risk Factors You Need to Know

Breast cancer risk factors - something for all women to think about. Just because it hasn't struck a woman in your family doesn't mean you're safe from the devastation of this disease.

A team of researchers tracking over 6,000 women for up to six years found that most cases of breast cancer happened in patients without a family history of disease, though these patients did have other factors that can predict a woman's likelihood of being diagnosed with cancer of the breast.

Yet the tendency to look for family history remains strong, and patients newly diagnosed often wonder how they developed the disease without a close relative with the disease.

Earlier research has shown that over 70% of primary care physicians ask a woman about her family background, but less than half collect information on other known risk factors like if periods started before age 12, or if she's given birth.

In a recent study the research team analyzed the roles of various cancer risk factors among just over 6,300 postmenopausal women who had taken part in two large drug trials. All the subjects were under 86 years old, and none had been diagnosed with breast cancer.

The researchers turned to the Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Tool, a questionnaire that allowed them to turn back the clock and predict the chances of the women developing cancer of the breast over the next five years. The calculation uses details like the age of first period, current age, ethnic group, whether they had children, earlier breast biopsies and family history. The score comes on a scale of zero to eight, and gives a percentage that represents a woman's five-year risk of breast cancer.

The most common known risk factors identified in the study include:

- Being at least 65 years old 

- Starting menstruation before 12 years old

Just about 600 of the female subjects (one in ten) had a family history of breast cancer, and nearly all of them scored of 1.66% or above, which meets the predictive tool's definition of high risk. Over half of the remaining subjects who didn't have family histories also fit into the high-risk category. A total of 92 women, or 11.5% of the study population eventually developed invasive cancer of the breast over the follow up of 4 to 6 years.

The actual rate of cancer went up with the predicted risks, as well as when a family history was present. Still, more of the total number of diagnosed breast cancers of the subjects ended up being in women with predictions below the high risk cut off, or without a family history. In other words, out of the blue.

Close to half the women who were diagnosed had a risk score below 1.66%, and nearly two in three diagnosed women had been given risk numbers between 1 and 2% and had no family history of breast cancer. The take home message from the findings - the single largest risk factor for developing breast cancer is being a woman; the second largest is being a woman over 50 years old.

But, there are some women who are at greater risk than average, particularly if you do have a family history. Medical professionals need to move beyond asking about family history to assess the risk of breast cancer. This can identify women at increased risk and allow them to take advantage of screening and prevention strategies that might help.

Of course if you're worried about your own breast cancer risk factors, family history or not, do all you can to keep yourself healthy. Don't smoke. Eat a healthy diet. Maintain a healthy weight. Exercise. Have regular screening tests.

Finding the Will to Go on After a Cancer Diagnosis

Melissa Brumbelow has written a wonderful book about all her experiences from when she was told she had breast cancer in March of 2009, up until she had her final procedure. She has now begun her website, Perky Mutant, where she shares her experiences for everyone who was just diagnosed, already under care and those that know and love anyone with this debilitating disease.

Imagine you are 28 years old, rocking a sexy new business suit from work, heading to meet your studly husband as soon as the next appointment for the day is over for date night, and you're as healthy as a horse. That next appointment is the annual visit to the OB-GYN. Every woman just loves that yearly check-up. Y'all know the one I'm talking about - the one that includes stirrups, cattle prods, branding iron hot flashes, and what was once round is squished flatter than a pancake.

The above quote is how Melissa describes her first of many visits to her I love My OB-GYN All to Pieces doctor, and for her Oncologists; Honey Doc and Gospel Doc. She has "special" names for all of the wonderful people that helped her throughout this ideal that includes family and friends. Melissa describes her OB-GYN as the person who straps you to a table, places your feet high in stirrups, and uses tools on your body you would otherwise consider kinky.

Melissa goes on to describe how she came up with the name Perky Mutant, and if you read what's on the website, you'll certainly understand the reasoning behind this. You'll also discover ways in which she tried to overcome all of the procedures she went through. You'll also discover why she did what she did without having much choice in the matter - either have the procedure or die in two months!

Melissa underwent a new test called the BRCAnalysis Test (bra-ka), specifically for women with a lot of cancer in their families. Now, if you call having seventeen cases of cancer in the immediate family a high percentage, you'd be correct. After all of the bloodletting, her OB-GYN called telling me she wanted to give her the results which, weren't good. She tested 87 percent positive for breast cancer and 44 percent positive for ovarian cancer. She just wasn't ready to hear numbers that were that ginormous!

As you can imagine, now that Melissa is "perky" again, she's riding high and doing everything she possibly can to make other women aware of what she went through, and is speaking publicly wherever and whenever she can about her encounter with breast cancer. If you would like to read more about her experience, and more importantly about a breast cancer survivor, I highly recommend that you visit Perky Mutant.

This site contains much of her personal insight and history, and reads like a diary in parts, to help anyone with cope with this disease and we sincerely hope that you will gain worthwhile information for use in your personal life.

I have written this article because I feel that anyone that has been diagnosed with breast cancer, or knows anyone that has, visit this web site to learn what this wonderful lady has gone through over the course of two years. From early diagnosis all the way through surgery and reconstructive surgeries. It's a wonderful insight and you're sure to learn something from all of this.

Breast Cancer And Omega 3 Fish Oil - Reducing Your Cancer Risk With Fish Oil

If you are looking for ways to dodge that horrific maiming disease that is breast cancer, you should start by working on your dietary requirements. In this article we will be looking into one of the more neglected areas - Omega 3 fish oil supplements. Read on to see how they actively reduce your risks, and where you can obtain them safely.

Recently, the University of California conducted a large scale study involving 35,000 women in order to find out whether Omega 3 fish oil actually prevent breast cancer. The results are very encouraging: compared to the control group taking placebo sugar pills, those volunteers who were committed to regular consumption of fatty acid supplements had their risks reduced by a full 33%.

Investigations suggest that these substances are actively involved in the maintenance of healthy tissues, thus protecting the human body against invasive ductal breast carcinoma, i.e. cancers originating from the inner lining of the milk ducts, and the most common form of the killer disease.

The fatty acids which have been administered to the volunteers are found in naturally sourced fish oil, and are the active ingredient with regards to the oils' anti-inflammatory benefits. As the inflammation response has long been associated with the development of cancer, this is one possible mechanism in which Omega 3 fatty acids are thought to stymie malignant growth.

In addition, the study by the University of California also suggests that regular consumption of fish oils when integrated into a wholesome, healthy diet, lead to fewer instances of actual tumour growths in breast tissues.

The underlying mechanism might go beyond prevention as to actually induce the malignant cells to apoptosis (commit suicide), as well as improve the effectiveness of chemotherapy.

The advantages of Omega 3 aren't limited to cancer prevention either. It has now been firmly established that omega 3 fish oil is quite an all-rounder, improving both cardiac performance and neurological health.

Consequently, both the incidence rate for stroke and depression episodes are lowered in cases of long-term consumption. While it is an exhilarating breakthrough for cancer research, the correlative link between Omega 3 intake and the dip in breast cancer rates awaits further confirmation.

Of course, it doesn't hurt to hedge your bets, as long as you choose your sources wisely. As with any health supplements, you'll need to ensure that the source is as pure and as fresh as it gets. Unfortunately, as hordes of manufacturers come crashing into this newly popular market, your average capsule seldom contains what it says on the tin.

A rule of thumb is a quarter of DHA Omega 3 fats by weight in every 1000mg (1 gram) portion: the label should indicate clearly the variety of the fatty acid on offer. If it only says Omega 3, chuck it out the window because it probably contains an inert version called EPA instead of DHA and EPA.

Are There Alternative Treatments for Breast Cancer?

Mention the words "breast cancer" to most people, and conversations stop. All of us have at least one or more friends or relatives who have been diagnosed with breast cancer. Some of the people beat the cancer, others died from it, and conventional medicine has no good answer as to why one person lived and another person died. In the vast majority of cases, alternative treatments for breast cancer were never considered or used.

Although men can and do get breast cancer, it is mainly a condition found in women. And most women are treated with the standard conventional treatments of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. Unfortunately these standard treatments do not work very well on breast cancer or any other type of cancer. In fact, the overall death rate for all types of cancers has not changed since 1971, the year the "War on Cancer" went into effect. We have spent billions of dollars on cancer research since 1971, with very little return.

Even though conventional doctors tell you that chemotherapy and radiation kill cancer, they do not kill every cancer cell in the body. And in many instances these treatments also kill the patient. The reason for this is simple - chemotherapy and radiation wreak havoc on the patient's body and destroy the immune system. And cancer is a system-wide condition that can only be totally eradicated by the patient's immune system. Alternative treatments for breast cancer treat the whole body, not just the tumor.

It is very important to understand how we get cancer. Simply put, everyone has cancer cells in his or her body at all times. Our bodies are constantly at work replicating and replacing old cells with new cells. These new cells are formed based on the DNA structure of the old cells. If the DNA in the old cell has been damaged in some way, the new cell will also have that same damaged DNA. Our immune system has mechanisms to find and kill cells that have damaged or mutated or DNA (cancerous cells). The problem begins when the immune system has also been damaged or weakened.

If the weakened immune system is unable to kill the mutated (cancerous) cells, then they will continue to reproduce, and eventually a tumor will form. This is how breast cancer works, and also other types of cancer. A tumor is actually the body's way of trying to wall off and contain the cancer cells as they reproduce. The tumor will get larger and larger, and eventually some of the cancer cells will escape the tumor and spread, or metastasize.

Since breast cancer occurs because of an immune system failure, alternative treatments for breast cancer (and other cancers) focus first on boosting and improving the immune system. There are many different, and very effective, alternative cancer treatments. Some are strictly based on changing the diet, others make diet changes and add in specific supplements and substances to help combat the cancer. Many of these treatments can be self-administered.

Other alternative treatments for breast cancer are administered in a clinical setting, using specialized equipment and substances. Quite often these type treatments will also include very low doses of chemotherapy if tests show that the cancer will respond to a specific chemotherapy drug. Each patient is different and each cancer is different, and alternative cancer treatment takes this into consideration. There are a few good alternative cancer clinics in the U.S., and other excellent clinics are located in Mexico and Germany.

Confidence - Your Best Accessory!

When you are faced with Breast Cancer, as Jo Trinidad and Susan Zipperlen have, your style and approach to beauty changes. Both women have undergone double mastectomies and Chemotherapy and Jo has also had radiation. Speaking with both of these women and discussing how their individual style and beauty was challenged during this period in their life was informational and inspiring. I found their radiating personalities and uplifting attitude to be similar but their approach to fashion, style and beauty to be quite different. Jo is a nurse and Susan is the owner of a Spa. Their careers are quite different as was their focus on what was important to them during their treatment.

Jo loves fashion and being fashionable. "I feel great, when I look good. Hearing that I had Breast Cancer was a shock. Part of the process was processing...What it will be like when I lose my breasts? I have a draw full of new bras from Victoria Secret - What will I do with them? I have a closet full of clothes, some with tags still on them - Will I be able to wear them? Will they still fit me?" stated Jo. For Susan losing her breasts was not as much of an issue as was her fear of looking sick or different. "I was concerned about looking abnormal, withered, and dull. I felt because of my industry the bar was higher. Skincare is my business, it's what I do," stated Susan.

At varying times during treatment you're very sick and fashion, style and beauty are the last things on your mind. But when you're feeling better you just want to fit in and be normal. "My friends were great. There was a rotation of girlfriends to take me out. When you're going through this you don't want to look sick, you don't want pity," explained Jo. It is important to do the things that make you feel pretty and feminine...you want to feel like a woman. Looking good does a lot for your overall attitude.

Jo and Susan had very different approaches to what helped them feel and look better during their treatment.

Mastectomy and breast reconstruction - Both women have been through the process of losing and reconstructing their breasts. For Jo this was traumatic. "I wasn't ready to lose my breast and then I found out that it (the cancer) was bigger and they needed to take both (breasts). I had a difficult time dealing with it...but now, with reconstruction, my new breasts look pretty darn good! It is a consolation that when I'm in my seventies my breasts will look 30 years younger. I found that camisoles are much more comfortable than a bra. They are really feminine. Pretty sexy undergarments make me feel like a woman! My best accessory is my confidence. Every woman needs to feel good about being a woman," communicated Jo. For Susan she had a very different take on losing her breasts. "Missing my breasts was not an issue for me. I like my breasts better now than I did before. I feel 100% secure and feminine in clothing. Before my style was conservative, but now I am more daring. I now have something there and I can wear chest flattering tops. I take advantage of wearing fun tops and sweaters. I feel a lot better...perky, sexy and full," explained Susan.

"To prepare your skin for reconstruction it needs to be soft and pliable. At the time of the mastectomy, temporary tissue expanders are placed under the skin to stretch the skin in preparation for the breast implants. I used a combination of Jason's Vitamin E 25,000 units and Aloe Vera mixed together and rubbed all over the breast area twice a day. This combo also works great after each radiation treatment to help keep the skin moisturized and to prevent sores and blisters," explained Jo.

Hair loss during Chemotherapy - Both Susan and Jo were treated with the Chemotherapy drug that has hair loss as a side effect. Both women lost all of their hair from head to toe and both had a difficult time dealing and coping with this challenge. "Losing your hair is a humbling experience, the only good part was not shaving - that was liberating! For me my hair was my identity," stated Susan.

When it comes to wigs there are two options; synthetic and human hair. For Jo she was determined she wanted human hair. At the time she had waist-length beautiful color treated, styled hair, "I called many hair salons to see if they could take my own hair and make it into a wig - well they can for $3k or more! I didn't want synthetic they were too hot. So after a lot of research I found a fabulous website Couture for Cancer. It is a charitable, non-profit organization that donates custom made cranial prosthesis (Layman's term for a wig) completely free of charge! The donation included the measurement, fitting and styling of your wig from local participating hair salons. It fit like second skin. I felt like a new person," stated Jo.

"For me a great wig needed to be a reflection of me. I went to Comfort Wigs Etc. in Lewisville. I got a couple of wings, one shorter and one longer, and each was about $300. I felt good in it. And it did reflect me." Susan.

"When you have a great wig people don't treat you like your sick. You're just a regular person, "stated Don Seal, owner and stylist, Comfort Wigs, ETC. "We see a lot more happy tears that sad tears. Our clients are so happy! It makes a tough time easier," explained Don. Comfort Wigs offers both synthetic, that range in price from $129 - $500, and human hair wigs, that start at $500. They fit, size, style and cut them to your liking. They also offer other mastectomy products such as camisoles, breast forms and bras with pockets (for the forms). "We are the only people in North Texas that accept/bill to insurance. We charge insurance for wigs (with a prescription), camisoles, bras and breast forms," explained Don.

After a short while Jo determined that the wig was not for her so she moved on to hats...and lots of them. Jo found many of her hats at Forever21TM. "I had so many hats, brown, black, beige, and white. There is so much you can do with them. A scarf on the brim completely changes the look. Cotton headbands work great too. You can put them on your scalp then the hat on top. Allow the colored headband to peek out all around the edge," explained Jo.

The American Cancer Society offers a service called TLC Tender Loving Care. It is a non-profit patient service that strives to make coping easier for women experiencing hair loss due to chemotherapy and radiation as well as products specifically for breast cancer patients. Their headwear includes include wigs, hairpieces (bangs, falls and sideburns), turbans (cancer caps), hats, head scarves, and kerchiefs. And their mastectomy products include breast forms, pocketed post-surgery bras, swim suits and camisoles.

Dry irritated skin from harsh Chemotherapy - For Susan this is where she focused. Seeing that skin care is her business it no surprise that is what she concentrated on. "Chemo killed everything. My skin was dying. I was like a snake. The treatments are so harsh, you lose the elasticity in your skin; you look lift less, withered and lifeless because you're missing nutrients. I wanted to feed my skin. I wanted sexy, beautiful skin that glowed and to do that I feed my skin from the outside. My survival kit included facials, masks and exfoliation to keep my skin fresh and dewy. For my dry skin I used the Stone Crop Maskque by EMINENCE. To get that glowy, radiant skin I did a paprika treatment every two weeks. And for beautiful, fresh skin I used the Lemon Grass Sugar Scrub from get fresh. That scent made me feel good. It smelled like spring and represented life and freshness," communicated Susan.

Jo on the other hand tried lots and lots of creams and lotions. She found that the expensive options work no better than the others in fact "JOHNSON'STM Baby Wash and Oil were amazing and not expensive. The combo of Vitamin E and Aloe Vera by JASONTM used as a facial cream as well as to help heal incisions. They worked great," explained Jo.

A great tip during Chemo is Saran Wrap - for Chemo a PowerPort is used, which is a small devise implanted beneath the skin under the collarbone area. It is an access to receive chemo meds. Because they have to puncture the skin to access the port, Jo was given a prescription for Lidocaine (a numbing cream). "To protect my clothes from staining, I put Saran Wrap over the Lidocaine cream just before I left my home. This way, the area where the needle will be inserted is fully numbed up by the time I got to the facility and my clothes were clean!" stated Jo.

Nails - "For discolored brittle nails, apply Tree oil on your nail beds and push your cuticles back using your thumb nail. I was advised not to have my cuticles cut or to have my feet placed in a salon's water when I got my manicure and pedicure. What to do? At my salon visits I just had my nails filed, buffed and painted with my own nail polish from home. Chemo lowers your immune system. I couldn't risk getting an infection through any cuts or expose myself to anything that is possibly contaminated with germs," explained Jo.

Eyebrows and Eyelashes - For Susan brows and lashes were no big deal, "My eyebrows?...I just filled them in. And they grew back in about 6 - 7 weeks. And my lashes, I used RevitaLashTM. It's a wonderful product that stimulated growth. It really only took about 3 ½ - 4 weeks before my lashes grew back," stated Susan. But for Jo this was a challenge, "Where do I start? Where do I put them? How do I do this? There is a program offered by the American Cancer Society that teaches cancer patients what to do." Jo. The Look Good...Feel Better program is a community-based, free, national program that teaches cancer patients a variety of techniques to assist them with their appearance and self-image. Topics such as make-up, skincare and hair loss options such as wigs, turbans, and scarves are discussed and demonstrated. Jo received a free kit full of make-up. "It was so fun. I got a whole bag full of new make-up," exclaimed Jo.

Color and Make-up - "I never go out without makeup. It makes me feel fabulous to be a woman. It's all about lipstick. No matter how bad you look...always wear lipstick," exclaimed Jo. Color is critical. Make-up will add that color, depth and femininity to your face. As the color changes in your skin you will need to assess your make-up and what works best for you. "Making good color choices with make-up is critical," stated Susan. Make-up locations like ULTATM are wonderful resources because you can try before you buy. Their staff is great at helping you find the right lipstick or working with you on a complete make-over. Make-up is an inexpensive way to brighten your face and make you feel pretty.

Style and Fashion - "I love fashion. I feel good when I look good. My style didn't change it just got bolder. I needed to work with what I had in my closet and just make it happen. My taste didn't change it got heightened. I had to do something so my style got bolder. And for me, my best accessory is self confidence," Jo stated. Image Consultants can be a great resource as they can assess what you have in your closet and help you put together outfits and ensembles to flatter your changing body.

Both Susan and Jo exude such presence, style and beauty. But it is their confidence that stands out most. And confidence is the best kept style secret!

Resources: 

• Look Good...Feel Better self-help materials can be obtained via, 1.800.395.LOOK (1.800.395.5665). For more information, visit http://www.cancer.org. 

• TLC Tender Loving Care - http://www.tlcdirect.org 

• Comfort Wigs ETC. - 2410 South Stemmons Frwy, Suite C, Lewisville, TX - 214.488.8885 or 866.383.8885 

• ULTA - 2900 East Southlake Blvd., Southlake, TX - 817.749.0582

Products: 

• RevitaLash 

• JOHNSON'S Baby Wash and Oil 

• Stone Crop Maskque by EMINENCE 

• get fresh Sugar Scrub in Lemon Grass fragrance

Tricia is is an Image Consultant, style guru, marketer, blogger and style addict. Through her Image Consulting services Tricia helps women of all shapes, sizes and ages with all their image and style needs. As a marketer and writer Tricia puts her ideas, tips, thoughts, knowledge and expertise to good use and shares that with her client and followers via the StylishShe website and blog, Facebook, twitter, style articles, and soon...her book.