PBL: What To Do NextBreast Cancer – Risk FactorsA risk factor is anything that affects your chance of getting a disease. Different cancers have different risk factors. Risk factors don’t tell you whether you will get the disease or not. Havinga risk factor, or even several, does not mean that you will get the disease. Most women who have one or more breast cancer risk factors never develop the disease, while many women with breast cancer have no apparent risk factors (other than being a woman and growing older). Even when a woman with risk factors develops breast cancer, it ishard to know just how much these factors might have contributed.Some risk factors, like a person's age or race, can't be changed. Others are linked to cancer-causing factors in the environment. Still others are related to personal behaviors, such as smoking, drinking, and diet. Some factors influence risk more than others, and your risk for breast cancer can change over time, due to factors such as aging or lifestyle.
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- Fall '14
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