The ironic thing is that, in most cases, this does not portend breast cancer. But if you have any of these signs of cancer, it is a good idea to have yourself checked out by your healthcare professional. One in eight women, or 12 percent, will develop invasive breast cancer in her lifetime. 

Breast Cancer Defined

The breast comprises milk-producing glands, which end in the nipple. The breast structure is supported by fat and fibrous tissue. Typically, healthy cells multiply then die. But unhealthy, cancerous cells live longer, resulting in abnormal tissue growth. The patient’s own cancer cells multiply uncontrollably, often forming a lump or mass. These lumps also may be small calcium deposits. Cancer metastasizes when cancer cells break off from the original site and travel throughout the breast, through the lymph node channels or the bloodstream to other organs. This cancer is thought first to develop in the milk ducts or glands.

Among women, breast cancer is the most common cancer and second-leading cause of cancer deaths, after lung cancer. Women make up 99 percent of breast cancer cases;  it is rare in men but still happens. The American Cancer Society estimates that in 2015 there will be nearly 232,000 new cases of breast cancer. Though more than 60,000 cases will be early cancers, more than 40,000 women will die of breast cancer.

Risk Factors for Breast Cancer

By far, the three most important risk factors for breast cancer is age of the woman and personal and family history. Two-thirds of women diagnosed with breast cancer are older than 50; other women diagnosed tend to be between the ages of 39 and 49 years. African-Americans in this group have a higher occurrence rate than white women and are more likely to die from the disease.

Personal history includes other cancers the woman has survived. Those who have already had a bout of breast, colon, endometrial or ovarian cancer have a higher risk of developing breast cancer. Obesity in post-menopausal women can be problematic because it has been found that obesity interferes with estrogen metabolism.

Studies have found that the greater the exposure to estrogen, the greater the risk of breast cancer. In fact, estrogen may exacerbate the spread of breast cancer. Estrogen is important in the process of cell division, but when cancerous cells are encouraged to develop more rapidly with greater odds of mutations, this can very well turn into a cancerous growth.