Your risk of developing breast cancer increases as you get older. At least four out of five of all breast cancer cases in the UK are in women over the age of 50. Breast cancer is uncommon in women under the age of 40.
Early puberty and late menopause
Women who started their periods at an early age and women who go through the menopause later have a slightly increased risk of breast cancer. This slight increase in risk is probably because these women are exposed to the naturally occurring female hormone (oestrogen) for longer than women who go through the menopause earlier or start their periods at an older age.
Regular consumption of alcohol leads to an increased risk of developing breast cancer. For every 100 women who drink one typical drink a day (for example, a standard 175ml glass of wine) there will be an extra two women who develop breast cancer when compared with 100 women who don’t drink alcohol at all. The more alcohol you drink, the more your risk is increased. Alcohol consumption is a life style risk factor that you can modify. If you want to reduce your risk of breast cancer you need to reduce your alcohol intake.
Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and the oral contraceptive pill
Taking HRT to treat symptoms of the menopause can increase your risk of breast cancer. The longer you use HRT the greater the risk. The good news is that the increase in breast cancer risk begins to fall as soon as you stop taking HRT, no matter how many years you’ve taken it for.
Taking the pill also leads to a slight increase in your risk of breast cancer. Ten years after stopping the pill this risk decreases to match the average population risk.