Breast cancer will strike one in eight women in the United States. That’s a startling statistic. Everyone seems to know someone with breast cancer – a friend, a mother, an aunt or sister – and we wonder whether we, too, will be affected.

Thankfully, there are some steps to take to lessen your risk. Knowledge and early detection are your best defense.

Did you know? ...

• 62% of Iowa women over the age of 40 have had a mammogram in the past year?
• Women in their 40s should have mammograms every one to two years?
• Women over age 50 should have mammograms every year?

Are you aware of the symptoms?

• A lump or thickening in or near the breast or in the underarm area
• Nipple tenderness
• A change in the size or shape of the breast
• The nipple is turned inward into the breast
• Nipple discharge

Are you at risk?

No one is immune but there are certain risk factors that make it more likely you will develop breast cancer. These risk factors include:

• Age – breast cancer is uncommon before age 40 and most common after age 60
• Family history of breast cancer in a mother, sister, or daughter, especially if it occurred before age 40
• Early age of onset of menstrual periods (before age 12)
• Late age of onset for menopause (after age 55)
• The older the age a woman has her first child, the higher her risk of breast cancer
• The use of hormone replacement therapy (estrogens)