Why is Breast Cancer the most common Cancer in Women?

Breast cancer is a disease in which malignant cells form in the tissues of the breast. Although breast cancer in men is rare, an estimated 2,600 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer and approximately 440 will die each year. Mostly because they are diagnosed too late.

Breast cancer is hormone related, and the factors that modify the risk of this cancer when diagnosed premenopausally and when diagnosed (much more commonly) postmenopausally are not the same. For premenopausal breast cancer there was convincing evidence that consuming alcoholic drinks increases the risk of this cancer and lactation protects against it. Adult attained height and greater birth weight are probably causes of this cancer and body fatness probably protects against this cancer.

Nevertheless, the strongest risk factor for breast cancer is age. A woman’s risk of developing this disease increases as she gets older. It has been proven that our body parts, tissues and organs get old in different ways, and sometimes the biological age does not correspond to the chronological age. Women breast tissues do get old faster than other parts of the body. But, there are other factors that can contribute to an increased risk.

It is also known that many women are more interested in the risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer at specific ages or over specific time periods than in the risk of being diagnosed at some point during their lifetime.

Does this mean that women are increasingly prepared to be affected by the disease because it is so common? Does it also mean that being aware of the way the disease also affects femininity besides health itself, it is “safer” to be stricken by it later in life?

The good news is that in recent years, perhaps coinciding with the decline in prescriptive hormone replacement therapy after menopause, we have seen a gradual reduction in female breast cancer incidence rates among women aged 50 and older. Death rates from breast cancer have been declining since about 1990, in part due to better screening and early detection, increased awareness, and continually improving treatment options.

And also natural treatments will continuously win a place in our lives.

Stay healthy, be happy!

Sources:

http://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/

http://www.wcrf.org/