Q Can a young women get breast cancer? What are the risk factors of breast cancer ?
Diagnosing breast cancer in younger women is more difficult, because their breast tissue is generally denser than the breast tissue in older women. 7% of all breast cancer cases occur in women under 40 years old. Several factors that put a woman at high risk for developing breast cancer are: A personal history of breast cancer or some noncancerous breast diseases, family history of breast cancer, particularly in a mother, daughter, or sister, history of radiation therapy to the chest before age 40, genetic defect, heavy alcohol use, high intake of red meat, dense breasts, obesity, race, oral contraceptives (birth control pills) results in a very slight increased risk for developing breast cancer over those who have never taken them.