Breast cancer risks: What people need to know

Image source: discovermagazine.com

Although Dr. Paolo Boffetta has practiced medicine for years, he has never stopped learning. Even today, he still does research, looking into reports and journals on cancer patients to add to his already vast knowledge on the subject matter. What’s more is that he unselfishly shares what he knows to readers everywhere through his series of blogs.

A good example of this can be found in today’s blog, wherein Dr. Paolo Boffetta sheds light on breast cancer risks.

Before anything, Dr. Paolo Boffetta defines the term risk factor as anything that increases the possibility of a person developing or contracting a disease. For breast cancer, there are a variety of risk factors that can be grouped in two main categories – controllable and uncontrollable.

Dr. Paolo Boffetta mentions that similar to other cancers, knowing about these risk factors and regularly checking them may be helpful. He also notes that the presence of one or more of these factors does not necessarily lead to the development of cancer.

Image source: cancercenter.com


Three of the most common risk factors associated with breast cancer are lifestyle, genetics, and age. For lifestyle, women who are overweight and obese, who do not lead healthy and fit lifestyles, have been found to have an increased risk of a number of diseases, including breast cancer. For genetics, Dr. Paolo Boffetta explains that as many as 1 out of every 10 women with breast cancer have family members, especially close one with breast cancer as well. For age, the development of breast cancer increases as one gets older, which is why Dr. Paolo Boffetta recommends regular screening for women over 45.

Dr. Paolo Boffetta studied medicine at the University of Turin, where he was also a resident at the Second Division of Internal Medicine. He also became a research fellow and research assistant at the university's Cancer Epidemiology Unit. To read more on epidemiology, visit this website.

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