insideKENT Magazine Issue 20 - Sep/Oct 2013 | Page 72

HEALTH+BEAUTY Breast Cancer: Are you at risk? October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and one in eight women will develop this disease in their lifetime. More women than ever are being diagnosed with breast cancer but early detection and improvements in management mean that this can be a very treatable disease and survival rates are improving year on year. Can you reduce your personal risk of developing breast cancer? Well the answer is yes – and no. In this regard, two high profile events have been reported extensively in the media this summer. Firstly, the actress, Angelina Jolie, went public with her decision to have a double mastectomy and breast reconstruction after learning that she carries the high risk BRCA1 gene mutation. Later that month, the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) amended its guidelines to recommend the antioestrogen drug (Tamoxifen) to women at high risk of developing breast cancer. The risk of developing breast cancer increases with age – 80% of breast cancers occur in women over the age of 50. Breast cancer also affects men, but it’s rare – around 400 men are diagnosed each year. Most women who develop breast cancer don’t have any identifiable risk factors, their breast cancer happens by chance. However, there are some family patterns of disease and some lifestyle factors that can influence your personal risk. This month, insideKENT talks to Breast & Oncoplastic Surgeon Mrs Ritchie Chalmers about breast cancer risks, awareness and treatment. I have a family history of breast cancer; does that mean that I am at risk? Less than 10% of all breast cancers run in families, so having someone in your family with breast cancer doesn’t necessarily mean your own risk is increased. If you have a number of relatives who have had either breast, ovarian or prostate cancer (especially if they had cancer under the age of 50) there may be a faulty gene in your family that increases the risk of developing breast cancer. There are probably several gene faults (mutations) that can increase breast cancer risk. Currently we can test for some, but not all of them. It’s likely that we will be able to test for others in the future but further research is needed. Analysing your family history helps us to determine the chance of your family carrying a gene abnormality and thus your chance of carrying the gene too. If you are considered to have a higher risk than average of developing breast cancer because of your family history then you are eligible for annual screening tests to identify cancer early. The new recommendations from NICE mean that you may wish to take Tamoxifen to reduce your risk or consider risk-reducing surgery in the form of mastectomy with breast reconstruction. Which risk factors can I control? We can’t alter our genetic make-up but there are some risk factors for breast cancer that we do have the power to change. Research has shown that being overweight after the menopause increases the risk of developing breast cancer. Many breast cancers are sensitive to oestrogen and there is evidence to suggest that taking oestrogen in the form of the oral contraceptive pill or HRT increases breast cancer risk. Drinking more than a couple of units of alcohol per day has been shown to increase breast cancer risk and the higher the intake, the higher the risk. Having lots of children, breastfeeding and exercise all reduce the risk of developing breast cancer. How to be ‘Breast Aware’ So we can reduce our risk of developing breast cancer but we can’t eliminate it, and that is why being aware of what to look out for is so important. Taking part in the National Screening Programme and having regular mammograms may also pick up cancer early. The UK screening programme sends invitations for screening to all women aged between 50 and 70. They are extending this to cover women from the ages of 47 to 73. You won't be invited to go for mammograms after you reach the age of 71, but you can ask your local breast cancer screening office to carry on inviting you every 3 years. 72 www.insidekentmagazine.co.uk