With so much talk about breast cancer awareness, most everyone has heard about the threat that breast cancer poses to women everywhere. What you may not know is how to read the warning signs and what to be looking for if you suspect you may have breast cancer. Let’s go over some of the facts that every woman should know about breast cancer.

First, what is breast cancer, exactly? Breast cancer is simply a tumor that starts from cells in the breast. Just like other types of cancer, the cells can travel to different parts of the body, mostly using the lymphatic system. If there are cancer cells that have spread to other parts of the body from the breast, it is still considered and treated as breast cancer.

Though it has not been determined what the cause of breast cancer truly is, there are risk factors that may increase your chances of getting breast cancer. Some examples of these risk factors include age, family history of breast cancer, and simply being a woman. The older a woman is, the higher her chances of breast cancer. It is possible to get breast cancer at a young age, but is most common in women that have already gone through menopause. If a close family member had breast cancer, the odds of you getting it are higher than those who do not have a family history of breast cancer. Finally, though it is possible for men to get breast cancer, it is definitely a female predominant cancer.

Breast cancer awareness is very important. To catch it early, simply be precautious. You can do a self-breast exam each month to look for abnormalities. Your doctor may do a clinical-breast exam or order a mammogram for high risk cases. Being educated about breast cancer is the first step in preventing it.