Need some help? Read answers to frequently asked questions.

Although you cannot control some risk factors for breast cancer, you can lower your risk by making certain lifestyle decisions. These include maintaining a healthy weight, exercising regularly, limiting alcohol consumption, and avoiding tobacco products.

A lump or thickening in the breast or underarm, changes in breast size or shape, nipple discharge or inversion, skin changes on the breast, and persistent breast pain or discomfort are typical indications and symptoms of breast cancer.

While it is more frequent in women, breast cancer can also occur in men on occasion. Men should pay attention to any changes in their breast tissue and, if required, seek medical care.

Breastfeeding can lower the risk of getting breast cancer, but it must be done continuously for an adequate period of time.

Although those who have a family history of the disease are at higher risk, the majority of breast cancer victims do not. According to statistics, only 5–10% of people who are diagnosed with breast cancer have a family history of it. However, when there is a family history of breast cancer, genetic testing may be recommended to determine if you and your family have a breast cancer gene mutation.

Women who have used birth control pills for more than five years are at a higher risk of developing breast cancer. The risk is minimal, though, because modern birth control pills contain very little hormone. However, if a young woman has a strong family history of breast cancer, her gynecologist might advise stopping the pill for a year at the 5-year mark and starting it up again for another 5 years. Although this standard of treatment does not have substantial backing from evidence-based research, it has nonetheless become a more widespread practice.