We have created real life examples of men and women to help you understand potential risk factors for breast cancer.

Example Cases.

Select the images below to see each person's risk.

Elaine

Elaine is a 35 year old Pacific Islander woman. She has no children, but she has a sister who had breast cancer.

Although Elaine is young, her family history of breast cancer and lack of children increase her risk of developing breast cancer and she may be at higher-than-average risk. It is recommended that Elaine speak with her physician about her personalized screening recommendations.

Additionally, aggregation of data has masked significant disparity in health outcomes for Pacific Islanders. Despite studies of breast cancer outcomes that frequently conclude that Asian Americans and Pacific Islands fare better than other groups, this is a broad term that encompasses people with a variety of backgrounds. Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islands (NHPI) women have the worst OS compared with all Asian American subpopulations [1].

Denise

Denise is a 40 year old African American woman with two children. Her mom, dad, and two sisters are healthy and never had cancer.

She is at average risk for developing cancer, but due to her age it is recommended she start imaging her breasts using screening mammography to detect breast cancer.

Shea

Shea is 23 years old and pregnant with her first child. No one in her family has breast cancer. She noticed a new lump in her breast and is wondering what to do.

For Shea, her risk of breast cancer is low because she is so young, but not zero. For any new breast lump, it is recommended that she seeks evaluation by her physician which may result in imaging or even a biopsy of the breast lump.

Jordan

Jordan is a 45 year old African American transgender man (female-to-male) who underwent a mastectomy at the age of 40 years old during his transition process. He has a family history of breast cancer in his sister.

Although Jordan had a mastectomy, he should undergo routine physical examination of his chest wall and speak with his physician about annual imaging of his chest wall as he is at higher risk given his race and family history of breast cancer.

Leia

Leia is a 25 year old woman with no children. Her mom and older sister both had breast cancer. Leia feels fine, but is unsure about if she should have earlier screening.

For Leia there are a few important points to think about. Although she is young, she is at a higher risk than the average woman for developing breast cancer because of her family history of cancer. If either her mom or sister had certain genetic mutations that caused their breast cancers, this may make Leia’s risk of having that mutation and developing breast cancer even higher. More information is needed to determine her absolute risk, but in this scenario, it would be recommended that Leia talk with her physician about her risk for developing breast cancer.

Linda

Linda is a 38 year old woman with one child. No one in her family had cancer, but she received prior radiation therapy to the chest area for lymphoma when she was 12 years old.

Radiation therapy that is delivered in childhood can increase your risk of developing cancers such as breast cancer. Linda is also near the recommended age to start annual screening for breast cancer. It is recommended that Linda discusses her screening recommendations with her physician because she has an indication to start early.

Alex

Alex is a 50 year old white man with a strong family history of breast cancer. His mother, sisters, and an aunt have breast cancer.

Although Alex is a cisgender male, he has a strong family history of breast cancer. He should consider speaking with his physician about genetic testing for mutations that may put him at higher risk of developing breast cancer such as BRCA1, BRCA2, CHEK2, and PALB2. If the results of his genetic testing reveal a high risk mutation, he should undergo annual breast cancer screening. If his testing is negative, he does not require annual screening.

Jeffrey

Jeffrey is a 55 year old transgender man (female-to-male) who underwent breast reduction (top-surgery) at age 45 years old during his transition process, but did not have a mastectomy. He has no family history of breast cancer.

Although Jeffrey now has smaller breast tissue, he did not have complete removal of the breast (complete mastectomy) and therefore he is still at risk of developing breast cancer. It is recommended that Jeffrey starts annual screening mammography starting at age 50, or due now if he has not started screening yet.

Margaret

Margaret is a 59 year old woman with a history of breast cancer in her left breast. She recently moved to a new city and is trying to establish care with a new physician. Her last mammogram was 3 years ago and she feels good. She performs self breast exams and hasn’t felt any lumps since her cancer was removed. She is interested in knowing more about the recommendation for mammograms.

It is recommended that Margaret continues to get annual mammograms because she had a history of breast cancer. Other surveillance imaging is sometimes indicated for surveillance after a previous breast cancer diagnosis and consultation with her oncology physician is recommended.

Naomi

Naomi is a 52 year old transfeminine woman (male-to-female). She used estrogen hormone therapy during her transition process and for the past 10 years. She has no family history of breast cancer.

For Naomi, her risk of breast cancer is lower than a woman who was assigned female at birth, but due to her use of estrogen hormone therapy for over 5 years, her risk is higher than a cisgender male. It is recommended that she undergo an annual screening mammogram starting at the age of 50 years old.

Resources.

These links are being provided as a convenience and for informational purposes only.

Florida Breast Cancer Foundation.

The Florida Breast Cancer Foundation provides a comprehensive list of county specific resources for women in Florida. Background Information The Florida Breast […]

National Breast and Cervical Cancer Detection Program (NBCCDP).

The National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program provides breast and cervical cancer screenings and diagnostic services to women who have […]

Examples