Breast cancer starts when cells in the breast begin to grow out of control and form a tumor. The tumor can be seen on an x-ray or felt as a lump. Though breast cancers occur almost entirely amongst women, men can get breast cancer too. Breast cancer can be said to be one of the most common invasive cancer in women. Here are some of the risk factors and signs of breast cancer and a look into the stages of breast cancer.

1. Risk factors causing breast cancer
A risk factor means anything that can increase your chance of getting a disease. Having any risk factor does not mean you will get the disease. It only increases your chance of getting the disease. Some of the risk factors are not within your control, whereas certain other risk factors are controllable. Genetic factors are the topmost in the list of risk factors you have no control over. More than 15% of breast cancer affected have a family history of breast cancer. If your grandmother, mother, aunt, or cousin had breast cancer, you run the risk of being affected. The most common known cause of hereditary passed-on breast cancer is a mutation of the BRCA! And BRCA2 gene. Besides genes, other risk factors beyond your control are genetic origin, dense breast tissues, and certain benign breast conditions like fibrosis, Adenosis, and phyllodes.

Some of the risk factors which increase your chances of getting breast cancer but are within your control are mostly lifestyle-related. Here are a few of them.

• Drinking of alcohol
• Being overweight or obese
• Being physically inactive
• Not breastfeeding
• Birth control
• Hormone therapy treatments

2. Symptoms of breast cancer
The most commonly known symptom of breast cancer that you can have is a lump or mass in the breast. You need to be alert and aware of the changes in your breast so that you can identify any signs of breast cancer at the earliest. If you have any doubts, check with a health care professional. Some of the other common symptoms of breast cancer are as follows:

• Swelling in the breast, without any lump present
• Breast pain
• Nipple pain
• Nipples retraction
• Discharge from the nipple
• Skin dimpling in the breast
• Swollen lymph nodes (in case cancer has spread to the lymph nodes under the arm or around the collar bone, thereby causing a lump or swelling there, earlier than when the tumor can be felt in the breast)

The symptoms mentioned above can be due to various causes, but it is better to get them checked by a healthcare professional to rule out cancer.

3. Stages of breast cancer
If you happen to be diagnosed with breast cancer, the doctor will first determine if it has spread and how far. This process is known as staging. Information on the extent of the tumor, the spread to nodes and distant sites, Estrogen Receptor status, Progesterone Receptor status, and grade of the cancer are used to determine the cancer stage. Determining the stage of cancer helps in deciding on treatment options.