So far, scientists haven't found the exact causes of breast cancer. However, they have identified some risk factors that can increase the likelihood that a person will develop this disease. Learning the causes of breast cancer is essential to help you stay away from the disease. If you think that you are at risk, you should consult your doctor immediately for examination. Here are the risk factors that you should know:

1. Gender: This is considered as the biggest risk factor of breast cancer. This disease commonly occurs in women and that's why being a woman means that you have a higher chance of suffering from this disease.

2. Age: This cancer can happen at any age. However, it is uncommon in women younger than 35 unless they have family history of this cancer. Mostly, breast cancer occurs in women at the age of 50 and this disease is the main causes of death of women between 40-45 years old.

3. Personal history of cancer: A woman who suffered from breast cancer before has a greater chance of developing new cancer in the future. She may develop cancer in the same breast or in the other breast. The risk refers to the development of new tumor and not the return of the previous cancer.

4. Genetic Causes: Family history also plays an important role; you should check both your mother's side and your father's side of the family. Mother, daughter and sister are considered as the first-degree relatives and they contribute higher risk of this cancer. Meanwhile, second-degree relatives like aunt and grandmother also increase cancer risk. The risk will also be higher if you have a relative who develops this cancer in both breasts and suffers from the disease at a young age. About 5-10% breast cancer cases are caused by genetic factors but unfortunately testing for the genes is very expensive. If you are interested in testing your genes, you had better discuss with your health-care provider first.

5. Hormonal Causes: There are many types of hormonal changes that may influence the development of the disease. Women who start their periods at younger age and those who haven't got any children before the age of 30 have higher risk of suffering from this cancer. Women in postmenopausal stage also have an increased risk of the cancer.

6. Lifestyle and Dietary Causes: Poor dietary habits and obesity are other risk factors of the disease. Women who consume alcohol also have higher chance of having this cancer. The risk will increase when someone consumes large amounts of alcohol every day.

Let us help you identify the causes of breast cancer so that you can develop a healthier lifestyle from today.

By David Dodiros

If you have been recently diagnosed as having breast cancer, your doctor may recommend a full mastectomy or a partial one.

On the other hand, you may already have had a mastectomy or a partial mastectomy and you're left with a number of questions about how to best take care of yourself at this point. This article will try to answer some of your unanswered questions if you're facing surgery or have already had it.

To help you organize your questions, it will be beneficial for you to carry around a small notebook on which you can jot your questions as well as the answers your doctor gives you. How long will your hospital stay be? Have your lymph nodes been affected by cancer? How will your body react after one or more lymph nodes have been removed? What is the best method of taking care of your incision? How much scarring is anticipated by your doctor after surgery? Will removing one or more lymph nodes affect the range of motion of your shoulder and arm? Have you considered how you will care for the areas of your body that are affected by surgery after your operation?

It's often a good idea to have a support group standing behind you at this tough time of your life. Having someone who's already been through this experience to share what they went through could help you get an idea of what's going to happen to you as well.

After the removal of one or both of your breasts, your sense of balance may be affected. In time your body will adjust to this. However, the services of a physical therapist may help you a lot to regain your former agility. There are special exercises you can do to help remove the stiffness and help you feel better after surgery.

After breast cancer surgery, you will need to take care of yourself and be especially careful about the arm and hand on the side where lymph nodes were removed -- if any lymph nodes were found to contain cancer cells.

Following surgery, your arm on the side where your lymph nodes were removed may swell. You need to protect your arm and hand on that side after your operation by paying attention to the following tips:

1. Don't use that arm to carry heavy packages or other items.
2. Avoid wearing tight clothing.
3. Don't wear snug bracelets or watches.
4. Don't receive shots or other medical procedures on your affected arm and hand.
5. Don't use harsh cleaning solutions unless you protect your arms and hands by wearing plastic or rubber gloves.
6. Be sure to wear protective gloves when you do heavy-duty cleaning or gardening.
7. Be on your guard against sunburn.
8. Be especially careful when trimming your nails and cuticles to avoid cutting them.
9. Wear an elastic sleeve if your arm swells.
10. Protect your affected arm from cuts and insect bites.

If your lymph nodes are going to be removed or have already been removed, be sure to see your doctor if your arm bothers you.

Today there are numerous medical advancements that help women overcome the effects of breast cancer, so take advantage of the medical advice your doctor can provide for you.

Breast Reconstruction after Breast Cancer Surgery
Breast Reconstruction after breast cancer surgery has changed dramatically over the past several years. More options are now available to women to give them the natural looking breasts they desire and deserve. Your plastic surgeon has performed extensive research in the field of breast reconstruction. Thanks to effective legislature, breast reconstruction after cancer is a right and not a privilege. In this manner, all insurance companies must cover breast reconstruction.

Options for breast reconstruction naturally depend on the type of deformity that is present after breast cancer surgery. In those who have had a small portion of their breast removed and no radiation therapy, a breast implant can be an excellent option. If the opposite normal breast is too large, another option is to make the larger breast smaller to match the affected breast. Radiation therapy makes matters a bit more complicated: breast implants have a much higher chance of becoming hard if you have had radiation.

Better options in such cases would be a breast lift on the opposite breast, or if the deformity on the affected breast is large, your plastic surgeon can reconstruct your breast with your own tissue. There are several options when it comes to using your own tissue for breast reconstruction. These include your latissimus dorsi muscle (on your back) or your tummy tissue which would be obtained from a tummy-tuck (TRAM flap). In the second case, your plastic surgeon would perform a tummy-tuck on you, and then use the excess skin and fat that was removed to reconstruct your own breast. This type of surgery under the microscope is the most cutting-edge approach to breast reconstruction.

In those who have had the entire breast removed for cancer, reconstructive options would include breast implants or using their own tissue as described above. There is far too much information to discuss on this important topic, and you are encouraged to schedule a consultation with your plastic surgeon so your particular case and preferences can be discussed in detail.

During your consultation and the pre-surgical visits, your plastic surgeon will help you decide which is your best surgical option. If you are having breast implants, they are typically inserted through the already existing scar from your prior surgery. If necessary, breast lifts on the opposite normal breast are typically performed with a short scar technique. This will accomplish symmetry between the affected breast and its opposite normal breast.

Your own tissue can be derived from your back, tummy, thighs, or buttocks. Each donor site has its own benefits and disadvantages which would have to be discussed. When using tissue form the back (latissimus dorsi muscle) the muscle and its overlying skin and fat are carefully separated from the back and rotated to the chest to reconstruct the affected breast. When using tissue from your tummy (TRAM flap), a tummy-tuck is essentially performed and the excess skin and fat is rotated to the chest to reconstruct the breast.

You can enjoy regular food after your surgery, but start slow. You should be pain-free until the day after your surgery. If you experience some discomfort, prescription pain medication will be available to you. You should walk around the house with some assistance. Your plastic surgeon will see you in the office the day following your surgery. We expect that you walk around the house every day, slowly increasing your level of activity daily.

Staff will be in regular contact with you every day to assure that your recovery is a smooth and comfortable one. The swelling will decrease every week, such that by 6-8 weeks, about 80% of the swelling will have dissipated.

Other reconstructive options at this point would include nipple and areola reconstruction, nipple and areola tattoo, and fine tuning of the breasts to make them look as natural and symmetrical as possible.