Hello and thanks for your post

I'm sorry your relative has breast cancer and can understand you wanting to know more about the risk of developing it.

When cancer is in the family, people often assume that this greatly increases their risk of developing it, but this isn't necessarily so. Although the genes we inherit may influence our risk, other things do as well. No one is risk free and the risk of breast cancer increases for all women as we get older.

Breast cancer risks and causes are explained on on our website.  You will see that a family history can increase the risk of breast cancer but not always by very much. The risk of breast cancer is often increased if a women has a first degree relative who was diagnosed with breast cancer before the age of 50.

Breast cancer is common and 1 in 7 women develop breast cancer over their lifetime, but mostly at an older age (above 50).So, we all carry some degree of ‘population' risk. In the UK, routine breast screening starts from 50 for most of us although there is a study asking some women from the age of 47. Some women whose risk is above average can start screening sooner. This is something you can discuss with your GP when you get the chance.

It's good to keep to a healthy lifestyle. As you can see there are lifestyle factors that we can all follow to help reduce our risk of developing cancer.

I hope this is of use. Please do get back to us if you have any more questions or give us a call us on 0808 800 4040. We are here from Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.

Best wishes,

Celene