Breast Cancer: Early Detection

Learn about the factors that may affect your risk for breast cancer, and find out what you can do to help detect breast cancer early, when it is likely to be most easily treated. Click on the topics below to get started.

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• The importance of finding breast cancer early
• What are the risk factors for breast cancer?
• Risk factors you cannot change
• Lifestyle-related factors
• Factors with uncertain, controversial, or unproven effect on breast cancer risk
• Signs and symptoms of breast cancer
• American Cancer Society recommendations for early breast cancer detection in women without breast symptoms
• Mammograms
• Magnetic resonance imaging
• Clinical breast exam
• Breast awareness and self-exam
• Other breast cancer screening tests
• Paying for breast cancer screening
• Additional resources
• References