As I get older, does my breast cancer risk increase?

For women, the older you get, the greater your risk for breast cancer. About 60 percent of cases of breast cancer are found in women over age 60. Your risk is even higher after age 75. If you live to age 95, you have about a 1 in 8 chance of developing breast cancer.

All women are at risk for breast cancer, reinforcing the need for breast self exams and routine breast screening as it is the most common cancer in women.  The main risk factor for developing breast cancer is age with four out of five breast cancers found in women over the age of 50.

As women get older, their risk of breast cancer increases. The American Cancer Society data indicate that about 45% of all new breast cancer diagnoses are invasive breast cancer in women over age 65, and National Cancer Institute data show that about 45% of all breast cancer deaths occur in those diagnosed after age 65.

Some older women may assume -- incorrectly -- that they would have developed breast cancer earlier in their lives if they were going to get it at all, but the risk doesn't start to decline until after age 84.