Lesser known factors and not knowing them can increase your chance of getting cancer

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Most believe genes and age are risk factors for cancer, but there are some other lesser-known factors. And not knowing these risks can increase your chance of getting it. We’ll reveal that what you don’t know can kill you.

What causes breast cancer? Did you know after not smoking, maintaining a healthy weight is the second most important way to reduce cancer risk? According to the CDC, cancers associated with overweight and obesity account for 40 percent of diagnosed cancers. Alcohol consumption is another risk factor. Women who have three alcoholic drinks per week have a 15 percent higher risk of developing breast cancer.

A rash can even mean breast cancer. “Having redness or a rash can be a sign of breast cancer, actually a sign of really aggressive breast cancer that shows up really quickly and then metastases and results in death really quickly,” said Svasti Haricharan, PhD, an Assistant Professor at the Department of Tumor Microenvironment and Cancer Immunology at Sanford Burnham Prebys.

And just because you don’t have a family history of breast cancer does not mean your risk is eliminated. Only five to ten percent of people diagnosed with breast cancer have a family history.

Breast cancer does not only target women. Every year nearly 3,000 men are diagnosed with breast cancer and 500 die.