High Risk & Confused

I am new to the forum. I am a 41 year old female that has never had children or a full term pregnancy. I have been on birth control (Zovia 1/35) for 20 years. I had my annual mammogram this year and was notified of very dense breasts. I was then referred to have a 3D ultrasound which I did. I spoke with my doctor who put me on a lower dose birth control and felt my weight is good and my health is good. She said I could try to additionally decrease any risk of breast cancer by breast feeding. I am slightly confused because I have read that having a child after the age of 35-39 increases your risk of breast cancer and that having only one child increases the risk as well.

My husband and I would like to have a child but I do not want to have a child at the age of 42 if it will increase my risk of breast cancer even more, especially now that I have very dense breasts. I don't drink a lot of alcohol at all, I am 5'4" and weigh 125lbs, i do not exercise regularly which I will need to change that.

My question is, in order to keep my breast cancer risk the lowest, am I better of having one child at 42 and breastfeeding or am I better off not having a child at all? Since I have been on birth control for 20 years, am I better off stopping birth control all together or am I better off staying on a low dose birth control?

Does anyone know of a website or forum where doctors answer these questions? I would like to get a range of opinions.

Thanks for the help

Hi jfck,

As MTwoman points out, not having a full term pregnancy is a risk factor for breast cancer, but you may be confused with some of the terminology surrounding risk and having a child later in life. The main Breastcancer.org site's page on Pregnancy Hisotry as a Risk Factor states:

"Women who haven't had a full-term pregnancy or have their first child after age 30 have a higher risk of breast cancer compared to women who gave birth before age 30.

When breast cells are made in adolescence, they are immature and very active until your first full-term pregnancy. The immature breast cells respond to the hormone estrogen as well as hormone-disrupting chemicals in products. Your first full-term pregnancy makes the breast cells fully mature and grow in a more regular way. This is the main reason why pregnancy helps protect against breast cancer. Being pregnant also reduces your total number of lifetime menstrual cycles -- which may be another reason why earlier pregnancy seems to offer a protective effect."

So, it's not that your risk goes up if you have a child later in life, it's just that for women who have children before 30, their risk goes down. Does this make sense?

There's also some good info on Dense Breasts and Breastfeeding. The Lower Your Risk section also offers some options you can do to lower your risk, as well as explains the factors you can't change. There's also excellent information to help you Understand Breast Cancer Risk.

We hope this helps!

--The Mods

Thank you for your reply! No other risk factors that I am aware of. No family history of breast cancer other than my paternal grandmother at the age of 80. We are not comtemplating having a kid to decrease the risk but we but rather we don't want to go for it if its going to increase my risk of breast cancer because of my age, and only having one child.

A lot of the breast cancer sites mention there is a increased risk if you have a child at an older age and if you only have one child. That would be a double whammy for me on top of the already dense breasts. We would love to have a child but not if it means I increase my risk.