Breast cancer occurs in both dogs and cats; it tends to be far more aggressive in cats. It is not only humans who suffer from breast cancer, some animals do too. It is more common in dogs than cats, but tends to be more aggressive in cats than dogs.

Insect faeces featured heavily in ancient remedies for breast cancer. An Egyptian papyrus recommended a mixture of cow’s brain and wasp dung to be applied to breast tumours for four days. Insect faeces were still considered one of the most advanced treatments for breast cancer up until the Middle Ages. Thankfully, treatments have advanced a great deal since then.

Lifelong nuns, like all women who never have children, are at an increased risk of dying from breast, ovarian and uterine cancers, compared with mothers. A woman's risk of getting these cancers increases with the number of menstrual cycles she experiences.

The first record of a breast mastectomy was in A.D. 548 on Theodora, Empress of Byzantine. Significant progress in our understanding and treatment of breast cancer in recent decades has seen a dramatic reduction in the use of ‘radical’ mastectomy (where the breast, underlying chest muscle and lymph nodes are removed), which was the standard surgical approach to breast cancer right up until the 1960s.

A man’s lifetime risk of breast cancer is about 1 in 1,000. Many people do not realise that men have breast tissue and that they can develop breast cancer. But breast cancer is less common in men because their breast duct cells are less developed than those of women and because they normally have lower levels of female hormones that affect the growth of breast cells.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer recently concluded that women who worked night shifts for 30 years or more were twice as likely to develop breast cancer. However, women who work nights are advised not to panic. It’s worth noting that no link was found between higher breast cancer risk and periods of night work which were shorter than 30 years.

The left breast is 5 - 10% more likely to develop cancer than the right breast. The left side of the body is also roughly 5% more prone to melanoma (a type of skin cancer). Nobody is exactly sure why this is.

Huge progress has been made in recent years in breast cancer. In fact, breast cancer management across risk assessment, prevention, surgery, radiation, and other treatment, has changed dramatically. Death rates from breast cancer in more developed countries have been declining in recent years, and now survival rates are 80% or over in countries like the US, Sweden and Japan. However, survival rates remain below 40% in low-income countries.

Breast cancer mainly affects older women. Most breast cancers (80%) occur in women over the age of 50. And the older you are, the higher your risk.

Most people diagnosed with breast cancer have no known family history. Only about 5–10% of breast cancers are believed to be hereditary, meaning they’re caused by abnormal changes (or mutations) in certain genes passed from parent to child. The vast majority of people who get breast cancer have no family history, suggesting that other factors must be at work, such as environment and lifestyle. Still, if you have a strong family history of breast cancer on either your mother’s or your father’s side, this is an important risk factor that should be taken seriously. If there are one or more cases of breast cancer in close blood relatives, especially before age 50, and/or other cancers such as ovarian and prostate cancer in your family, share this information with your doctor.

From time to time, media coverage and the internet have fueled myths that wearing a bra can increase breast cancer risk. The theory was that wearing a bra — especially an underwire style — could restrict the flow of lymph fluid out of the breast, causing toxic substances to build up in the tissue. However, there is no evidence to support this claim. A 2014 study of roughly 1,500 women with breast cancer found no link between bra-wearing and breast cancer.

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in the UK. Most women diagnosed with breast cancer are over the age of 50, but younger women can also get breast cancer. About 1 in 8 women are diagnosed with breast cancer during their lifetime. There's a good chance of recovery if it's detected at an early stage. For this reason, it's vital that women check their breasts regularly for any changes and always have any changes examined by a GP.

Survival of breast cancer for at least 5 years after diagnosis ranges from more than 90% in high-income countries, to 66% in India and 40% in South Africa. In 2020, there were 2.3 million women worldwide diagnosed with breast cancer and 685 000 deaths globally. As of the end of 2020, there were 7.8 million women alive who were diagnosed with breast cancer in the past 5 years, making it the world’s most prevalent cancer.

One to three percent of survivors develop a second cancer different from the originally treated cancer. The level of risk is small, and greater numbers of survivors are living longer due to improvements in treatment. However, even thinking about the possibility of having a second cancer can be stressful. Current research shows that cancer survivors in general have an increased chance of developing cancer compared to people of the same age and gender who have not had cancer. This means that it is even more important for cancer survivors to be aware of the risk factors for second cancers and maintain good follow-up health care.

Give yourself a breast self-exam once a month. Look for any changes in breast tissue, such as changes in size, feeling a palpable lump, dimpling or puckering of the breast, inversion of the nipple, redness or scaliness of the breast skin, redness or scaliness of the nipple/areola area, or discharge of secretions from the nipple. If you discover a persistent lump in your breast or any changes, it is very important that you see a physician immediately. Though 8 out of 10 lumps are benign, all require evaluation to confirm that they are not cancerous. Women should perform their breast self exam 7-10 days after their menstrual period starts which is also when their breasts are the least tender and lumpy. If they are no longer menstruating, then she should select the same day of the month (first of the month for example) and mark it on the calendar to remind herself when to perform this self exam. What to look for is a change from last month’s exam to this month’s exam. It is not unusual to have lumpy or bumpy breasts. All women should know the geography of their own breasts. If having trouble remembering, draw a diagram of where the lumps, bumps, grooves, and other findings are felt so that this can be used as a reminder from month to month. There is no added value in doing breast self exams more often than monthly. Also the findings may be different as well, in relationship to where a woman is in her menstrual cycle.

Talk! Chat online! Family support is important, but not everyone is lucky enough to have that and besides, sometimes family can also be very annoying! Find support on Facebook, perhaps through a formal support group, or counselling. Waiting is one of the worst ordeals you will go through on this journey. Talk with friends, especially other women with breast cancer. Your friends from "before" love you, but they don't really understand. Talking with other survivors can help ward off the worry monster when you're waiting for critical test results. Remember, chat rooms and message boards throughout the Internet never close. The web works 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and so does the telephone. Sometimes, talk isn't enough. You shouldn't feel surprised if you feel anxious or depressed; you have good cause. And you shouldn't hesitate to take medication to help you cope. Please talk to your doctor if you feel depressed or anxious in any way at all.