Can 11yr olds (girls) have breast cancer????

Answer 1

Theoretically yes under the following conditions:

1. You have an EXTENSIVE family history of breast cancer.
2. You carry the breast cancer gene(s) BRCA1 and/or 2.
3. You are well into puberty (some girls start as early as 7 or 8).

Breast cancer relies on estrogen acting on breast tissue. If you are 11, chances are, you haven't started making nearly enough estrogen yet. When you go thru puberty, your body cranks out a LOT of hormones, including estrogen to trigger and direct growth and development of your body. Estrogen makes breast tissue grow. Breast cancer is uncontrolled growth, and it is accelerated by the presence of estrogen.

Essentially, you need breasts to get breast cancer (there are some cases of men getting it -- yes, they have some breast tissue, too). Wacky genes can make breast growth go haywire. That's how genes cause cancer. Add estrogen, and that haywire growth goes even more haywire.

Anyway, if you are asking if YOU have breast cancer, I'd put money on NO, you don't. You're young and you're still growing. But it's never too early to ask your mom and grandma about whether they have family members who got breast cancer. Everyone should know their family history of diseases.