12% Average woman's risk
24% Risk if one parent had it
Women who inherit the BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation have an increased risk of around 60 percent. If you have a family history of the disease, ask your doctor about taking a genetic test.
Reduce Your Risk
Go virgin. As few as four alcoholic drinks a week can raise breast cancer risk by 15 percent; more than two a day shoots your chances up to 55 percent, says oncologist Wendy Chen, M.D., of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. To reduce your risk, stick to three (or fewer) boozy beverages each week.
Snack smart. Ditch the chips and go nuts: Eating two ounces of walnuts a day can reduce your odds by 40 percent because they're packed with cancer-fighting nutrients such as antioxidants and vitamin E, says researcher W. Elaine Hardman, Ph.D., of the Marshall University School of Medicine.
Go on the D-fense. Ask your doctor to check your vitamin D levels. If they're below 50 ng/ml, start taking a supplement. Getting enough of the stuff can slash your breast cancer risk in half, according to a 2009 study in the Annals of Epidemiology.
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