1) There's a strong genetic component to breast cancer, but your lifestyle plays an important role here. In addition to the usual suspects like alcohol and smoking, activity level is also important. Getting regular exercise throughout your life will reduce your risk considerably. 2) Focus on diet, exercise, and preventative care like mammograms. 3) Hormone fluctuations can help to trigger breast cancer in some people, but one thing to keep in mind is that hormone fluctuations are simply a fact of life for menopausal women. This is one of the reasons we recommend mammograms starting at this age. If your menopause symptoms are affecting your quality of life, hormone therapy is still worth the risk for most people.