Endometrial Cancer--Who Is More At Risk?
Certain things may put you at greater risk for getting endometrial cancer. One risk factor is age. Endometrial cancer is most common in women who are 50 to 60 years old, or older.
You may also be at greater risk if you have had high levels of estrogen in your body. Many things can increase your estrogen level. These include being extremely overweight, having high blood pressure or having diabetes.
Using estrogen replacement therapy without taking progestin is also related to a greater risk for endometrial cancer. For this reason, women who use hormone replacement therapy (HRT) generally take a combination of estrogen and the hormone progestin. Progestin seems to protect the lining of the uterus from the estrogen. In fact, using birth control pills that contain both estrogen and progestin during the childbearing years seems to decrease a woman's risk of endometrial cancer.
Other things that may put you at greater risk for endometrial cancer include having your first period before the age of 12 or going through menopause after the age of 50. Women who have never been pregnant and women who use a medicine called tamoxifen may also be at greater risk.
Endometrial Cancer--Who Is More At Risk?
