Researchers looking back over years of data found that 1 in 11 Hispanic women will develop some form of breast cancer in their lifetime. Thus, if you forget about the other risk factors mentioned above, your lifetime personal risk is a bit over 9 percent.

But this number doesn't tell you what your own risk might be because you cannot forget about all of those other factors that raise or lower your risk. But if you include only your age (with all other personal characteristics averaged out), there are accurate statistics to consider.

When you think of your risk of developing breast cancer over the next one year from age 40 through age 70, the numbers are much smaller, though they do increase each year. For age 40, the risk is 1 in 1,404 (seven-hundredths of 1 percent). For age 50, risk is 1 in 657 (one-fifteenth of 1 percent). For age 60, risk is 1 in 343 (one-fifth of 1 percent).

The numbers can be confusing, and you have a right to understand what professionals may be telling you about your health. So don't hesitate to ask them to explain until you really get the message.

SOURCE National Cancer Institute