Most Common Cancers in Women

Types of Cancer That Most Often Affect Women

Although many cancers occur in both sexes, for women, the following are the top five cancers that affect them:

  • Breast cancer was diagnosed for the first time in more than 2 million women in 2018,  making it the No. 1 cancer affecting women. While breast cancer also occurs in men, it disproportionately affects women more often.
  • Colorectal cancer came in second for women, with just under 800,000 new cases diagnosed in 2018. Interestingly, it was the third-most-common cancer affecting men, although there were more than 1 million new cases among men reported in 2018.
  • Lung cancer is the third-most-prominent cancer in women, with more than 725,000 new cases diagnosed in 2018. Like colon cancer, incidents of lung cancer among women still falls shorter than in men, who experienced 1.3 million new cases in 2018
  • The fourth-greatest-incidence of cancer in women is one that men cannot get. It is cervical/uterine cancer, and approximately 569,000 cases were diagnosed in 2018.
  • Thyroid cancer is the fifth-most-common cancer affecting women, with 436,000 new cases diagnosed in women in 2018. This type of cancer targets women much more often than men; in men, thyroid cancer was 16th-most-common with only 1340,000 new cases reported in 2018.
  • Why does cancer affect men and women differently? Most obviously, some cancers are based on sex differences between men and women, such as cervical cancers occurring among those with a cervix (women only) and breast cancer among those with more breast tissue (women).

    For the others, family history plays a role, as do risk factors. In some cases, the reason for the gender disparity may not be entirely clear. For example, cancer of the thyroid gland – which makes hormones that control metabolism – may be more prevalent among women due to the difference in the role hormones play in women and men.

    How to Reduce Your Risk of Cancer

    Early cancer screenings save lives. Make sure you stay up to date with your doctor’s recommendations for screenings, especially for breast, cervical, colon, and lung cancers. Regular skin cancer screenings are a good idea as well.

    If you smoke, which is considered a risk factor for a lot of different cancers, consider quitting. Set a limit on your alcohol intake.

    The most common sexually transmitted infection involves HPV, the human papillomavirus. Some HPV strains can lead to cervical and other types of cancer – but a vaccine offers protection against these cancers and is available for women between the ages of 9 and 26.

    Check with your doctor to make certain you are following the screening recommendations for cancers that commonly affect women. Contact the AlphaCare Wellness Center at (817) 550-6332 to schedule a consultation today. or request an appointment.

     

     

     

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