There are a variety of risk factors that can affect your chances of developing cancer during your lifetime. Among these are age, hormonal factors, environment, and family history. Scientists have determined that to some extent people's genes dictate whether or not they'll develop cancer, in particular cancers of the breast, prostate and colon. While genes alone don't answer whether or not you'll develop cancer, it's known that people with a family history of cancer are more prone to develop cancer themselves. For example, women whose mothers had breast cancer have a high risk of developing it as well. Factors such as menstrual patterns, hormone cycles, and obesity can influence a woman's risk of developing breast cancer to some degree. For more information about how family history relates to your risk of cancer, contact a cancer specialist.