Pink Ribbons and your Health
Each October during Breast Cancer Awareness Month we hear the statistics ….Breast cancer touches one in eight women in their lifetime….This year approximately 210,000 women and 1,600 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer. Just think about that huge number! That is a person every 3 minutes. So in the next hour 20 people will get the news that will change their lives and the lives of their families forever. The words “You have breast cancer.”
Breast cancer is a major health problem for women. Often it is thought that because no one in your family has breast cancer that there is no need to worry. Unfortunately the biggest risk factor is just being a woman. The scientists are still trying to find a way to prevent breast cancer, but until they do you need to take charge and follow the guidelines listed below to help find the cancer at its earliest stage for the best chance of a long survival.
Breast cancer grows silently and steadily. Mammography is a tool to help find breast cancers approximately two years before they can be felt through breast self exam. But mammography is only 90% effective. There are 15 different types of breast cancer with some being more aggressive than others. Not all breast cancer can be seen on a mammogram. Some are not lumps but grow throughout the breast like a spider web.
What can you do? Follow These Three Steps…
- Get a Routine Mammogram.
Women should have an annual screening mammography beginning at age 40. - See Your Doctor on a Regular Basis.
A clinical breast examination should be part of your routine checkup. If you are 40 years and older you should be checked by a doctor at least once a year. Under 40 years old have a clinical breast exam every other year. - Women of all ages should perform Breast Self-Examination Once
a Month.
If you find something that you know is unusual for you, see your physician.
| Myth | Fact |
|---|---|
| Breast cancer is always painless | Breast cancer can cause soreness or burning |
| Injury to the breast can cause breast cancer. | Injury can NOT cause breast cancer. |
| Normally breast cancer is contagious. | No – breast cancer is not contagious. |
| Getting breast cancer is preventable. | Getting breast cancer in not preventable. |
| Only older women get breast cancer. | Young women can get breast cancer too! |
| Only women can be diagnosed with breast cancer. | Both women and men can get breast cancer. |
So take charge of your breast health! If you have a lump or a red or scaly patch on your breast that is there for more than a month see your physician. It is never a waste of time! Your health and peace of mind is worth it!
Joan Fell, Executive Director
Breast Cancer Awareness—Cumberland Valley, Inc.
324 East Antietam Street, Suite 307B
Hagerstown, MD 21740
301-791-5843
www.hopeforu.org (courtesy DHWeb)