Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Ocotber - Breast Cancer Awareness Month 2009

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. This is a great time to speak with your daughters, nieces and friends about this very serious subject. Of course it's important to talke with friends and family memebers about this especially if it has hit your family. Part of dealing with a serious illness is better understanding and communication about it. Open up those lines of communication.

As the latest statistics show, 1 out of every 8 women will develop breast cancer at some point in their lives. While this is a staggering statistic, screening along with early detection can help identify breast cancer in its most early stages when the disease is still treatable. With October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month we encourage women to be knowledgable about the effectiveness of screening & early diagnosis - it's very important to help spread the word - and let's do it on this month!

Don't think it's serious? Check this out. In a recent years, 1,871 Kansas women were diagnosed with invasive breast cancer. 386 of those women fell to the disease.

According to studies from the American Cancer Society (ACS), we're looking at approximately 192,380 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed among women in the United States this year. An estimated 40,180 women are expected to die from the disease this year, alone. As you read this there are about 2.6 million breast cancer survivors in the United States.

Men aren't off the hook - they can breast cancer, too. Of course, it's rather rare. For about every 100 cases of breast cancer, less than 1 occurs in men. No reason for alarm - but at the same time - awareness is key!! Breast Cancer Awareness Month 2009 is here.

A mammogram is the best way to detect breast cancer.
What is a mammogram? A mammogram is an x-ray of the breast that detects cancer as small as a grain of salt. This means the developing cancer can be discovered long at an early very treatable stage. We suggest an annual clinical breast exam performed by a nurse, physician or other health care professional for women in their 20s and 30s. This is a simple examination to feel for lumps or other modifications in the breasts.

There are many lifestyle recommendations that may reduce the risk of breast cancer from The National Cancer Institute and ACS. These include avoiding tobacco, staying active (for instance, a 30 minute walk and/or excercise daily), and maintaining a healthy body weight. Keep that excess weight off. Also, if you are a woman and use hormone replacement therapy, it's a good bet to use it for a short time and at the lowest dose. Also, one shoult limite their alchohol intake to one or fewer drinks each day, and increase fiber intake with whole grains, vegetables, and fruits.