Knowledge is power
In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month, inform yourself about the risks and precautions
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"The National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM) program is dedicated to increasing awareness about the importance of the early detection of breast cancer through a nationwide campaign. NBCAM started as a weeklong campaign in 1985 with two founding members. During October, which is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the member organizations of the Board of Sponsors join forces to spread the message that early detection of breast cancer followed by prompt treatment saves lives" (American Cancer Society, www.cancer.org).
Breast Cancer questions answered:
What is breast cancer?
Breast cancer is a malignant (cancerous) tumor that starts from cells of the breast. The disease occurs mostly in women, but men can get breast cancer as well.
How common is breast cancer?
Breast cancer is the second most common cancer among women, after skin cancer and the second leading cause of cancer death in women, after lung cancer.
How many women have breast cancer?
In 2005, there were 211,240 women in the United States were found to have invasive breast cancer. About 40,410 will die from the disease this year. Slightly over two million women living in the US right now have been treated for breast cancer.
What is the likelihood of a woman having breast cancer?
One in eight women will have invasive breast cancer during her lifetime. The chance of dying from breast cancer is one in 33. The earlier the cancer is discovered and the better the treatment the higher the chance of recovery.
What causes breast cancer?
The exact cause is unknown, but risk factors have been identified. Having these risk factors does not necessarily mean you will have breast cancer, and not having these risk factors does not mean that you will not have breast cancer. All women are at risk for breast cancer, the risk factors can simply increase the likelihood that breast cancer will develop.
Risk Factors for Breast Cancer:
Gender: Women are 100 percent more likely to get breast cancer than men (but men can also get breast cancer).
Age: Breast cancer risk rises as women get older. Eight out of 10 cases of breast cancer occur in women 50 or older.
Family History: The risk is higher for women whose close blood relatives have had the disease (this can be females on the mother's side or the father's side). Having a mother, sister or daughter with breast cancer almost doubles a woman's risk of getting the disease.
Race: Caucasians are more likely to get breast cancer than African-American women, but African-American women are more likely to die from breast cancer due to the growth rate of their tumors. Asian, Hispanic and American Indian women are at a lower risk of getting breast cancer.
Having Children: Women who have not had children or who had their first child after 30 have a slightly higher risk of getting breast cancer. Being pregnant more than once and at an earlier age decreases risk of breast cancer. Breast feeding also lowers risk of cancer and one study found having more children and breast-feeding longer could reduce the risk of breast cancer by half.
Diet and Exercise: Use of alcohol is linked to a slightly increased risk of getting breast cancer. Women who are overweight, especially those who gained the weight in adulthood have a slightly higher risk of getting breast cancer. Exercise has been shown to decrease the risk of breast cancer. Women who walked briskly for only two hours a week had their risk cut by 18 percent.
Where to go for more information:
National Breast Cancer Coalition
Telephone: 1-800-622-2838 or 202-296-7477
Internet Address: www.natlbcc.org
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Telephone: 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237)
TTY: 1-800-332-8615 - Website: www.cancer.gov
Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation
Telephone: 1-800-IM-AWARE (1-800-462-9273)
Website: www.komen.com
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Telephone: 1-888-232-6789
Website: www.cdc.gov/des.
The American Cancer Society is happy to address almost any cancer-related topic. If you have any more questions, please call 1-800 ACS 2345 at any time, 24 hours a day. You can also visit the website at www.cancer.org.