Breast Cancer Awareness Month! Fight Like A Girl!

Every October some people go hard to raise awareness about breast cancer but truth is, we need to be going hard about this all year round. Why? 

Well according to the World Health Organization , breast cancer is the most common cancer among women worldwide, it is claiming the lives of hundreds of thousands of women each year and affecting countries at all levels of modernization. Let me say that again... It is claiming the lives of HUNDREDS of THOUSANDS of women each year. 

This is why this is one of the diseases that should be educated on all year round because we as women can help to strengthen our chances of surviving if detected early on and if we know what to look for. 

• One in eight women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime.
• Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women. 
• Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death among women. 
• Each year it is estimated that over 246,660 women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer and more than 40,000 will die. 
• Although breast cancer in men is rare, an estimated 2,600 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer and approximately 440 will die each year. (Did you know that?)
• On average, every 2 minutes a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer and 1 woman will die of breast cancer every 13 minutes.
• Over 2.8 million breast cancer survivors are alive in the United States today.

Now let's say what breast cancer is for those that do not know...

Breast cancer starts when cells in the breast begin to grow out of control. These cells usually form a tumor that can often be seen on an x-ray or felt as a lump. The tumor is malignant (cancerous) if the cells can grow into (invade) surrounding tissues or spread (metastasize) to distant areas of the body. Breast cancer occurs almost entirely in women, but men can get it, too.

Cells in nearly any part of the body can become cancer, and can spread to other areas of the body. 

Breast cancers can start from different parts of the breast. Most breast cancers begin in the ducts that carry milk to the nipple (ductal cancers). Some start in the glands that make breast milk (lobular cancers). 

Breast Cancer in Men

A breast cancer is a malignant tumor that starts from cells of the breast. A malignant tumor is a group of cancer cells that may grow into (invade) surrounding tissues or spread (metastasize) to distant areas of the body. Cells in nearly any part of the body can become cancer, and can spread to other areas of the body.

Many people do not realize that men have breast tissue and that they can develop breast cancer.

What are the risk factors for breast cancer?

Most women who have one or more breast cancer risk factors never develop breast cancer, while many women with breast cancer have no known risk factors (other than being a woman and growing older). Even when a woman with risk factors develops breast cancer, it’s hard to know just how much these factors might have contributed.

Some risk factors, like a person's age or race, can't be changed. Other risk factors are linked to cancer-causing factors in the environment or to personal behaviors, such as smoking, drinking, and diet. Some factors affect risk more than others, and your risk for breast cancer can change over time, due to things like aging or lifestyle.

Can breast cancer be found early?

Tests and exams used to find a disease, like cancer, in people who do not have any symptoms are called screening tests. Screening exams, such as mammograms, find cancers before they start to cause symptoms. This is called early detection. Cancers that are found early – when they’re small and haven’t spread – are easier to treat and have better outcomes

Why is it important to find breast cancer early?

The earlier breast cancer is found, the better the chances that treatment will work. Breast cancers that are found because they can be felt tend to be larger and are more likely to have already spread outside the breast. But screening exams can often find breast cancers when they are small and still confined to the breast. The size of a breast cancer and how far it has spread are some of the most important factors in predicting the outlook (prognosis) of a woman with this disease.

Most doctors feel that early detection tests for breast cancer save thousands of lives each year. Many more lives probably could be saved if even more women and their health care providers took advantage of these tests.

Learn more @ http://www.cancer.org/index

Get educated and make sure you are checking yourself regularly and if you have to question it, seek your doctor's opinion. 

Let's fight for each other!

Signing out

Dr. Destiny Basset

Big Sister On Point