Breast cancer is the 2nd leading cause of cancer death in women behind lung cancer. It’s astounding but 1 in 8 women will develop breast cancer in her lifetime. And the most significant risk factors for breast cancer are simply being a woman and getting older. While 77% of breast cancer is found in women over 50 years old more than 50% of women who have breast cancer have NO identifiable risk factors except gender and age.
The World Health Organization reports 1.2 million women globally are diagnosed with breast cancer each year; and more than 200,000 women in the U.S. are diagnosed with breast cancer every year. Currently there are more than 2 million breast cancer survivors in the U.S.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Don’t forget to wear PINK in support that NO woman should die from breast cancer! When found early it is a treatable disease. And the gold standard for early detection is a mammogram. For many millions of women in the U.S. a mammogram is FREE. Click here to see how you or someone you know can get a free mammogram. http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/dcpc_Programs/default.aspx?NPID=1
Breast cancer is not a single disease, but a family of diseases with different subtypes. Some of these subtypes are more aggressive than others. Breast cancer is less common in younger women such as those in their 20s and 30s but usually in this age group it is more aggressive and sadly the survival rates are lower. Unfortunately we are seeing a greater number of cases of young pre-menopausal women with breast cancer surfacing and many of these women have the more aggressive forms of breast cancer. Research is being conducted now to determine the genetic basis between these aggressive types of breast cancer. As a young woman make sure to do your part to prevent breast cancer by:
1) Educating yourself about your family history & risk for breast cancer
2) Getting yearly clinical breast exams by your OB/GYN or family doctor
3) Doing monthly self breast exams – familiarize yourself with your breasts
Now there are components of lack of access to medical care, nutrition, personal habits, and environmental exposure that can increase a woman’s risk of breast cancer. But most importantly you should KNOW YOUR body better than anybody else does. Know what’s normal for YOU and what’s not!
Remember the KEY to SURVIVAL is EARLY DETECTION and TREATMENT!
XO
Dr. V