October Is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in women. It is the second leading cause of cancer-related mortality in women.

The National Breast Cancer Awareness Month program is dedicated to increasing public knowledge about the importance of early detection of breast cancer. The national education campaign reaches out to the general public; city, state, and federal governments; health care professionals, employers, members of the news media; and women of all ages and ethnic groups. The combined efforts of 17 national public service organizations, professional associations and government agencies will send the messages of Breast Cancer Awareness to women and their families across America.

The American Cancer Society estimates almost 3,000 cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed in Alabama in 1998 and about 600 women are expected to die due to breast cancer. Chances of survival are better than ever and the earlier the cancer is detected, better the chance of survival. A good quality of life is always an option while surviving cancer.

The earliest sign of breast cancer is an abnormality that shows up on a mammogram before it can be felt by the woman or her health care provider. Breast cancers may also be discovered as a painless lump or mass by the patient herself. Other breastchanges, such as thickening, swelling, dimpling, skin irritation, distortion, retraction, scaliness, pain, tenderness of the nipple, or nipple discharge, may be symptoms of breast cancer and a physician should be consulted.

Both genetic and environmental factors are believed to play a role in a woman's risk of developing breast cancer. The risk of breast cancer increases with age; personal or family history of breast cancer; beginning menstruation period at early age; late age at menopause; lengthy exposure to cyclical estrogen; never had children or late age at first birth.

Additional factors that may increase risks of breast cancer include pesticide and other chemical exposures, alcohol consumption, induced abortion, high-fat diet, and physical inactivity.

A majority of women have one or more risk factors for breast cancer. However, most risks are at such a low level that they only partly explain the high frequency of the disease in the population. Woman with none of the known risk factors can still get breast cancer. All women are at risk.

To date, knowledge about risk factors hasn't translated into practical ways to prevent breast cancer. Since adult women may not be able to alter their personal risk factors in any practical sense, the best way opportunity for reducing mortality is through early detection.