October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Alright so it's way off topic for this blog, but no matter.....October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month so I gotta do my part and tell ya'll to remind the women you love to do their self-exams and get their mammograms. It can save their lives. How do I know this.....

.....well, someone I love dearly was diagnosed recently with breast cancer. She won her battle and she's one of the fortunate ones who fought and never took anything for face value. She did what she had to do...yes, it was difficult; yes, it sometimes still is, but she lives today because she did her part and performed her self-exams. And after finding a small lump, she didn't let it go; she didn't rest until she had it properly evaluated. When she found out it was cancer, she took the bull by the horns and did what was necessary. It was more difficult for her than I'll probably ever know but at least she's here to celebrate being a survivor.

In 2010, an estimated 207,090 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed in women in the U.S., along with 54,010 new cases of non-invasive (in situ) breast cancer. About 39,840 women in the U.S. are expected to die in 2010 from breast cancer, though death rates have been decreasing since 1991.

It's easy to think "I'm not at risk" or say "I'll get it checked out later if it doesn't go away" but if she thinks something ain't right, it probably needs to be checked out. Women know their own bodies better than any doctor. If there's a woman in your life that you love, make sure that she's doing her part to take care of herself.

About 1 in 8 women in the United States (between 12 and 13%) will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime. For women in the U.S., breast cancer death rates are higher than those for any other cancer, besides lung cancer. A woman’s risk of breast cancer approximately doubles if she has a first-degree relative (mother, sister, daughter) who has been diagnosed with breast cancer. About 20-30% of women diagnosed with breast cancer have a family history of breast cancer. About 70-80% of breast cancers occur in women who have no family history of breast cancer. These occur due to genetic abnormalities that happen as a result of the aging process and life in general, rather than inherited mutations.

For more information, click the banner above to visit the Susan G. Komen website or visit http://www.breastcancer.org/