October IS Breast Cancer Awareness Month!

 
Breast Cancer can sneak up on you...it did for my mother, who over 7 years ago underwent a double mastectomy. She is doing fine now  however if she had been diligent with her self examinations and mammogram's (she always refused when her Dr. dare suggest she have one) her outcome may have been different. She is one of the lucky ones though, to have fought the battle and won.

The best way to fight breast cancer is to have a plan that helps you detect the disease in its early stages. Start your Early Detection Plan today.

Some useful statistics to know as Breast Cancer Awareness Month begins:

• About 1 in 8 women in the United States will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime.
• Breast cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer among U.S. women (skin cancer is first). More than 1 in 4 cancers in women (about 28%) are breast cancer.
• 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.
• Men, as well as women, can suffer breast cancer, although less than 1% of all new breast cancer cases occur in men.
• 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. These decreases are thought to be the result of treatment advances, earlier detection through screening, and increased awareness.
• 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 5-10% of breast cancers can be linked to gene mutations (abnormal changes) inherited from one’s mother or father.