October: the month when those in communities come together to show awareness of the hardships many families face in society today. Breast cancer stays important to take awareness of, thousands of lives could be saved each year if people were made more cognizant of the signs and symptoms of cancer. 

The development of cancerous cells in the breasts otherwise known as breast cancer continues to be a traumatic disease. These cancerous cells not only grow but overrun healthy cells in the breast. Gradually, the cells migrate to other parts of the body through blood or lymph vessels. When this occurs, metastasis takes place, a process where cancerous cells start to damage other tissues.

One of the key reasons for raising breast cancer awareness originates from the statistics of how cancer causes the most deaths among women worldwide. While it affects 1 out of 8 women, it only affects 1 out of 1000 men. It mostly affects senior women. There are ways to tell if one has developed breast cancer or not. Signs of breast cancer include a lump in the breast or armpit, swelling or thickening of all or just part of the breast, poking or skin irritation of breast skin, etc.  

“Breast cancer is one of the most popular cancers there are, especially for women and for men. What we recommend for routine checks is doing a monthly breast check, a lot of the time we tell women to do it at the same time every month but try not to do it when you are on your cycle because hormones will cause different changes in the breasts. If there is a family history of breast cancer your primary care or doctor will probably encourage you to get a mammogram earlier than normal. Two types of mammograms are the radiation mammogram and the ultrasound. It is very dangerous, if you can catch it early on, you can get treatments like chemo or radiation. A lot of the time women will get both breasts removed to prevent it from showing up in both. A lot of the time when it gets to stage 4, the final stage, it has the capability of metastasizing to other parts of the body, which is not only in the primary spot in your body but can now end up on other parts of your body like your liver.” NC’s nurse, Fikera Gerald says. 

It will always be beneficial to inform others along with yourself, about breast cancer for numerous reasons. When coming across websites providing accurate information resources suggest spreading the message to women along with suggesting they speak with their healthcare providers about breast cancer.  Ways to educate yourself about breast cancer can result in hunting down precise information on the disease. Healthcare providers are the best option for having someone to talk to about the disease and learn about it.

Mammograms are recommended every year for women with breast cancer that are 40 years of age or older. When scheduling a mammogram contact a local breast center or hospital’s main number and try speaking with a patient or nurse navigator for scheduling a free mammogram. The mammograms check for cancers and any other changes in breast tissue. 

“I think it is important to be aware of breast cancer it affects a large percentage of people, at one time the statistics stated that 1 out of 8 women would be impacted by breast cancer. It is a cancer that can be treated fairly well if caught early on. So the more you are aware of early detection techniques, breast exams, it is more likely that people who catch it early will have the minimal treatment and recover.” Anatomy teacher, Julie Hopp said.