Creating True Breast Cancer Awareness
Here we are……entering October. Pink ribbons everywhere!!! Ball games, social events, church gatherings, everyone is focused on those who are going through breast cancer or who have won the fight and are now called a survivor after a diagnosis of breast cancer. And rightfully so, anyone who has ever had to hear those words “you have cancer” certainly deserves our support.
They call it breast cancer awareness, but are we creating a true awareness along with highlighting those who are either fighting or have won the fight? Or is there a deeper awareness that this month of Pinktober can bring. I am sure everyone who has faced this dreaded diagnosis only wishes one thing…..I wish I had known more before I had to hear those words “you have breast cancer”.
One definition that I found for awareness is concern about and well-informed interest in a particular situation or development. Our mission here at The Breast Center is to create well-informed patients along with a well-informed community. One myth that we hear many, many times is “I don’t have to worry, I don’t have any family history of breast cancer”.
One in eight women will develop breast cancer sometime in their lifetime. Of that 12% of women who develop breast cancer, 3 out of 4 or 75% of these women will have no family history. If you gather a group of 100 women, statistically at least 12 of those women will develop breast cancer sometime in their lifetime and 9 of those that develop breast cancer will have no family history.
That is why it is important that every woman have a mammogram starting at age 40 and have their mammogram every single year. By doing this, she cuts her risk of dying from Breast Cancer by 40%. This seems like an important fact that needs a heightened awareness. By having this lifesaving screening every year, our radiologist can compare images and detect the slightest changes that could indicate a very early breast cancer. A mammogram can see something abnormal when it is as small as a grain of salt and approximately 2 years before you would feel a lump. Now this is information that with increased awareness, can save the lives of many of our mothers, sisters, aunts and friends. Giving us more survivors to celebrate each October.
So, if you happen to have a family history that doesn’t include breast cancer, thank God! However, remember in the words of Dr. Stacy Smith-Foley, “if you have breasts and you have birthdays, you have a risk for developing breast cancer”.
To schedule your mammogram, call 432-221-2300.
If you would like Jenifer Dumire to speak at a luncheon or community event to help provide education and awareness regarding breast cancer, please call 432.221.1189.