Little Known Facts About Breast Cancer

October is known as Breast Cancer Awareness Month, in most countries.

It is the time when both younger and older women and men, take time out to remember those dear to us who have suffered and are suffering from this disease and those who have overcome it.

It is also the time when we continue to educate ourselves and each other re how best to prevent this disease.

In this vein, here are some little known facts about breast cancer that you should know:

Definition: Breast cancers are potentially life threatening malignancies (abnormal cell formations) that can occur in each breast.

1. Every two (2) minutes a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer.

2. 80-95% of all breast cancers are invasive; meaning, the cancer cells spread beyond the basement membrane which covers the underlying connective tissue in the breast. This tissue is rich in blood vessels and lymphatic channels capable of carrying the cancer cells far beyond the breast.

3. The occurrence of breast cancer in younger women (that is women under 30) is 1.5%.

4. 80% of breast cancers occur in women over 50.

5. The mortality rate for breast cancer is twice as much for African American women than Caucasian women.

6. Native Americans, Hispanics and Asians have lower rates of breast cancer than their African American and Caucasian counterparts.

7. Men do get breast cancer too! 1% of all men have breast cancer.

8. Approximately 5% -10% of women with breast cancer have a strong family history of the disease. In these cases, breast cancers often ocurr in women under 50.

9. Women who do not have children are at an increased risk for breast cancer.

10. The younger a woman is when she has her first child, the lower her risk of getting breast cancer.

11. A woman who started her period at an early age is at increased risk for breast cancer.

12. Late menopause, increases the risk of breast cancer.

13. Regular and vigorous exercise, a diet full of fresh fruits, vegetables and less fat, and with good portions of protein and iron, can lower the risk of breast cancer.

14.  When breast cancer is found early, the 5-year survival rate is 96%.

15. Mammography is a low-dose X-ray exam that can detect  breast cancer up to two (2) years before it can be felt.

16. A woman should have her first mammogram at age 40 and every year after that. (The U.S. National Cancer Institute recommends a woman's first screening at age 35).

17. A woman should get clinical breast exams (breast exams by a doctor) starting at age 20 and every three years after that, up until age 29, after which she should get the clinical exam done, every year.

18. She should also start doing her monthly breast self-exams at this age, as 70% of all breast cancers are found using this method.

With this information, you are well-armed to fight breast cancer. Please do your breast self-exams if you're over 20 and go get your regular mammograms done if you're over 39 years old.

This includes men too!

(Please see our article re how to do breast self-exams that will follow, later).

Source Documents:

1) Article, "Breast Cancer:", Reuters Health

http://www.reutershealth.com/wellconnected/doc06.html

2)  Article, "Definite Breast Cancer Risks", Cancer Research UK

http://www.cancerhelp.org.uk/help/default.asp?page=3293

3) Article, "Breast Cancer:", Cancer Information and Research International,

http://www.cancer-info.com/breast.htm

4) Article, "Breast Cancer Symptoms and Information on Breast Cancer", The National Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc.

http://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/early_detection/index.html

5) Article, "Breast Cancer in Men", Menstuff.org

http://www.menstuff.org/issues/byissue/breastcancer.html#breastcancerinfo

6) Article, "Breast Cancer", Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breast_cancer#Symptoms