Cancer Awareness - October 2021

Why Breast Cancer Awareness is Important

Every October, the color pink appears in many places as a reminder of breast cancer awareness and support for a cure. These efforts are important to highlight during October, but for women, they need to extend throughout the rest of the year as well. Awareness of breast cancer risk and symptoms should be public knowledge, just as we know what to look out for when someone has the flu or a concussion. The more we know about breast cancer, the better the chances of detecting abnormalities before cancer develops or detecting cancer in its early stages when treatment has its highest potential for success.

Five things women need to know about breast cancer

Risk factors for breast cancer aren’t always straightforward, but can include:

Tobacco use
Heavy alcohol consumption
Age (women age 50 and older are more at risk)
Genetics (certain genes pose an increased risk)
A family or personal history of cancer, including breast cancer

Self breast exams are necessary, and women should perform them from the comfort and privacy of their own homes about once a month.

An ideal time is a few days after your period ends as your breasts as less likely to be tender or swollen during this time and you can establish a baseline for appearance and feeling. If anything new or unusual is detected, please contact your doctor as soon as possible to schedule an appointment for a professional exam.

Breast cancer can be both caught and treated early

Please do not ignore symptoms, which include:

A lump or lumps in the breast
Swelling (can occur even without a lump being felt)
Changes to the nipples (pain, turning inward, redness, dryness, thicker texture)
Dimpling in the skin or irritation
Discharge from the nipple area
A change to the size or shape of the breast

There is no way to prevent breast cancer, but you can avoid some known risk factors and work toward early detection.

Doctors will advise maintaining a healthy lifestyle to improve overall health and longevity and decrease your risk, but breast cancer can be present in even the healthiest women and men who have never once smoked a cigarette or have no family history of the disease.