Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month,Women On Maintaining Education and Nutrition would like to stress the importance of taking action when it comes to your breast health. Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers among women in the United States and is the most frequently diagnosed cancer among nearly every racial and ethnic group. Statistics show that White women have a higher rate of developing breast cancer; however African-American women under the age of 40 have a higher incidence of breast cancer and are more than likely to be diagnosed with larger tumors. Also, African-American women are more likely to die from breast cancer and the five year survival rate is 79 percent lower than that of any other racial or ethnic group in the United States.

There are many reasons for the differences in incidence and rates of survival, which include:

Presence of risk factors
Barriers to health care access
Later stage diagnoses
Biological and genetic differences in tumors

Because of the higher incidence and lower rates of survival, early detection and breast self-awareness are critical to breast health. It is very important to be pro-active about your breast health; there are a few things you can do which include:

1. Know your risk
-Talk to your family an know your health history
-Talk to your health care provider about your personal risk

2. Get Screened

3. Know what is normal for you
– Perform a self breast exam every month and see your health care provider about any changes such as lumps or change in size or shape of the breast.

4. Make healthy lifestyle choices
– Maintain a healthy diet
– Exercise
– Limit alcohol intake