Good morning:

          I will be appear in about 246,000 women this year.  I will be found in 2,600 men this year.  I am more common in Afro-american women than white women under the age of 45 years old.  In 2016, there will be more than 2.8 million women with my history in their lives.  I occur in 85% of women who have had no family history of me in their lives.  A woman's risk of me arising in their life is doubled if their mother, sister, or daughter has had me present in their lives.  I will kill about 40,450 women in 2016.  Who am I?  BREAST CANCER!




     Yes, this is BREAST CANCER awareness month.  What you just read are statistics presented by Breastcancer.org.  The risk factors are many, some that we can avoid, some that we cannot.  The risk factors include:

• Age--the risk of breast cancer increases with age.
• Women who start the menstrual cycles before the age of 12 because they are exposed to hormones longer.
• Late or no pregnancy--having a pregnancy after age 30 and never having a full-term pregnancy can raise breast cancer risk
• Not being active--lack of physical activity increases risk of getting breast cancer
• Menopause after age 55--just like starting the menstrual cycle early, having late menopause also causes hormones to remain in the system longer.
• Overweight--being overweight or obese after menopause puts you at a higher risk
• Dense breast--Dense breast have more connective tissue than fatty tissue which can make make it hard to see tumors on examination
• Alcohol--Breast cancer risk increases with the higher alcohol intake
• DES--women who took the drug DES to prevent miscarriage between 1940-1971 and their daughters.
• Family history--women's risk is higher for breast cancer if their mother, daughter, sister or family members from their father's side of the family have had breast cancer.
• Radiation--previous radiation therapy to the chest area before the age of 30 increases the risk

     There are some other risk factors that have been suggested and are currently being investigated as well.  They include exposure to various chemicals in our water, food, plastics that we use, lawn products, and low vitamin D levels.


     There are many organizations that offer assistance with the many questions you may have about breast cancer.  DO NOT hesitate to contact them.  The National Breast Cancer Foundation, www.Breastcancer.org, and www.cancer.org are just a few organizations and websites available.  Also, www.Choosehope.com is a website where you can purchase various breast cancer awareness products and the proceeds go towards funding cancer research.


     Be aware by learning your family history, stay aware by having yearly mammograms, avoid or improve on the things that you can like your weight and inactivity.  Too ALL the BREAST CANCER survivors, please be the voice for and to others so that they can better understand the journey of living with BREAST CANCER. 


SMOOCHES