Breast Cancer Facts

Lets Talk Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, today’s posting is dedicated to educating everyone and myself about Breast Cancer.

My mother is a Radiation Oncologist. She gives radiation to cancer patients, so the ‘C’ word was used regularly around our house. She always taught us to live for today, because tomorrow is never promised, she was, and still is, always on me to check my breast for lumps.

I’ve found a lump in my breast about 2 years ago. I freaked out, started stressing and crying and didn’t know what to do. I called my doctor and set up an appointment, but I could hardly talk through my tears. I had to wait a month to see the doctor, which was the longest month of my life. When my appointment date finally arrived I was a mess. No more happy go lucky Mary, I was depressed, I had lost 10 pounds from not eating and I was only thinking about the worst.

It took the doctor 3 minutes to tell me that I had no lump and I was fine. She explained to me that around our menstrual cycle lumps can pop up, and to make sure I always check after my cycle is completed.

I felt like she gave me another chance at life. I promptly gained that 10 pounds back, and now I check my breast every month after my menstrual cycle.

That’s my breast cancer story. I’m a blessed and lucky girl, a lot of stories aren’t as positive as mine. Happy endings are hard to come by sometimes.

Enjoy these facts.

Pass them on to friends, family members, neighbors, and enemies.

What is breast cancer?

Breast cancer is a disease in which malignant (cancer) cells form in the tissues of the breast. The damaged cells can invade surrounding tissue, but with early detection and treatment, most people continue a normal life.

Facts about Breast Cancer in the United States

• One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime.
• Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women.
• Breast cancer is the second leading cause of death among women.
• Each year it is estimated that over 220,000 women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer and more than 40,000 will die.
• Although breast cancer in men is rare, an estimated 2,150 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer and approximately 410 will die each year.

A Global Burden

 

According to the World Health Organization, breast cancer is the most common cancer among women worldwide, claiming the lives of hundreds of thousands of women each year and affecting countries at all levels of modernization.

Good News About Breast Cancer Trends

In recent years, perhaps coinciding with the decline in prescriptive hormone replacement after menopause, we have seen a gradual reduction in female breast cancer incidence rates among women aged 50 and older. Death rates from breast cancer have been declining since about 1990, in part to better due to screening and early detection increased awareness, and continually improving treatment options.

Causes of Breast Cancer: How did this happen?

When you’re told that you have breast cancer, it’s natural to wonder what may have caused the disease. But no one knows the exact causes of breast cancer. Doctors seldom know why one woman develops breast cancer and another doesn’t, and most women who have breast cancer will never be able to pinpoint an exact cause.  What we do know is that breast cancer is always caused by damage to a cell’s DNA.

Known Risk Factors

Women with certain risk factors are more likely than others to develop breast cancer. A risk factor is something that may increase the chance of getting a disease. Some risk factors (such as drinking alcohol) can be avoided. But most risk factors (such as having a family history of breast cancer) can’t be avoided. Having a risk factor does not mean that a woman will get breast cancer. Many women who have risk factors never develop breast cancer.

What Do Scientists Actually Know About The Cause Of breast cancer?

Cancer grows when a cell’s DNA is damaged, but why or how that DNA becomes damaged is still unknown. It could be genetic or environmental, or in most cases, a combination of the two. But most patients will never know exactly what caused their cancer. However, there are certain established risk factors that are associated with breast cancer.

 

Genetic Factors

• Gender:  Breast cancer occurs nearly 100 times more often in women than in men.
• Age:  Two out of three women with invasive cancer are diagnosed after age 55.
• Race:  Breast cancer is diagnosed more often in caucasian women than women of other races.
• Family History and Genetic Factors:  If your mother, sister, father or child has been diagnosed with breast or ovarian cancer, you have a higher risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer in the future. Your risk increases if your relative was diagnosed before the age of 50.  
• Personal Health History:  If you have been diagnosed with breast cancer in one breast, you have an increased risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer in the other breast in the future. Also, your risk increases if abnormal breast cells have been detected before (such as atypical hyperplasia, lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS) or ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS)).
• Menstrual and Reproductive History:  Early menstruation (before age 12), late menopause (after 55), having your first child at an older age, or never having given birth can also increase your risk for breast cancer.
• Certain Genome Changes:  Mutations in certain genes, such as BRCA1 and BRCA2, can increase your risk for breast cancer. This is determined through a genetic test, which you may consider taking if you have a family history of breast cancer. Individuals with these gene mutations can pass the gene mutation onto their children.
• Dense Breast Tissue:  Having dense breast tissue can increase your risk for breast cancer and make lumps harder to detect. Several states have passed laws requiring physicians to disclose to women if their mammogram indicates that they have dense breasts so that they are aware of this risk. Be sure to ask your physician if you have dense breasts and what the implications of  having dense breasts are.

 

 

Environmental and Lifestyle Risk Factors

• Lack of Physical Activity:  A sedentary lifestyle with little physical activity can increase your risk for breast cancer.
• Poor Diet:  A diet high in saturated fat and lacking fruits and vegetables can increase your risk for breast cancer.  
• Being Overweight or Obese:  Being overweight or obese can increase your risk for breast cancer. Your risk is increased if you have already gone through menopause.  
• Drinking Alcohol:  Frequent consumption of alcohol can increase your risk for breast cancer. The more alcohol you consume, the greater the risk.
• Radiation to the Chest:  Having radiation therapy to the chest before the age of 30 can increase your risk for breast cancer.  
• Combined Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT):  Taking combined hormone replacement therapy, as prescribed for menopause, can increase your risk for breast cancer and increases the risk that the cancer will be detected at a more advanced stage.

 

What Are The Stats?

60-70% of people with breast cancer have no connection to these risk factors at all, and other people with risk factors will never develop cancer.

 

These do not cause breast cancer

• Breast cancer is not contagious; you can’t contract cancer from a person who has the disease.
• Breast cancer is not caused by wearing underwire bras, implants, deodorants, antiperspirants, mammograms, caffeine, plastic food serving items, microwaves, or cell phones, as myths often suggest.

I hope you learned a lot. I know I did. Enjoy your weekend. Live everyday to the fullest!

Blessings
Mary

References: www.nationalbreastcancer.org