The month of October is recognized as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The Women’s and Fair Practices Departments salute breast cancer survivors, support those that are currently battling this disease, and encourage EVERYONE to get screened for breast cancer regularly.
Women who are diagnosed with breast cancer before age 40 have slightly poorer prognoses than older women - their five-year survival rate is about 82%, compared with 85% among women ages 40 to 74, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS). Younger women are more likely to have more aggressive tumors and also tend to have denser breast tissue, which makes it harder for mammograms to detect tumors.
Overall breast cancer survival rates may have improved, but not among women of color. In fact, African-American, Native American, and Hispanic women are up to 70 percent more likely to die after a diagnosis than Caucasian women, according to a study at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. Experts believe that this may be attributed to genetics.
Though it occurs mainly in women, men can also get breast cancer due to the fact that they have breast tissue. The American Cancer Society estimates that about 2,360 men are diagnosed with breast cancer yearly. Of that number, 430 cases are fatal.
Terminology
While most people are familiar with the term “breast cancer”, most of us are not fluent in the other words and terminology associated with breast cancer awareness. In an effort to make sure that we are all informed, let’s take this opportunity to discuss some of them and point out some interesting facts:
Screening refers to tests and exams used to find a disease, such as cancer, in people who do not currently have symptoms.
Early Detection is an means that breast cancer is diagnosed earlier than otherwise might have occurred. Most doctors believe that early detection tests for breast cancer save thousands of lives each year. Visit http://www.earlydetectionplan.org/ to learn more.
Prognosis refers to the outlook of a person with breast cancer.
Wear Pink on Oct. 30!
Join our union in wearing pink Tuesday, Oct. 30 in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
You can also join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram with the hashtags
#ThinkPink and #BreastCancerAwareness