October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. According to the American Cancer Society, more than 180,000 women in the United States are diagnosed with breast cancer each year. It is the second most common type of cancer in women, after skin cancer. One in nine women will develop the disease during her lifetime. Despite such daunting statistics, breast cancer does not have to be a death sentence. More than 2.6 million women in the United States are breast cancer survivors. Survival rates dramatically increase with early detection. The American Cancer Society recommends that women age 20 and older perform monthly breast self-examinations and receive a physical examination by a physician every three years.
There has been some debate as to whether self exams are truly successful at increasing the likelihood of early cancer detection and survival rates. Still, most health professionals continue to recommend that women keep up with them.
“We advise people to do self-exams although it is hard to make it a habit,” said Susan Martin of USM Health Services. The difficulty in turning a once-a-month effort into a habit has prompted many women in the community to take part in support programs such as Buddy to Buddy, a system supported by WCSH Channel 6 in which women team up and remind each other to perform monthly breast exams. Currently there are no such programs at USM. Many people are dubious whether such a system would work in the college atmosphere. “It’s a good system [but] the reality of that happening in a setting like this is unlikely,” Martin said.
USM alumni Amanda Wilson expressed her own skepticism concerning the likelihood of college-age women taking the initiative to perform breast self-examinations. “If college kids today aren’t concerned about STDs, then why would breast health matter?” As afterthought she added, “I think the female in college today thinks that she’s too young to worry about breast cancer.”
For women who would like to learn more about the disease or express their own battles with the cancer, the Women’s Resource Center has been sponsoring events related to the subject all this month. Those who would like to honor a survivor, remember those who were lost to the disease, or support the search for a cure are encouraged to wear a pink ribbon through the month of October. For any further information contact the Women’s Resource Center at X4996 or Health Services at X5411.
Some risk factors for breast cancer may include:
being female
aging
having a close family member or 2 other relatives with breast cancer
having your first period before age 12
having your first pregnancy after age 30
having no children
high dietary fat intake
being obese
having 2 or more alcoholic drinks per day
sedentary lifestyle
smoking