breast cancer awareness

While we use October to display pink ribbons and highlight breast cancer awareness in the U.S., those conversations should never be reserved for a particular month of the year. The Susan B. Komen Foundation estimates that by the end of 2020,  in the U.S. there will be 276,480 new cases of invasive breast cancer. Add to that approximately 50,000 new cases of non-invasive breast cancer and 42,170 breast cancer deaths and it’s a reason to pay rapt attention. It cannot be stressed enough how mammograms figure prominently in helping to lower some of these numbers via early detection, since in the big scheme of things this uncomfortable but necessary ounce of prevention enables the medical community to save lives. Although men can get breast cancer, it is most common in older women.  Other factors that figure prominently are (1) if you have changes in breast cancer-related genes (BRCA1 or BRCA2) (2) having started your period before age 12 or starting menopause after age 55, (3) never having given birth or being older when [...]