Education spread for breast cancer awareness

By Elizabeth Eide
Online Forty-Niner
Contributing Writer

The National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM) foundation designates October as the official national breast cancer awareness month.

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of death in women. The foundation stresses that early detection of the disease can save lives.

National breast cancer month is acknowledged and celebrated by millions of organizations across the nation.

NBCAM stresses early detection through mammography, x-rays, clinical breast examinations and self-breast examinations. Together with patients, survivors, supporters and the medical community, the death rate from breast cancer has dropped 3.2 percent a year, though one in seven women will still get the disease in the United States.

African American women have the highest rates of breast cancer, as well as women over the age of 60.

This year the NBCAM is celebrating 20 years of educating women. The first program was a week-long event which educated the public about breast cancer. Now there are many more events across the nation and it is easier than ever to get involved. To become a NBCAM leader all you have to do is pass the word by informing anyone you know about the importance of early detection of cancer.

National Mammography Day, which is the third Friday in October, makes it easier for women to get a mammogram. During that day, radiologists around the world give free or discounted breast screening.

The Y-Me National Breast Cancer Organization is a beneficiary of the Amazon Hearts Changing Gears weekly motorcycle adventure. Harley Davidson provides all the gear for 20 breast cancer survivors to take a seven-day ride up the coast from San Diego to San Francisco. Their mission is to raise awareness, share stories and raise funds for breast cancer research and treatment.

The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation also hosts fundraising events, such as a three-day breast cancer walk in Los Angeles and San Francisco, and the Race for the Cure in Fresno and Temecula.

The best form of detection is the mammography screening breasts and should be done every year. Other means of early detection are clinical breast examinations, which spot abnormalities in the breasts and self-breast examinations, which identify abnormal changes in the breasts.

Four different treatments are available for breast cancer which include surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, and hormonal therapy. Surgery can be done in a manner that conserves the breast, which is called lumpectomy and radiation, or in a manner that removes the breast, mastectomy.