Being informed about Breast Cancer can save your life or that of a loved one..GET INVOLVED! |  | BREAST CANCER BASICS
| Breast Cancer is not predictable; the majority of women who get breast cancer have no known risk factors except being a woman and getting older. |
| In 2007 approximately 178,480 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected in the United States. |
| 2,030 men have will be diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007. |
| Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer among women. |
| The chance of a woman developing invasive breast cancer some time during her life is about 1 in 8. |
 WHY SHOULD I BE INVOLVED?Every 3 minutes a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer
Every 13 minutes someone dies from breast cancer
2000 men are diagnosed each year with breast cancer
Millions of men and women are no longer here because of this disease.
Mothers.
Wives.
Sons.
Sisters.
Friends.
~There is a 1 in 237 chance you will get in a fatal car accident in your life which is why you wear your seatbelt… just in case.
~66% of the current boomer generation will live to be 90 or older. And yet, most of you carry life insurance just in case.
~Most of us have smoke detectors in our homes, wear sunscreen during the summer, change the oil in our cars … because we know what can happen if we don’t.
If you are a woman there is a one in 8 chance you will get breast cancer. One in Eight. “Just in case” doesn’t even seem sensible to say. You must take charge of your life, of your breasts. Feel your tits. Know them. Grab them. Rub them. Do your self-exam. And if you are a man, and you have a wife, ask her if she’s doing her checks. And if she’s not then YOU do them. YOU feel her chest. YOU rub them. And feel your own too. Thanks to Jenne From for answering why you should be involved. Komen for the Cure recommends: THE NEWS IS NOT ALL BAD SELF-EXAM INFORMATION EARLY DETECTION SAVES LIVES! Breast Self-Exam
Breast self-exam is a screening method that is intended to find early tumors, particularly those that develop in the time between annual mammograms and clinical breast exams. By doing breast self-exams once a month, women can become familiar with the way their breasts look and feel normally and thus may be able to recognize changes, such as thickening, lumps, spontaneous nipple discharge or skin changes, such as dimpling or puckering.
When doing breast self-exams, many women may find that their breasts feel lumpy, because breast tissue naturally has a bumpy texture. There is also a great deal of individual variation, so that for some women, the lumpiness is more pronounced than for others. In most cases, this lumpiness is no cause to worry. If the lumpiness can be felt throughout the breast, then it is probably just the normal breast tissue. The kinds of lumps that are of concern are ones that are firmer than the rest of the breast. When such a lump is found, there is more of a risk that it may be cancer, although cysts and fibroadenomas can cause similar lumps. Any time a woman discovers a new lump that feels different from the rest of the breast or one that is different from what she has felt before, she should have it checked by a health care provider. Learning How To Do A Breast Self-Exam To find out how to do a breast self-exam, ask a health care provider, call Susan G. Komen for the Cure's National Toll-Free Breast Care Helpline, 1-800 I'M AWARE® (1-800-462-9273) or click here to download a self-exam card in PDF format (English and Spanish versions). You can also visit www.komen.org/bse for online instruction using animation; viewable in English and Spanish. |
|
|
Knowledge is Power! 