Breast Cancer Awareness, Prevention, and Screening
by Darra McMullen, Women’s Health Network Writer/Researcher October is breast cancer awareness month, and with one in eight women likely to become breast cancer victims at some point in their lives, October is the perfect time to increase our awareness of this serious problem and learn more about breast cancer detection and prevention. As women grow older, the risk of breast cancer increases. Nearly 8 out of 10 breast cancers occur in women older than age 50, according to American Cancer Society statistics. That’s not to say that younger women can’t get the disease also. In fact, an alarming number of young women in their 20’s and 30’s have had to deal with the numerous scary aspects of breast cancer, such as surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, drug side effects, and the possibility of death or, at least, infertility due to cancer treatment. The various contributing causes of breast cancer are not all known at this time, and therefore, no definit