Unpacking the Facts: Breast Cancer
I remember the first time I heard about breast cancer. I was ten and in my last year at elementary school. My parents informed me that someone we knew was going through chemo to fight breast cancer, but I had no idea what they were talking about. All I knew was that the word cancer sounded awful, it left a foul taste in my mouth, and when I would picture cancer in my head, I imagined an evil, selfish monster, who was impossible to kill.
Eleven years have gone by, but I still see that monster. I see it when I think of the amazing people who have experienced breast cancer, I see it when I talk to individuals who have lost someone to breast cancer, and I see it when I think about the amount of breast cancer that is present in the United States alone. The difference is, though, that when I think about that monster today, I know what it is and that, with the proper support, it is possible to kill.
However, it is clear that women in my age category (in their twenties) do not give much thought to breast cancer unless they are directly experiencing it. I’ll be honest, I never remember to self-check, and I always find myself so busy that I barely have time to even think about the possibility of breast cancer. Nevertheless, breast cancer does affect college students, (even you, gentlemen!) and it is important that we understand more about it. Let’s unpack some facts about breast cancer:
1. Breast cancer is when cells in the breast grow out of control and form a mass or a lump called a tumor. If the tumor is made out of abnormal cells, it is malignant and can spread to other areas of the body.
2. Anyone can get breast cancer. One out of 100 cases of breast cancer occur in men.
3. 90 out of every 100 women diagnosed with breast cancer will survive for, at least, five years. If detected early, the survival rate raises to 99%.
4. Women should have a clinical breast exam when they get their Pap test AT LEAST every three years between the ages of 20 and 39.
5. Except for skin cancers, breast cancer is the most common type of cancer among women in the United States.
6. There are about 2.5 million breast cancer survivors alive today in the United States.
7. There seems to be a decline in the number of deaths from breast cancer, due to early detection and more effective treatment.
8. There are two classifications of breast cancer. Some breast cancers are in situ because they are confined within the ducts or lobules in which they originated and others are invasive or infiltrating because they start in the lobules or ducts and break through to invade the surrounding breast tissue.
9. Factors associated with breast cancer are age, family history, early menarche (the first menstrual cycle), late menopause, postmenopausal obesity, use of combined estrogen and progestin menopausal hormones, alcohol consumption, and physical activity.
10. Although the probability of females at age 20 developing breast cancer in the next ten years is 1 in 1,681, the lifetime risk of a woman for developing breast cancer is 1 in 8.
It is our responsibility as the upcoming generation to raise awareness of break cancer and to do our best to find a cure! October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Join HerCampus on the week of October 22nd to raise money for breast cancer research by attending our EPIC Fashion Show and our Breast Cancer Pink Party. Contact Olivia Fournier or Katrina Horgan for details.
Sources:
http://www.cancer.org/Research/CancerFactsFigures/BreastCancerFactsFigur…
http://ww5.komen.org/BreastCancer
Image Source:
http://www.pinkribbon.com