October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. There’s no better time to learn more about this disease that devastates the lives of so many. Breast Cancer Awareness Month is the perfect time to help spread awareness and help fight the disease. If we all learn about it, we can do a lot to help.
Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers diagnosed in woman in the US. Men can get breast cancer, but it’s one tenth the rate compared to woman.(1) The older woman get, the risks for breast cancer increase. Fore every eight women, one will be diagnosed with breast cancer at some point in her life. There is roughly over 250,000 new cases of breast cancer every year with over 40,000 deaths a year related to breast cancer. (2)
Making people aware is one of the best ways to decrease deaths related to breast cancer. Woman should find out their family history to see if they should conduct frequent mammograms. Genetic testing is also a great opportunity for early diagnosis and life-saving treatment. Woman who don’t smoke and follow healthy habits like diet and exercise are implementing preventive measures that can help reduce the risk.
When someone is diagnosed with breast cancer, there are two options to treat the cancer. You can receive local treatments like surgery and radiation, and systemic treatments like chemotherapy, hormone therapy and targeted therapy.
Surgery seeks to remove as much breast cancer as possible though lumpectomy (tumor removal), mastectomy (breast removal), and/or lymphadenectomy (lymph node removal). Radiation therapy is often prescribed in concert with other treatments. This involves the use of high-energy rays to pinpoint a specific area in an effort to eliminate any cancer cells left behind by other treatments. (3)
Chemotherapy drugs may be administered orally to target cancer cells throughout the body. Despite side effects, chemotherapy is one of the most effective treatments for eliminating breast cancer and preventing the formation of new tumors. Hormone therapies often follow other treatments to reduce the risk of recurrence, while targeted drugs may stop the growth of certain types of cancer cells even in cases where chemotherapy is ineffective. (4)
Breast Cancer Awareness Month is a great time to educate ourselves and help out in the community when we can. We can make donations to help fund and further develop breast cancer research to hopefully one day we can eradicate breast cancer. We can volunteer, participate in charity walks and support the cancer community.
Here are some events happening all over South Florida, Tampa and Orlando.
- Komen Miami/Ft. Lauderdale – More Than Pink Walk – 10/8/2022 at 9am at Amelia Earhart Park
- Making Strides of Miami-Dade – 10/22/2022 at 9:00am – LoanDepot Park
- Making Strides of Broward – 10/22/2022 at 7:30am – Huizenga Plaza
- Making Strides of Palm Beach – 10/15/2022 at 7:30am – Sunset Cove Amphitheater
- Making Strides of Treasure Coast – 10/22/2022 at 8am – Tradition Village Square
- Making Strides of Orlando – 10/29/2022 at 9am – Lake Eola Park
- Making Strides of Tampa – 10/29/2022 at 7:30am – Raymond James Stadium
SOURCES
1. https://www.cancer.gov/types/breast
2. https://www.breastcancer.org/symptoms/understand_bc/statistics
3. https://online.regiscollege.edu/blog/todays-battle-breast-cancer-benefits-breast-cancer-awareness-month/
4. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/breast-cancer/treatment.html
