Breast Cancer Awareness Month

With the sports programs, apparel companies, television commercials proudly displaying the color pink, it is hard to not recognize the impact that breast cancer has in the United States.

October was declared Breast Cancer Awareness Month 25 years ago to educate America about second most common form of cancer among women. The National Breast Cancer Awareness Month organization was created as a partnership with national public service organizations, professional medical associations, and government agencies to share information on the disease.

Fort Scott residents Kim Clay and Joy O'Neal are breast cancer survivors and are happy to see the awareness of the disease increase.

"There is so much information out there to bring people's attention to it," O'Neal said.

O'Neal has been free of cancer for nine years after undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatments. Clay found the cancer in her mid-30s and underwent chemotherapy and a double mastectomy -- she has been cancer free for nearly eight years.

"In my case, there was no history in my family," Clay said. "It's not just old ladies and history, everybody needs to be aware."

One thing than any one needs when dealing with cancer is support, O'Neal said. There is a survivor group that meets quarterly at Mercy Health Center for individuals with any form of cancer as well as their care-givers where they can get the support they need.

"We meet and we discuss any kind of cancer, then we be supportive," O'Neal said.

In addition to the survivor group, Care to Share was created by cancer survivors to provide assistance both financially and non-financially to individuals undergoing treatment for cancer.

According to the American Cancer Society, in 2009 there have been 192,370 new cases of invasive breast cancer and 40,170 deaths caused by breast cancer. Breast cancer is the second most common cancer among women behind skin cancer and is also the second leading cause of cancer related death after lung cancer. There are currently 2.5 million breast cancer survivors in the United States.

ACS recommends women in their 20s and 30s should receive a clinical breast exam every three years and that women over 40-years-old should receive a yearly mammogram and clinical breast exam. It also recommends women should begin self exams in their 20s.

Included in the celebration of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the third Friday in October has been declared National Mammography Day. According to NBCAM, mammograms are the best available method to detect breast cancer early. On average, mammograms will detect 80-90 percent of breast cancers in women without any symptoms, according to ACS.

In efforts to encourage women to remember yearly mammogram, ACS has developed a free mammogram reminder tool which is available at www.cancer.org/MammogramReminder. This tool will send an e-mail reminder to schedule the exam.

"Do the self exams, don't put off your visits to the doctor," Clay said. "If you have anything suspicious, check it out."

Mammograms are available at no cost or a reduced cost through the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. For more information, contact the CDC at (888) 842-6355 or visit their Web site, www.cdc.gov.

Although they make up less than one percent of all cases, men can also be affected by breast cancer. NBCAM states that the cancer can develop in men but is less common due to a smaller amount of breast tissue. Though rare, breast cancer in men can be very dangerous. NBCAM says that because of the small amount of breast tissue, cancers do not grow far before reaching the skin covering the breast or the muscles underneath, which allows the cancer to spread more than in women, according to NBCAM.

For more information on Breast Cancer Awareness Month, visit www.NBCAM.org.