Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Breast Cancer Awareness IS Needed... Every Month

“Let’s Be Vigilent Each Month With Heightened Awareness of this Disease”

October is officially designated Breast Cancer Awareness month and that’s a good thing. Pink The amount of news, information, and awareness promotion about this devastating disease during the month of October is helpful, enlightening and encouraging. There is much to celebrate in 2008 about breast cancer medicine breakthroughs and treatments that are currently available to women now in treating, preventing and curing this disease. We can choose advocate for breast cancer awareness with And the future outlook for eliminating this disease altogether is very encouraging since breast cancer has a very high cure rate—over 95 percent according to official sources—when diagnosed early. And this is the key why breast cancer awareness needs to be raised and promoted every month.



ENCOURAGEMENT & HOPE FOR BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS
Early detection of breast cancer combined with either or both natural and traditional breast cancer therapies pushes survivor rates up dramatically. Virtually, any woman who is diagnosed with breast cancer today can be greatly encouraged that her odds of beating and surviving this disease with the opportunity to live a normal, quality-filled life are very, very high… if the disease is diagnosed early.

We must maintain our awareness and vigilance of fighting breast cancer every month because the raw statistics of this cancer are striking and far too prevalent. The startling facts continue to challenge us as evidence below:
  • Breast cancer hits 1 out of every 9 American women.
  • This year so far, there have been nearly 200,000 new cases of breast cancer in women and 2,000 in men; the majority of the women are between 40 and 70 years old.
  • It is the leading cause of death in women aged 40 to 55 and causes more deaths than any other form of cancer from age 15 onward. Breast cancer rarely occurs before the age of 20.
  • Year to date, approximately 40,480 females and 450 males have died because of this disease.


The older you are, the greater your chance of developing this frightening disease. And while research now shows us that age is a key risk factor after 40—particularly between ages 40 and 44—and again after 60, however, doctors still do not know why. The odds of developing it gradually increase after that, leveling off for a bit after menopause, then starting to rise again at age 65. Findings show that the longer a woman remains fertile, the greater her chances of developing breast cancer. If you started having periods early (before the age of 12), stop having them late (after the age of 55), or have them for more than 30 years, you're in the high¬ risk group.

Some doctors and researchers in the medical community speculate that the factors the development of breast cancer is triggered soon as a girl enters puberty. And the process continues until she reaches her early 40s. Pregnancy seems to short-¬circuit the “breast cancer trigger” process under certain circumstances. The earlier a woman completes her first full¬-term pregnancy, the less likelihood she has of contracting the disease. There is still important research that needs to be done to better understand the underlying causes of breast cancer. (Source: http://www.healthsquare.com/fgwh/wh1ch36.htm )

In the meanwhile, it is urgent and essential that women continue to:

  • Self-examine their breasts each month
  • Eat healthy and nutritionally daily, such as fresh vegetables and fruit, legumes, fiber and fish; while limiting processed and fatty food. Diet clearly a poor diet plays a pivotal role in increasing a woman’s chances of getting breast cancer and
  • Get regular screenings using the last detection technologies: ultrasound/sonograms, MRI/PET, and digital mammograms
    (Source: http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Detection/breast-cancer)


THINGS YOU CAN DO TO KEEP PEAK BREAST CANCER AWARENESS LEVELS
  • Support the many, on-going breast cancer marathons through sponsorships or participation
  • Purchase products that contribute and support breast cancer
  • Give breast cancer gift items such as jewelry, books, tee-shirts, pink ribbons, pink bands
  • Send a healing breast cancer gift basket

You're invited to show your support today with these gift ideas below for family, friends, co-workers, and survivors.


Let's all stay in the Pink! every month with on-going breast cancer awareness.
EAT WELL... BE WELL!