Although people connect October to Halloween, it’s also connected to a more important subject…Breast Cancer. I don’t have experience with breast cancer, but I know there are women all over the world who do. In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I’ll be making a few posts throughout the month and to kick it off I’ll be discussing the importance of getting a mammogram. Men, pay attention because this is important information for you to know as well.

Because some of my readers might not know what a mammogram is, let’s begin with the definition of a mammogram.

Definition: Mammogram is defined as an x-ray picture of the breast(cancer.gov).

It is adviced that women begin getting checked at the age of 40. If breast cancer is common in your family, then it’s suggested you go at an even younger age (about 30).

Why Is It Important I Get A Mammogram?

1. First is the obvious reason of being able to detect if there’s a possibility of cancer. This could also mean you being able to detect it early and getting treatment before the disease spreads.
2. Results have shown that getting a mammogram helps reduce the number of deaths that are caused by breast cancer within women ages 40-74.
3. It’s important to be aware of your body and to get informed of any potentially harmful unusual behavior.

Statistics

1. 1 in 8 women in the United States will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of their lifetime
2. 266,120 cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed in women in the US in 2018
3. Women aren’t the only ones. About 2,550 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed in 2018 and a man’s lifetime risk of breast cancer is about 1 in 1,000.
4. 40,920 women are expected to die in 2018 from breast cancer in 2018. The number of deaths has decreased for women under 50 due to treatment advances, earlier detection, and increased awareness.
5. The risk of breast cancer in a woman doubles if she has a first-degree relative who’s been diagnosed with breast cancer. In turn, 85% of breast cancer occur in women who have no family history of the disease.

Another thing that’s important is a breast self-exam. You can do these on yourself once a month to keep in check and make sure nothing is feeling odd or anything strange is going on with your breasts. I will provide a guide on how to do it below that’s also available as a pdf provided by maurerfoundation.org

It’s important we as women (and men) take care of ourselves, and I hope that you will now consider doing a self-test and getting a mammogram if you’ve never thought about it before. Happy Breast Cancer Awareness Month!

**Sources: https://www.breastcancer.org, https://www.cancer.gov/types/breast/mammograms-fact-sheet#q3, http://maurerfoundation.org**