October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

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In America, 1 in 8 women will develop breast cancer in her lifetime

Breast cancer is the second most common cancer in American women, but early detection can save lives! By doing self-exams and getting regular mammograms, breast cancer can be caught early on, making treatment much easier and more effective.

No one should have to face breast cancer alone. Take this month to share information with your friends and families, schedule screenings, and start conversations with those around you. You never know what might convince someone to make a life-saving doctor's appointment!

According to the National Breast Cancer Foundation:

  • In 2022, an estimated 287,500 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in women in the U.S. as well as 51,400 new cases of non-invasive (in situ) breast cancer.
  • 65% of breast cancer cases are diagnosed at a localized stage (there is no sign that the cancer has spread outside of the breast), for which the 5-year relative survival rate is 99%.
  • This year, an estimated 43,550 women will die from breast cancer in the U.S.
  • Although rare, men get breast cancer too. In 2022, an estimated 2,710 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer in the U.S. and approximately 530 men will die from breast cancer.
  • 1 in 8 women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime
  • Breast cancer is the most common cancer in American women, except for skin cancers. It is estimated that in 2022, approximately 30% of all new women cancer diagnoses will be breast cancer.
  • There are over 3.8 million breast cancer survivors in the United States.
  • On average, every 2 minutes a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer in the United States.

100 questions & answers about metastatic breast cancer

by
Lillie Shockney

The American Cancer Society estimates over 275,000 new breast cancer diagnoses in American women for 2020. No one with breast cancer needs to be alone in their fight against this disease. That's where this book and the authoritative information within can help. This unique book provides both doctor and patient perspectives and offers answers to the most asked questions by patients and their loved ones. What is metastatic breast cancer? How will my oncologist decide how to treat my metastatic breast cancer? What is targeted therapy? Along with the answers to these and other questions, this book provides information on diagnosis, treatment, living with metastatic breast cancer, hormonal therapy, coping strategies, and more.

Just diagnosed : breast cancer what to expect what to know what to do next

by
Arlene M Karole

The American Cancer Society estimates over 275,000 new breast cancer diagnoses in American women for 2020. No one with breast cancer needs to be alone in their fight against this disease. That's where this book and the authoritative information within can help. This unique book provides both doctor and patient perspectives and offers answers to the most asked questions by patients and their loved ones. What is metastatic breast cancer? How will my oncologist decide how to treat my metastatic breast cancer? What is targeted therapy? Along with the answers to these and other questions, this book provides information on diagnosis, treatment, living with metastatic breast cancer, hormonal therapy, coping strategies, and more.

Radical : the science, culture, and history of breast cancer in America

by
Kate Pickert

As a health-care journalist, Kate Pickert knew the emotional highs and lows of medical treatment well — but always from a distance, through the stories of her subjects. That is, until she was unexpectedly diagnosed with an aggressive type of breast cancer at the age of 35. As she underwent more than a year of treatment, Pickert realized that the popular understanding of breast care in America bears little resemblance to the experiences of today’s patients and the rapidly changing science designed to save their lives. After using her journalistic skills to navigate her own care, Pickert embarked on a quest to understand the cultural, scientific and historical forces shaping the lives of breast-cancer patients in the modern age.

The Cancer Journals

by
Audre Lorde

First published over forty years ago, The Cancer Journals is a startling, powerful account of Audre Lorde's experience with breast cancer and mastectomy. Long before narratives explored the silences around illness and women's pain, Lorde questioned the rules of conformity for women's body images and supported the need to confront physical loss not hidden by prosthesis. Living as a "black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet," Lorde heals and re-envisions herself on her own terms and offers her voice, grief, resistance, and courage to those dealing with their own diagnosis. Poetic and profoundly feminist, Lorde's testament gives visibility and strength to women with cancer to define themselves, and to transform their silence into language and action.

By Elizabeth on December 13, 2022