October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month



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As National Breast Cancer Awareness Month begins, the American Cancer Society says that remarkable progress in the fight against the disease should not overshadow the significant challenges that remain.

Facts:

With largely stable incidence rates, improved treatment, and earlier detection through screening and increased awareness, the risk of breast cancer death in women decreased by 39% between the late 1980s and 2015, averting more than 300,000 deaths from breast cancer. time.

Despite these advances, much remains to be done. Breast cancer remains the second leading cause of cancer death in women, just behind lung cancer. The racial mortality gap remains significant, with African-American women having higher mortality rates than whites, even though the incidence rates are similar.

The American Cancer Society estimates for breast cancer in the United States for

2018 are:

• Approximately 266,120 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in women.

• Approximately 63,960 new cases of carcinoma in situ (CIS) will be diagnosed (CIS is non-invasive and the first form of breast cancer).

• About 40,920 women will die of breast cancer.

• While black and white women have breast cancer at about the same rate, the death rate is 42% higher for black women than for white women.

At present, more than 3.1 million people have a history of breast cancer in the United States. (This includes women still on treatment and those who have completed their treatment.)

Risk factors:

• Many studies have confirmed that alcohol consumption increases the risk of breast cancer in women by approximately 7% to 10% for every alcohol consumption consumed per day on average. Women who consume 2 to 3 alcoholic drinks a day have a 20% higher risk of breast cancer compared to non-drinkers.

• Obesity increases the risk of postmenopausal breast cancer. The risk is about 1.5 times higher in overweight women and about 2 times higher in obese women than in thin women.

• More and more evidence suggests that women who exercise regularly have a risk of breast cancer that is 10% to 25% lower than inactive women, with stronger evidence of menopause than premenopausal women.

• Limited but cumulative research suggests that smoking may slightly increase the risk of breast cancer, especially in the long term, in women who start smoking before their first pregnancy.

If you or someone you love is concerned about breast cancer, if you have recently been diagnosed, if you are following a treatment or trying to stay healthy after treatment, the American Cancer Society provides important information on these topics, and more.

What does the American Cancer Society do?

CHA currently funds 155 multi-year breast cancer grants for a total of $ 60.2 million. We have played a key role in many advances in the fight against breast cancer, including funding the preliminary work that led to the development of tamoxifen and Herceptin.

Join us and help save breast cancer lives: raise funds and participate in one of 250 Making Strides events or virtually participate in makingstrideswalk.org.

The American Cancer Society's CAN Cancer Network (ACS CAN), a non-partisan, non-partisan advocacy organization, also employs anti-cancer advocacy. breast cancer a national priority. ACS CAN is committed to ensuring that all women have the opportunity to benefit from lifesaving screening and cancer screening services. ACS CAN works in all 50 states and in Washington, DC, and advocates for adequate funding for early detection programs that provide affordable access to breast cancer screening and diagnostic services for low-income, uninsured and low-income women. -assurées.

To learn more about ACS CAN's advocacy work and to make breast cancer a priority in your community, visit acscan.org/makingstrides.

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