October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

I will be featuring information on breast cancer throughout the month of October.  I thought I’d start a brief introduction in this post.  Breast cancer will affect 1 in 8 women at some point in their lives.  Breast cancer has the second highest death rate among women behind only lung cancer.

Here are some risk factors for breast cancer:

- Age - the chance of getting breast cancer rises as a woman gets older

- Genes - there are two genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2, that greatly increase the risk. Women who have family members with breast or ovarian cancer may wish to be tested.

- Personal factors - beginning periods before age 12 or going through menopause after age 55

     (from the National Cancer Institute)

Here are some great links for you to check out:

Breast Cancer (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Detailed Guide: Breast Cancer (American Cancer Society)