Promaxo Honors Women Everywhere for Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Nearly 44,000 women in the U.S. are expected to die from breast cancer in 2021. To put some context around the enormity of that number, consider that there are 8,760 hours in a calendar year. That means that an average of about five American women will succumb to the disease each hour of this year. The grim reality that breast cancer was killing so many women was what prompted the American Cancer Society and Imperial Chemical Industries Pharmaceuticals to establish Breast Cancer Awareness Month in 1985.
In the years since, more and more breast cancer advocacy groups have joined the cause to celebrate what has become a national movement each October. While Promaxo’s focus right now is on men’s health and prostate cancer, we certainly recognize the need for more discussion and preventive screening measures to combat breast cancer. To spur on that discussion, we wanted to devote today’s post to Breast Cancer Awareness Month with a look at some key breast cancer facts, risk factors for breast cancer and the symptoms and signs of breast cancer.
Key facts to know about breast cancer
According to BreastCancer.org, about 1 in 8 American women will develop invasive breast cancer at some point in their lifetimes, a staggering number that equates to about 13% of all women. In total, counting women currently in treatment, there are nearly 4 million women in the U.S. right now with a history of breast cancer.
The disease, which accounts for about 30% of all newly diagnosed cancers in women, is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in American women. And though we typically think of breast cancer with women, we would be remiss if we didn’t mention the 2,650 new cases of invasive breast cancer that will be diagnosed in men this year and the 530 men that will die from the disease.
While there are still those 44,000+ who will lose their lives to breast cancer, the good news is that the number of annual breast cancer-related deaths is on the decline. Statistics show that breast cancer’s overall death rate has dropped by 1% each year from 2013 to 2018.
Despite what some may think, only about 15% of women with breast cancer have a family history of the disease, a fact that underscores the importance of screening for breast cancer with an annual mammogram (which causes like Breast Cancer Awareness Month help to promote). In fact, most industry experts associate the drop in deaths with increased conversation around preventive screening.
Risk factors for breast cancer
There are several key factors associated with the occurrence of breast cancer, and many of them are simply unavoidable or out of a woman’s hands. In addition to family history, being a woman and age are the two most obvious risks for developing breast cancer. Only about 1 out of every 8 incidences of breast cancer occurs in women younger than 45, while 2 out of every 3 are found in women 55 or older.
Black women tend to be more likely to die from breast cancer, while Asian, Hispanic and Native American women have a much lower likelihood of developing or dying from the disease. Additionally, between 5-10% of breast cancers are attributed to genetic mutations inherited from the patient’s mother or father.
On its Breast Cancer Risk Factors page, BreastCancer.org lists a series of other considerations that include being overweight, menstrual history, drinking alcohol, lack of exercise and smoking as what it calls “established risks.”
Symptoms and signs of breast cancer
The World Health Organization reports that the most common symptom or sign of breast cancer is a “painless lump or thickening in the breast.” The significance of finding a lump is why doctors and breast cancer awareness supporters often speak of performing self-breast exams, as the presence of a lump indicates the need to seek medical attention as soon as possible. But if you do happen to find a lump, don’t immediately fear the worst—the majority of breast masses are not cancerous.
In addition to unusual changes or growths in or of the breast, other signs of breast cancer include dimpling, redness or pitting of the skin; a change in how the nipple or areola appears; and abnormal discharge from the nipple. If you experience any of these signs of breast cancer, it’s in your best interest to make an appointment with your doctor as quickly as you can.
Promaxo encourages you to continue the dialogue around Breast Cancer Awareness Month by sharing this post with your own personal and professional networks. To quote broadcaster and breast cancer survivor Robin Roberts, “It’s about focusing on the fight and not the fright.”
