insideKENT Magazine Issue 31 - October 2014 | Page 82

HEALTH+WELLNESS

Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Breast Cancer Awareness Month (1st to 31st October 2014) is important. It’s
essential. It’s the one time in the year when women – and men, because
although breast cancer affects around 55,000 women each year, about 350
men are diagnosed too – can think about, learn about, and do something
about one of the most common forms of cancer there is.
Breast cancer is not a pleasant thing to
contemplate, but until women everywhere
understand more about how to spot the signs
and symptoms, and what to do about them, it
will continue to devastate lives. That’s why Breast
Cancer Awareness Month is so vital in the fight
against this disease.
During October it is hoped that more women will
become ‘breast aware’ than ever before. This
means that they need to get to know their own
breasts, so that any changes are noticed
immediately. It means reminding women that a
routine of checking and re-checking their breasts
should become a daily occurrence. And it also
means that women should become more
confident in being able to contact their GP should
they spot a potential problem. There is no need
to be worried that you might be wrong about
feeling a lump or seeing a strange discharge, or
even simply feeling that something has changed
in your body. Be glad if you’re wrong. But be
gladder still if you’re right and you’ve gone to see
someone who can help you.
Breast cancer is a treatable disease, and the
survival rates are high, but it needs to be caught
early for the best chance. Five out of every six
women diagnosed with breast cancer will survive
for at least five years. For those surviving for more

than 10 years after diagnosis, the figure is four.
These are encouraging results, and just go to
show how modern medicine and research are
making it possible to beat breast cancer and
keep living the life you’ve always lived.
So let’s look at the facts. It is estimated that, at
current rates, around one in every eight women
will develop breast cancer at some point in their
lives. It is most likely in those aged up to 69 (a
one in 13 chance), but any age is vulnerable to
the risk (for example, those aged up to 49 have
a one in 50 chance, and those aged up to 29
have a risk of one in 2,000).
Although these are pretty good odds, breast
cancer campaign and awareness groups won’t
be satisfied until there is a zero chance of
developing the disease. And, whatever the odds,
there is still the chance that it could happen to
you, or to someone you know. If there is a history
of breast cancer in your family, if you are over
50, and if you are female, the stakes are suddenly
raised, and this is why the free NHS screening
sessions for those between the ages of 50 and
70 are so important. Arranged every three years,
this is a chance to spot breast cancer before it
becomes widespread and untreatable, so when
offered a mammogram, go for it. It could save
your life. To make this screening process even

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better, in 2016 it will be extended for women
between the ages of 47 and 73, giving the experts
even more chances to catch a potential killer.
During Breast Cancer Awareness Month there
will be sponsored runs and bike rides, money
raising activities such as fashion shows and cake
sales, and a chance to ask the experts anything
you need to know about breast cancer.
What Breast Cancer Awareness Month aims to
do is make talking about, checking for, and
thinking about breast cancer something that is
natural and normal. Lives will be saved this way.

www.breastcancercare.org.uk
www.breakthrough.org.uk