October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and America’s Community Health Centers are preparing to step up to the challenge of reaching out to America’s underserved, uninsured, and low-income communities, as well as those who have insurance. Community Health Centers provided 319,262 mammograms to 299,516 patients last year, according to data collected by the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC). Early detection is critical in surviving breast cancer.
 
According to the National Cancer Institute, there will be an estimated 230,480 new cases of breast cancer in 2011, resulting in 39,520 deaths. In 2010, the top five states with the most patients receiving breast cancer screenings at Community Health Centers are California, New York, Illinois, Florida, and Massachusetts. By providing affordable and accessible screenings, and launching education and outreach efforts to culturally diverse populations, health centers have been able to help boost the odds of early breast cancer detection and save lives.

Many breast cancer risk factors cannot be avoided, such as genes, gender, and age. However, some breast cancer risk factors can. To decrease your breast cancer risk, avoid tobacco use, consume alcohol only in moderation, eat healthy, and get regular exercise. Mammography is the best screening method for detecting breast cancer in its earliest forms, and can detect possible tumors years before a woman can feel an actual lump. It is recommended that women 40 years and older receive a screening mammogram every year.

Facts About Breast Cancer


Why it’s important:

  • One in every eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime.
  • One person is diagnosed with breast cancer every three minutes in the United States.
  • In the U.S., there were 207,090 new cases of invasive breast cancer and 39,840 deaths from breast cancer in 2010.
  • There are more than 2.5 million breast cancer survivors alive in the U.S. today.
  • About 10-15% of breast cancers are found in women under 45 years of age.

Who is at the highest risk?
Research shows certain factors increase a woman’s chance of getting breast cancer, including the following:

  • A family or personal history of breast cancer.
  • Getting older. About 2 out of 3 women with invasive breast cancer are 55 or older when the cancer is found.
  • Carrying a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation, or another breast cancer predisposing gene.
  • Early onset of menstruation or late onset of menopause.
  • Never having children or having them later in life.
  • Having denser breast tissue.

What can I do?

  • Women in their 20’s and 30’s should have a clinical breast exam as part of a periodic health exam by a health professional, preferably every 3 years.
  • After age 40, women should have a clinical breast exam by a health professional every year.
  • If you believe you are at high risk (greater than 20% lifetime risk) as defined by the factors listed above, see your doctor about the benefits and limitations of adding MRI screening to your yearly mammogram.
  • If any changes occur in your breast, such as redness, pain, swelling or discharge, visit your doctor.
  • If you or your family members have a history of young-onset breast cancer and/
  • or ovarian cancer, see a genetic counselor for BRCA risk assessment.


Breast Cancer Fact Sheet

For more information about health centers please visit www.nachc.org.

For more information on National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, please visit www.nbcam.org.