Month promotes awareness of breast cancer

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a month dedicated to educating women about the importance of early detection and treatment of breast cancer.  Since this awareness program began in 1985, more and more women are getting mammograms on a regular basis, and the number of breast cancer deaths is on the decline. 

Here are a few statistics about breast cancer that highlight why it's so important to have routine annual screening mammograms to ensure early detection of this disease:

n Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer among women.

n The most proven and significant risk factors for getting breast cancer are being female and getting older.

n An estimated 182,460 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in women in the U.S. during 2008.

n An estimated 1,990 new cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed in men in the U.S. during 2008.

n In the U.S., a woman has a 1 in 8 (12 percent) risk of developing breast cancer in her lifetime.

n The five-year survival rate for breast cancer, when caught early before it spreads beyond the breast, is now 98 percent (compared to 74 percent in 1982).

n A woman's chance of developing breast cancer increases with age. About 95 percent of all breast cancers occur in women 40 years of age and older.

n Breast cancer is second only to lung cancer in cancer deaths among women.

n In the United States today, there are nearly 2.5 million breast cancer survivors - the largest group of cancer survivors in the country.

 This month, remind the women in your life to have routine annual mammograms.  If you would like more information about the digital mammography services available at Bonner General Hospital, please contact the diagnostic imaging department at 208.265.1142.

Lynda Metz is the director of community development at Bonner General Hospital.  The statistics in this article were provided courtesy of the National Breast Cancer Awareness Month organization and Susan G. Komen for the Cure.