Good morning, welcome to our series sharing Unique Holidays: October 8th, 2021. Unless you’ve been living under a ROCK then you should know October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. If you or someone you know has been affected by Cancer of any type please know my family will be Praying for you,..
In my family my mom passed away from Lung and Stomach Cancer. My grandmother Throat Cancer and my Aunt Bobby Breast Cancer. So as you can see Cancer runs rampant in our family and I’ve even had a Cancer Scare when Suzzie was born. So please PRAY for my as well because I want to live a long long time to see Charlie get Married and have my grandchildren.
Breast Cancer Awareness Month
During October, the Nation observes National Breast Cancer Awareness Month a disease that affects both men and women and Breast Cancer is among the most common Cancers. According to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, 1 in 8 women will develop Invasive Breast Cancer in her lifetime. Next year, new Breast Cancer diagnoses are expected to number more than 200,000 for women and more than 2,000 for men.
During October, Benefits.gov is raising awareness of preventative measures and helpful resources that may help you and your loved ones beat the odds of Breast Cancer.
National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program
I would like to let you know early detection is key and National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program, which is administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), helps low-income, uninsured, or under-served women gain access to lifesaving screening services for early detection of Breast or Cervical Cancers. This program provides Clinical Breast Examinations, Mammograms, and Pap Tests for participants along with Diagnostic Testing for women whose screening outcome is abnormal. Women age 40 and above should talk to their doctors about when and how often to get a Mammogram. If you do not have insurance then here is how you can find free and low-cost screenings near you, through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to using a Interactive Map.
Ways to improve your chances of staying Breast Cancer free?
There are many steps you or your loved ones can take to improve your chances of staying healthy:
- Conduct monthly Self-exams. In addition to Medical Screenings, the National Breast Cancer Foundation and medical professionals recommend a monthly self-exam. For those of us that don’t know how to do a Self-Exam check out the website teaching us how to breast self-exam, offered by NationalBreastCancer.org
- If you Smoke then we would like to recommend you quit Smoking because according to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), Smoking is a significant risk factor for Breast and other types of Cancer. Non-smokers are at lower risk than Smokers regardless of our age or how long you’ve been Smoking.
- Regular exercise and a healthy diet can also lower your risk of Cancer.
If your curious about the signs and symptoms, or diagnosis and treatment then you can learn more at Cancer.gov. Be sure to check out the article October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month for more resources and information on Breast Cancer, including early detection and prevention.
Don’t forget Breast Cancer is a life-threatening illness, but Breast Cancer can also be treatable with early detection and other preventative measures. . If you are looking for additional resources, check out the Benefit Finder to see what benefits you may be eligible to receive.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
