October: Breast Cancer Awareness Month

"Yesterday I dared to struggle, today I dare to win"

-Bernadette Devlin

For the last 90 years, October has been celebrated as Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  It is called 'Pink October' as people around the world adopt the pink color and display a pink ribbon to raise awareness about breast health, the importance of prevention, and routine screening for the early diagnosis of breast cancer, now the most commonly diagnosed cancer globally.

Disclaimer: This post speaks of breast cancer, death, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, and other related topics. Reader discretion is advised.

There are numerous types of breast cancer. Ductal carcinoma, which starts in the duct cells, is the most prevalent. Lobular carcinoma starts in the lobes or lobules and is detected in both breasts more frequently. Inflammatory breast cancer is a rare type in which the breast is warm, red, and swollen.

Women above the age of 40 are at a higher risk of having breast cancer. Personal history of breast cancer or benign (non-cancer) breast disease is a risk factor. Early menarche, late menopause, obesity, and family history are also risk factors. While these are uncontrollable risk factors, factors that can be controlled are having no children or giving birth to children at a late age, not breastfeeding a child, using hormone replacement therapy or hormonal birth control methods, exposure to radiation, excessive consumption of alcohol, eating fatty and processed foods, and lack of exercise. Bringing about lifestyle changes can prevent one or more of these factors, though that is no guarantee of not getting breast cancer.

 Control your weight, exercise, and have a healthy diet.

 Avoid exposure to radiation.

 Consider HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy) carefully.

 Use hormonal birth control methods only when needed.

 If you have a family history, consider genetic testing for BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes so that you can actively take steps to prevent breast cancer and other types of cancers, including qualifying for additional screenings and radical procedures.  

Check your breasts monthly (between day 7 to day 10 of your menstrual cycle) for any changes. If you notice changes such as dimpling of the skin or a change in the appearance of your nipples, get this checked with your doctor. Also examine under both arms, below and above the breasts, and examine while lying down and in circles.

Treatment for breast cancer depends on the subtype of cancer and how much it has spread outside of the breast to lymph nodes (stages II or III) or to other parts of the body (stage IV). Doctors combine treatments to minimize the chances of the cancer coming back (recurrence). These include surgery to remove the breast tumor, radiation therapy to reduce recurrence risk in the breast and surrounding tissues, and medications to kill cancer cells and prevent spread, including hormonal therapies, chemotherapy, or targeted biological therapies.

Breast cancer occurs in every country in the world. Additionally, approximately 0.5–1% of breast cancers occur in men. Breast cancer makes up for 14% of cancer cases in Indian women and is the most common type of cancer in women. It is on the rise both in rural and urban India. 162,468 new cases of breast cancer were registered in 2018, while 87,090 deaths were reported. 

While we don't claim this is exhaustive information, we recommend you do your research and speak to your doctors. What we do claim is that we think pink, and this is our small attempt to start the conversation. 

This is in solidarity with those affected by breast cancer. Your strength, courage, and fighting spirit encourage us to do better. 

Quantum-Dot | MochaQueen | Minionite

Thank you for this information, it’s a must for females of all ages . Agree it affects womenfolk more but males too get breast cancers . 

The changes in lifestyle has caused unintentional exposure to radiation , which triggers cancerous changes in our genome . we have to be aware of this and take care . 

Please  ladies be aware all electronic devices emanate radiation ,the companies will vouch they are within safety limits .. low limits  which though is at low levels if you check once , but prolonged exposure to the low radiation of your iPhone or iPad might trigger changes in the DNA leading to Pre cancerous /cancerous changes . 

Please keep the mobile away for your body while sleeping … an arms distance is quite safe.  Avoid keeping the mobile phone in your breast pocket . Children must not be glued to their devices all day . Fresh air n sunshine benefits all ages .

Safety is always better than being sorry . Let’s join hands to fight this armed with all this knowledge. 

Thanks for raising awareness with your informative write-up.

Thank you so much for this informative thread on Breast cancer! 

As we women age, it’s important for us to be aware of the risks of the serious diseases which is likely to affect us and the ways in which we could prevent them. 

This October, join us to raise more than awareness as we take action, support one another, and help women now.