Sobering facts

  • 1.8 million women in this country have breast cancer--1 million more don't know they do.
  • 1 in 8 women in the United States will contract breast cancer sometime in their lives.
  • Breast Cancer is the leading cause of death for women ages 33-54.
  • A woman dies of breast cancer every 11 minutes.
  • This year, 182,000 women and 1,000 men will discover that they have breast cancer, and 46,000 will die from it.
  • During this decade, 1.8 million women and 12,000 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer (the majority of whom have no known risk factors).


    So What's This Mean for Young Women?

    In younger women (under the age of 35), breast cancer can be more aggressive because of a higher level of estrogen, which acts like air on fire if it catches the disease. The bummer for younger women is that diagnosis tends to be ignored or dismissed as a clogged milk duct or something. That may not always be the case, so check it again! Mammography isn't the ultimate test and unnecessary radiation exposure in our younger years could pop up as yet another health risk later in our lives. So don't get one until after you're 35--unless your mom, grandmother, sister, aunt (in that order) has a history of breast cancer.

    So what do you do? 1) Give yourself regular monthly exams (in conjunction with an exam by a breast health expert every 2 years). If you don't know how, check-out the breast exam charts in a doctor's office or better yet, contact the Susan G. Komen Foundation (1-800-I-AM-AWARE) for your own breast cancer health kit and inside, you'll find a nifty, illustrated card which gives you step-by-step instructions that you can hang in your shower. 2) Eat healthy stuff--lots of fruits and veggies. 3) Exercise regularly; have fun; eliminate stressful situations.--Tips from the Wig Women