National Breast Cancer Month

October is National Breast Cancer Month and, as always, I am excited to see the fountain on the Plaza shooting out pink water. This is also the time for all the breast cancer walks that are going on everywhere. Breast cancer is something that I think will have an effect on everyone at some point in time whether they themselves have breast cancer or have friends or relatives suffering from it. I currently don’t know anyone with breast cancer, but I still think it is something that I should be informed about because it could happen to me or someone I know one day. According to the American Cancer Society, an estimated 40,170 women are expected to die from breast cancer just in the year 2009. That is something that we should pay attention to. As mentioned before, I don’t personally know anyone who has had breast cancer, and to be honest, my breasts aren’t large in any sense of the word, so I rarely make an effort to remember to do a self-breast exam. I know that I have to do better to make sure I am still checking myself out no matter what. Men can get breast cancer and they have less than what I do, so that alone should let me know that, no matter the size, the possibility is still there.

After doing a little bit more research on breast cancer I also found out that breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women next to lung cancer. All this information just really confirmed to me how important it is that people make sure to make an effort to stay informed about the condition of their body. We should take charge of our own health and make sure we are making doctor’s appointments and really holding ourselves and the ones we love accountable for such things.

Lastly, in my research I found some celebrities that were diagnosed with breast cancer. Breast cancer knows no discrimination to race, age or ethnicity:

• Cynthia Nixon (Miranda on Sex and the City) – She is now an ambassador for the Susan G. Komen foundation.
• Sheryl Crow-petitioned Congress to fund research into possible links between breast cancer and environmental factors.
• Christina Applegate- Christina’s mother suffered from breast cancer and Christina had decided to get her breast removed and undergo reconstructive surgery on her breast.