Breast Health Awareness
In Canada, one in nine women will develop breast cancer by age 85. Breast Cancer doesn't care what kind of bra you wear.
October is dedicated as Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Breast Cancer is the most common cancer among women, other than skin cancer.
One in nine women will develop breast cancer by age 85. It is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among women, after lung cancer. It is the leading cause of death among women aged 40-55.
The National Cancer Institute of Canada estimates that in this year alone, 20,700 Canadian women will be diagnosed with breast cancer, and 5400 will die of the disease.
Every woman is a risk for breast cancer, but your risk climbs with age. Eighty percent of all breast cancer occurs in women over 50 years of age. Fortunately, mammograms are highly effective for this age group.
The Government of Yukon and the Whitehorse General Hospital encourage participation in the territorial screening program and recommend a mammogram every 2 years for women 50 and older.
Screening programs are for women with no symptoms of breast cancer. They are designed to detect the disease at the earliest possible stage and, therefore, greatly increase the chances of survival.
For more information on the Yukon's Mammography Program, please contact 393-8740.
"Clothesline" posters are available for sale to help raise funds for Breast Health Programs at WGH. For more information, please contact 667-3673.
Breast Cancer Risks
- No one knows exactly what causes breast cancer, but we do know that certain risk factors - things that increase a person's chance of getting a disease - are linked to breast cancer.
- Risk factors change depending on the type of cancer.
- There are a number of risk factors, both controllable and uncontrollable, which may increase the chances of developing breast cancer.
- The risk factors associated with diet can be controlled, but the risk factors such as a person's age or family history can't be changed.
While all women are at a risk for breast cancer, the factors listed below are associated with an increased chance of developing the disease.
The risk factors for breast cancer are:
- Being a woman.
- Age - the chance of getting breast cancer increases, as a woman gets older.
- Previous breast cancer - having had cancer in one breast increases the risk of having it in the other.
- Strong family history of breast cancer
- Genetics - some breast cancers appear to be linked to mutations (changes) in certain genes. If a woman has inherited a mutated gene from either parent, she is more likely to develop breast cancer. More than half of women with inherited mutations will develop breast cancer by the age of 70.
- Reproductive factors - the risk seems to be higher among women who have not had children and in women who went through menopause after the age of 50 also have a small increased risk.
- Menstrual history - women who began having periods early (before 12 years of age) or who went through menopause after the age of 50 also have a small increased risk.
- Obesity - obesity is associated with an increased risk of post-menopausal breast cancer.
- Alcohol consumption - at one drink at day, the risk is very small. Those who have two to five drinks daily have about 1.5 times the risk of women who don't drink.
- History - a history of some forms of previous benign breast biopsies.
- Exposure to tobacco smoke.
Because we are still learning about the causes of breast cancer, we do not yet know the best ways to prevent it. The best defense is still early detection. Reducing your risk factors for breast cancer whenever possible may also help.