This post brought to you by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Bring Your Brave campaign. The content and opinions expressed below are that of Tools 2 Tiaras.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. As a young woman I felt invincible and never thought I could be affected by breast cancer. In my twenties, I had a lump which had to be tested. Right then it hit me, and it hit me very hard that I very well could get breast cancer. That moment was life changing. Everything came back fine but I never took my breasts for granted and made sure to be more aware of how my breasts look and feel.
I watched my aunt D go through the treatment of breast cancer and if anyone showed me how to “Bring Your Brave”, it was her. Anytime you saw her she would be her same smiling self, always positive, and always asking how everyone else was. Her smile would glow with the scarves that she wore to cover her hair loss. It always amazed me at how much strength she had and how she was more worried about the people around her. With her positive attitude and her love of life, she beat cancer and we are blessed to have her with us today.
There are many people who aren’t as lucky as us. Many young women who are diagnosed with breast cancer find it was hereditary or they are diagnosed at a later stage which can be more aggressive and difficult to treat. Breast cancer needs to be talked about openly and especially how to prevent it, the risks, history, and how young women can be personally affected. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is launching new stories of women for the Bring Your Brave campaign to help inspire young women to take action and learn their risk for breast cancer.
Every woman can benefit from learning the risk factors for breast cancer. We need to join CDC during October and beyond to continue Bring Your Brave and encourage empowering conversations among young women about breast cancer risk. You can read some amazing women’s stories here http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/breast/young_women/bringyourbrave/stories/index.htm.
We need to continue to ask women and I’m asking YOU!
“What motivated you to learn your breast cancer risk?”
To start you off here are a few facts:
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in the United States. 11% of all cases of breast cancer in the United States affect women under the age of 45, however, many young women do not know they are at risk. Some risk factors put young women at a higher risk for getting breast cancer at a young age. If you are under the age of 45, you may have a higher risk for breast cancer if-
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- You have close relatives who were diagnosed with breast cancer before the age of 45 or ovarian cancer at any age, especially if more than one relative was diagnosed or if a male relative had breast cancer.
- You have changes in certain breast cancer genes (BRCA1 and BRCA2), or have close relatives with these changes, but have not been tested yourself.
- You have Ashkenazi Jewish heritage.
- You received radiation therapy to the breast or chest during childhood or early adulthood.
- You have had breast cancer or certain other breast health problems, such as lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS), ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), atypical ductal hyperplasia, or atypical lobular hyperplasia.
- You have been told that you have dense breasts on a mammogram.
CDC encourages women to take three important steps to understand their breast cancer risk:
- Know how your breasts normally look and feel and talk to your doctor if you notice anything unusual.
- Talk to your relatives about your family history of breast or ovarian cancer. Use CDC’s worksheet as a guide for your conversation. https://www.knowbrca.org/downloads/FCHWorksheet.pdf
- Talk to your doctor about your risk.
Don’t wait! Learn about your breast cancer risk today!
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