Breast Cancer Awareness Month - Fast Facts
October is breast cancer awareness month. It's particularly important for seniors to be informed because, like all cancers, the risk of breast cancer increases with age.
One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. Though there is no known way to entirely prevent breast cancer, there are ways to lower your risk, such as:
- Maintain a healthy weight
- Add exercise to your routine
- Eat fruits and vegetables
- Limit alcohol intake
- Don’t smoke
Treatment is most successful when detected early, so it's important to be proactive – get screened (once a year for women over 40) and perform monthly breast self-exams.
Symptoms typically involve a change in the look or feel of the breast or nipple, and may include:
- Lump or mass
- Swelling of all or part of the breast
- Skin irritation or dimpling
- Breast pain
- Nipple pain or the nipple turning inward
- Redness, scaliness or thickening of the nipple or breast skin
These symptoms may not be cancer, but the only way to be certain is to see your health care provider. Have anything new or unusual checked by a doctor.
For some seniors, just getting to a doctor’s appointment can be a challenge. Neglecting an appointment may affect the chances that cancer is detected early or properly treated. At SHC, transportation is one of the many services that we offer . If you know someone who would benefit from such a service, let us know. We’re here to help.
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