The Life You Save…

The students of Ripley Central School recently collected over $300 to donate to breast cancer awareness. Last week they held an assembly where they were able to throw pies in the faces of some of the teachers and staff whose buckets contained the highest amount of change. It was great fun, with lots of cheers, jeers and stamping of feet. The sobering fact is, however, that with current statistics, one in eight of those girls at the assembly will be diagnosed with breast cancer sometime in her life.

Every fourteen minutes, a life is lost to the disease. Over 40,000 people will die this year of breast cancer. Four hundred of them will be men. Although breast cancer is a disease that primarily strikes Caucasian women, African Americans suffer a higher mortality rate when diagnosed with the disease. Breast cancer is the leading cause of death in women between the ages of 40 and 55.

These facts were brought home to me once again when another friend of mine found out she had breast cancer. After the initial shock wore off, anger set in. “You need to tell people to not believe everything the doctors say,” my friend told me. The lump she found doing a self-check hurt. When she called the doctor’s office she was told, on two separate occasions, not to worry too much, breast cancer doesn’t hurt. “Well, it did hurt!” she said. “If I’d listened to them I would have figured it was nothing until it was too late.” Luckily her cancer was detected early and with a lumpectomy and radiation her prognosis is excellent.

There is no family history of breast cancer in my friend’s family. In fact, 85% of all diagnoses have no family history. The greatest risk factors for breast cancer are being female, getting older and being overweight. She is obviously female, in her 50s and NOT overweight. Women who are overweight do have a higher risk because excess body fat increases estrogen levels in the body. Higher estrogen levels are a risk factor.
Women who have risk factors, including a certain gene abnormality associated with breast cancer, will not necessarily develop cancer. Some studies suggest that 40 to 80 percent of these women will develop breast cancer. But that also means 20 to 60 percent won’t.

Changing our lifestyles by not smoking, reducing alcohol consumption, losing weight and exercising regularly will significantly reduce our risk. Your mom always told you, eat your vegetables, they’re good for you. She was right. Do something good for yourself; eat more fresh fruits and veggies, reduce your stress levels by walking or meditation. Call your doctor. Get a breast cancer screening; learn how to do a self examination. And listen to your gut. If you think something is wrong, insist on further tests. No one is exactly the same as anyone else. Your symptoms, or lack of them, may be different from your friend or neighbor. Ultimately we are responsible for our own health. Stay healthy, not only for yourself, but for those who love you.