October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Early detection is important and results in higher survival rates. That’s why women are strongly encouraged to do self-breast exams every month. A mammogram screening is still one of the best ways to check for breast cancer.

According to the CDC, “The decision to start screening mammography in women prior to age 50 years should be an individual one. Women who place a higher value on the potential benefit than the potential harms may choose to begin biennial screening between the ages of 40 and 49 years.”

Free & Low Cost Mammogram Screenings

FDA: “Mammograms help save lives.”

Did you know that hospitals and others offer free or low cost mammograms? Click here to see the “CDC’s National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP) provides breast and cervical cancer screenings and diagnostic services to low-income, uninsured, and underinsured women across the United States.”

Breast Cancer Facts: Did You Know?

  1. “Breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed among US women and is the second leading cause of death among women after lung cancer.”
    – American Cancer Society
  2. “1 in 8 women in the United States will develop breast cancer in her lifetime.”
    – National Breast Cancer Foundation
  3. “The mammogram remains the most important screening device in the detection of breast cancer and it probably saves thousands of lives every year.”
    – PennMedicine
  4. “MYTH: If I don’t have a family history of breast cancer, I won’t get it.”

    “FACT: Most people diagnosed with breast cancer have no known family history.”

    “Many people think of breast cancer as an inherited disease. But only about 5–10% of breast cancers are believed to be hereditary, meaning they’re caused by abnormal changes (or mutations) in certain genes passed from parent to child.”
    – BreastCancer.org
  5. In 2019, it’s estimated that among U.S. women and men there will be*:
    Women
    • 268,600 new cases of invasive breast cancer
    • 41,760 breast cancer deaths
      • Men
    • 2,670 new cases of invasive breast cancer
    • 500 breast cancer deaths
      • – Susan G. Komen

Help Spread the Word!

Personally, I’ve had family and friends touched by Breast Cancer. And in every case, early detection was crucial. Please forward and share this post with the people you love. Mammograms can help save lives. Thank you!