As part of my contribution to the Breast Cancer Awareness month, here are information to help you to be more aware of this disease. Personally, I don’t know much about breast cancer and this is also a good way for me to learn about it. Let’s start with the basics.

According to breastcancer.org, breast cancer is an uncontrolled growth of breast cells.

Cancer has the potential to break through normal breast tissue barriers and spread to other parts of the body. While cancer is always caused by a genetic “abnormality” (a “mistake” in the genetic material), only 5–10% of cancers are inherited from your mother or father. Instead, 90% of breast cancers are due to genetic abnormalities that happen as a result of the aging process and life in general.

While there are things every woman can do to help her body stay as healthy as possible (such as eating a balanced diet, not smoking, minimizing stress, and exercising regularly), breast cancer is never anyone’s fault. Feeling guilty, or telling yourself that breast cancer happened because of something you or anyone else did, is counterproductive.

Now who gets breast cancer?

Breast cancer is the most common cancer to affect women. In 2007, it is estimated that there will be about 178,480 new cases of invasive breast cancer diagnosed in the United States, along with 62,030 new cases of non-invasive breast cancer.

Every woman is at SOME risk for breast cancer—this is merely the “risk” of living as a woman. But there are many risk factors that can make one woman’s picture differ substantially from another’s. When you understand your own particular risk profile, you are in a better position to manage it and don’t have to fear the unknown.

Examining your breasts is an important way to find if there’s something abnormal in your body. Here’s how you can do The Five Steps of a Breast Self-Exam. There are many websites offering useful information about breast cancer. A better understanding of breast cancer can help us minimize our risks. Let us take the time to know about this disease and share that knowledge with others.

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