October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

5 Steps You Can Take to Reduce Your Risk

Fall is in the air and soon leaves on the trees will be changing colors to red, gold and brown (even here in south Louisiana). There is another color you will see a lot of, too: pink.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month (BCAM), and many people will be sporting pink ribbons, T-shirts, hats and other gear. Even NLF team uniforms are adorned in pink this month! (Geaux Saints!)

There is much more to breast cancer awareness than wearing pink, however.

Considering that breast cancer is the number one most common cancer among women in the United States (other than skin cancer), there is continued need for women to be aware of the risks and what they can do to reduce the chance they will contract the disease.

Here are five steps you can take.

1. Get a mammogram

The best way to find out if you have breast cancer is with a mammogram. A mammogram can detect cancer in its early stages, even before a lump can be felt, when treatment can be most successful. What better time than during BCAM to schedule yours. What are you waiting for?

2. Learn about breast cancer

The American Cancer Society has dedicated a portion of its website to breast cancer information. That's a good place to start. The Susan G. Komen Foundation website has a comprehensive amount of information, as well.

3. Know your risk factors

Risk factors include things like gender (men can get breast cancer too), age, genetic disposition, family history of breast cancer, and ethnicity. Lifestyle factors such as having children, use of birth control, post-menopause hormone therapy, and drinking alcohol also come into play.

4. Lower your risk

While there is no sure way to prevent breast cancer, you can take steps to lower your risk by getting regular physical activity, reducing weight gain by eating a healthy diet, and by avoiding or limiting your use of alcohol. Drugs like drugs tamoxifen and raloxifene have also been shown to lower breast cancer risk.

5. Make others aware

Though it may not reduce your risk, making others aware of the need to lessen theirs, get a mammogram, and educate themselves will certainly put in you "in the pink.”

Speaking of taking steps, both the American Cancer Society and Susan G. Komen Foundation have fundraising events that involve walking.

The good news is that breast cancer rates have dropped in recent years and, thanks to early detection, the disease is more curable than ever. Still, 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with the disease at some point in their lifetime.

What better time than during Breast Cancer Awareness Month to take steps to learn about the disease, reduce your risk, get that mammogram that you have been putting off, and help make others aware of their need to do the same.

For women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer, Slidell Memorial offers a monthly support group called Women Warriors to help.