October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Breast Cancer affects one in eight women in the United States every year and 2.3 million women worldwide.

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among American women. The two biggest risk factors for breast cancer are being born a woman and growing older.

About 85% of breast cancers occur in women who have no family history of breast cancer. These occur due to genetic mutations that happen as a result of the aging process.

Black women are more likely to die from breast cancer than women of any other racial or ethnic group. Experts believe that it’s partially because about one of five Black women is diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer, more than any other racial or ethnic group.

Although breast cancer is much more common in women, breast cancer affects men, too. In 2021, President Joe Biden designated October 17-23 Men’s Breast Cancer Awareness Week. This year, about 2,710 American men are expected to be diagnosed with breast cancer, and about 530 are expected to die from the disease.

Lack of awareness and stigma can be barriers to detection and care. To protect against avoidable risk factors, recommendations include not smoking, not drinking alcohol, exercising regularly, and maintaining a healthy weight. Regular breast self-exams, an annual exam by your doctor, and yearly mammograms are important tools in breast cancer detection—especially early detection, when cancers may be more treatable.

For more information on breast cancer, including facts and statistics, please visit Breastcancer.org.