Know the facts about breast cancer
October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which is always a good time to make sure you are up to speed on the important facts, figures and tips.
Dr. Denise Monahan, breast surgeon at Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital, shares the following breast cancer facts:
• One in eight women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime.
• More than 2.8 million breast cancer survivors are alive in the U.S. today.
• Approximately every two minutes a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer, and one woman will die of breast cancer every 13 minutes.
• Not all lumps found in the breast are cancerous but may be related to benign findings.
• There is a strong correlation between increased weight and breast cancer, especially those who gained weight in adolescence or after menopause. Maintaining a healthy body weight and staying physically activate can help decrease breast cancer risk.
• A woman living in the U.S. has a 12.1 percent (or 1 in 8) chance of being diagnosed with breast cancer. In the 1970s, the risk was 1 in 11. The increase is most likely due to longer life expectancy and perhaps changes in reproductive patterns, longer-term menopausal hormone use, increased obesity, and increased screening.
• On average, it takes 100 days or more for a cancer cell to double in size. It takes about 10 years for cells to divide to a size that can be actually felt.
• Breast-feeding has consistently been shown to reduce the risk of developing breast cancer - the greater the duration, the greater the benefit.