October Breast Cancer Awareness Month

This month at Up To Do Good, we would like to focus on the Breast Cancer Awareness Month, held in October every year. Aim is to promote screening and prevention of the disease, which affects 2.3 million women worldwide.

What is Breast Cancer Awareness Month?

Known best for its pink theme colour, the month features a number of campaigns and programs — conducted by groups ranging from breast cancer advocacy organizations to local community organizations to major retailers — aimed at:

-supporting people diagnosed with breast cancer, including metastatic breast cancer
-educating people about breast cancer risk factors
-stressing the importance of regular screening, starting at age 50 or an age that’s appropriate for your personal breast cancer risk
-fundraising for breast cancer research

One of the top priorities is educating women on what they can do to be proactive with their breast health. Knowledge and early detection saves lives.
According to the American Cancer Society, when breast cancer is detected early and is in the localized stage, the 5-year relative survival rate is 99%. So early detection can be save your life. It includes doing monthly breast self-exams, and scheduling regular clinical breast exams and mammograms.

When it comes to breast cancer, there are some risk factors that you can’t control, such as your age and genetics. But there are other risk factors that are in your power to control. Although breast cancer cannot be completely prevented, taking control of these risk factors and adopting healthy habits can help reduce your risk for breast cancer such as:

- Maintain a healthy weight: Obesity is a risk factor for developing cancer in both men and women. Maintaining a healthy weight can help reduce your risk of obesity and of developing cancer. Eat fruits and vegetables: Eating 3.5 to 5 cups of fruits and vegetables daily has been shown to reduce the risk of breast cancer.
- Stay physically active: Studies have shown that women who are physically active have a lower risk of breast cancer than inactive women. Try to move your body at least 20 minutes every day to reduce your risk of developing breast cancer.
- Do not smoke: Smoking and even breathing second-hand smoke is a risk factor for developing many types of cancer, including breast cancer. Eliminate smoking and second-hand smoke from your lifestyle to reduce this risk

So stay healthy and check your lemons! Please support KWF or Foundation to Fight Cancer!

Source: Nationalbreastcancer.org, Breastcancer.org