Nov 14 min read

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Origins of Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. This month is used to raise awareness and bring attention to Breast Cancer, with the intention to raise funds and treat more patients. This event started in 1985, being known as NBCAM (National Breast Cancer Awareness Month). A former first lady, Betty Ford, was a key figure in bringing more awareness to the disease, since she was diagnosed herself while her husband, Gerald Ford, was still President.

So, How Did the Pink Ribbon Become a Major Symbol?

The origin of the ribbon is older than Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It all started in 1979, when the wife of a man who had been taken hostage in Iran tied yellow ribbons around her trees, as a way to symbolize her hope for his return. Years later, AIDS activists took the idea from yellow ribbons for soldiers, changing the color to a bright red, and looping it. Afterwards, it would be on display at the Tony Awards to support those suffering from AIDS. Ever since, ribbons have become a symbol for charities, eventually escalating to the point where the New York Times would declare “The Year of the Ribbon,” in 1992. Nowadays, pink ribbons are the symbol for Breast Cancer Awareness, but they almost didn’t make it. The original color was peach, in 1992, but after Charlotte Haley, the original creator of the peach awareness ribbon, refused a partnership, Alexandra Penney popularized and made the official Breast Cancer Awareness ribbon pink.

The History of Shame Around Breast Cancer

Mankind has known and experienced breast cancer since ancient times. In the present, people will try to support you in any way they can, but for women in the ancient world, life wasn’t as simple. Being diagnosed with breast cancer would often be treated as a matter to be ashamed of, with a formal diagnosis being unheard of. But people would most likely still find out, since breast cancer lumps tend to turn into visible tumors. Even then, the mention of this disease outside of medical literature or medical related material was rare. And this is exactly why it’s so important to bring more awareness to Breast Cancer.

How Can Risks be Lowered?

Though there is no way to prevent breast cancer, there are some ways you can lower your chances.

Maintain a healthy weight with an active lifestyle
Drink little alcohol, or stay completely abstinent
Ask your doctor about the involved risks when taking hormone replacement therapy or birth control pills
If you are able to, opt for breastfeeding your children
If you have a family history of breast cancer, talk to your doctor about ways to lower the risks

Early Detection

According to the American Breast Cancer Society, when breast cancer is detected early, the 5 year relative survival rate is 99%. To detect it early, you can do self-exams every month, schedule regular checkups, and a mammogram at least every 6 months. If you want to increase your chances of detecting breast cancer early, you should investigate more about how to do breast cancer self-checks.

What are the Signs and Symptoms of Breast Cancer?

First of all, anytime you discover an abnormality, it is recommended you go to a medical professional to get checked. People who get breast cancer usually only notice one or two abnormalities or signs at first, and it turns into cancer. However, you having a couple of symptoms or signs does not immediately mean you have breast cancer, if the symptoms match up, you should visit your medical provider to get exams done.

A change in how the breast looks or feels, especially lumps or tenderness
A change in the breast’s appearance, like change in size, asymmetry, swelling, etc
Bloody or clear discharge coming from the nipple, it can also be milky, and when a woman isn’t breastfeeding it’s a concern, though not related to breast cancer

Treatments

The main treatments used for breast cancer are:

Surgery: When breast cancer is detected, your medical team will almost always recommend removing it as soon as possible. Surgery is one of the most effective ways of removal. The surgery works by removing either a part of your breast, your full breast, and sometimes, both breasts.
Radiation: Radiation therapy, in this case, for breast cancer, works by using X rays with higher energy levels, protons, and other particles to kill cancer cells.
Chemotherapy: Chemotherapy is one of the most common treatments for breast cancer, it works by using medicine, which circulates around the body through blood flow, interrupting the growth and progress of the cancer cells.
Hormone Therapy: Certain types of breast cancer can be affected by hormones, like estrogen and progesterone. The cancer cells have proteins that attach to these hormones, making them grow. Hormone therapy makes it so that they can’t attach to the hormones anymore, which helps in slowing their growth.
Targeted Therapy: Targeted therapy targets specific molecules that are inside cancer cells by using medicines. The molecules are able to send out signals to either shrink or grow, and by targeting these molecules, doctors are able to limit harm to normal cells, while stopping the growth of cancer cells.

A Survivor’s Story

Miriam Bloch was a very active 67 year old woman when she was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. She was already on stage 3 when she found out. Even so, she remained confident she would survive, telling her gym friends not to worry, she would survive, just as many women before her had. Miriam stayed strong, only crying when she was told her breasts would need to be removed. She never felt sorry for herself, always showing a positive attitude, buying a wig when her hair fell out, yet forgetting to wear it most of the time. She needed to have 25 sessions of radiation, and after overcoming all of that, she has now been cancer free for 1 year.