| Breast Cancer Awareness |
| "Getting the facts about breast cancer and mammograms is an important step in taking care of your health. This page will help you to get information that you need. It provides information on a woman's risk for breast canceer, the National Cancer Institute's recommendations about mammograms, and the benefits and limitations of the procedure. After skin cancer, breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in women in the United States. It is second only to lung cancer in cancer-related deaths. Approximately 180,000 new cases of breast cancer were estimated for 1997, and about 44,000 women are expected to die from the disease. |
| Who Is at Risk for Breast Cancer? |
| Simply being a woman and getting older puts you at some risk for breast cancer. Your risk for breast cancer continues to increase over your lifetime. Several known factors can further increase your risk for breast cancer. Most women who get breast cnacer have no known risk factors such as a family history of the disease. Talk to your doctor about the known risk factors for breast canecer." |
| Risk Factors: |
| *personal history of a prior breast cancer *evidence of a specific genetic change that increases susceptibility to breast cancer *mother, sister, daughter, or two or more close relatives, such as cousins, with a history of breast cancer *a diagnosis of a breast condition that may predispose a woman to breast cancer, or a history of two or more breast biopsies for benign breast disease *women age 45 or older who have at least 75% dense tissue on a mammogram are at some increased risk *a slight increase in risk for breast cancer is associated with having a first birth at age 30 or older |
| What Can You Do? |
| *if you are in your 40's or older, get a mammogram on a regular basis, every 1 to 2 years *talk to your doctor or nurse about planning your personal schedule for screeening mammograms and breast exams. *get as much information as you can about your family history of cancer, breast cancer and screening mammograms *Call the National Cancer Institute's Information Service for more informationabout breast cancer and mammograms at 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237). People with TTY equipment, dial 1-800-332-8615. *for the latest information on cancer visit the National Cancer Institute's CancerNet website. |
| The ladies of Sigma Chi Delta Multicultural Sorority have chosen Breast Cancer Awareness as our philanthrophy, or cause. We feel that as ladies it is important to educate others about breast cancer, it's risks, and it's prevention. We know that breast cancer does not look at race, ethinicty or culture, and that it affects us all. |
| The following information is provided to illustrate the importance of mammograms and self screening. . .if you have further questions, visit the website below or contact your physician. |
|
|
|
|