Southwest Public Health District helps raise breast cancer awareness

ALBANY — During Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the Southwest Public Health District is doing its part to educate the public on the condition.

Other than skin cancer, breast cancer is the most common cancer among American women, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and American Cancer Society show. The message is that getting mammograms regularly can lower the risk of dying from breast cancer.

“October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month,” Southwest Public Health District Women’s Health Program Director Cynthia Walters said. “We are taking this time to point out that each year in the United States, more than 200,000 women get breast cancer and more than 40,000 women die from the disease.”

Most breast cancers are found in women who are 50 years old or older, but breast cancer also affects younger women, Walters said.

“About 10 percent of all new cases of breast cancer in the United States are found in women younger than 45 years of age,” she said, again referring to CDC statistics.

The health district conducts outreach to catch breast cancers early.

“Women enrolled in our Breast Cancer Program get routine mammograms yearly starting at age 40,” Walters said. “Our county health departments offer the Breast and Cervical Cancer and Well Woman programs, which provide, at no cost or low cost to qualified patients, clinical breast exams, pelvic exams, pap smears (if needed) and routine mammograms.”

A contracted agency provides the mammogram. If a pap or mammogram comes back as abnormal, patients receive diagnostic and treatment services, or are referred to a physician for follow-up.

Officials remind the public that men can get the disease as well.

“It is less common in men,” Walters said. “Less than 1 percent of breast cancers occur in men.”

Some warning signs of breast cancer:

— New lump in the breast or underarm;

— Thickening or swelling of part of the breast;

— Irritation or dimpling of breast skin;

— Redness or flaky skin in the nipple area or the breast;

— Pulling in of the nipple or pain in the nipple area;

— Nipple discharge other than breast milk, including blood;

— Any change in the size or the shape of the breast;

— Pain in any area of the breast.

Sometimes there are no warning signs of breast cancer. The CDC recommends women ages 50-74 get mammograms every two years and women ages 40-49 consult with health care providers about how often to get mammograms.

For more information about breast cancer screening, individuals may contact their county health department, health care provider or go online to http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/dcpc/resources/features/BreastCancerAwareness/index.htm.