October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and Community Health Centers are stepping up to the challenge of reaching out to America’s underserved, uninsured, and low-income communities to fight the disease with early screenings, mammograms, and health education.
In 2012 (the most recent year numbers are available), 224, 147 women and 2, 125 men in the United States were diagnosed with breast cancer, and 41, 150 women died from the disease according to the Centers for Disease Control.
Only lung cancer accounts for more cancer deaths in women. By providing affordable and accessible screenings, and launching education and outreach efforts to culturally diverse populations, health centers have been able to help boost the odds of early breast cancer detection.
Health centers which today serve 1 in 14 people living in the U.S., provided 515, 913 mammograms to 470, 976 patients in 2014. Over 109, 000 women patients were diagnosed with an abnormal breast finding. Early detection is critical in surviving breast cancer.
Some breast cancer risk factors can be avoided. To decrease your chances of breast cancer, avoid tobacco use, consume alcohol only in moderation, eat healthy, and get regular exercise. Mammography is the best screening method for detecting breast cancer in its earliest forms, and can detect possible tumors years before a woman can feel an actual lump.
