What goes through a woman's mind when she discovers a lump and/or is diagnosed with breast cancer? For those who are mothers their thoughts usually turn first to their children, according to Christie Brinkley who serves as the voice for this year's Speak Out for Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign.
Ms. Brinkley understands how women, particularly mothers, feel when they discover a lump after "two tiny little scares" in her own life. Her first experience occurred when her mother had a scare after a lump was discovered during her checkup. A mammogram was inconclusive, so surgery was performed to remove the lump. It was not breast cancer. Ms. Brinkley feels this experience, and the time her family spent worrying, provided her with a "tiny, tiny glimpse into what it's like to really experience breast cancer."
Ms. Brinkley had a similar personal experience when she found a small lump in her breast. She had a mammogram, followed by needle aspiration, and everything was fine. "But those, those little experiences allowed me to see some of what especially a mother faces when she is diagnosed with breast cancer. Because, just in those few moments when the doctor said, 'Yeah, there's something in there,' immediately, my thoughts leapt to my children."
Two of Ms. Brinkley's children are daughters. Because she is a mother she wants to help eradicate this disease by getting the word out about early detection. "Early detection can really save lives...the earlier she (a woman) finds out, the more control she has over it."
Breast Cancer Facts
- By the end of the decade, approximately 1.8
million women and 12,000 men will be diagnosed
with invasive breast cancer.
- Approximately 44,000 women and 400 men will
die of this disease each year.
- Breast cancer is the leading cancer site
among American women and is second only to lung
cancer in cancer deaths.
- Breast cancer accounts for 30% of all new
cancer cases in women.
- When breast cancer is confined to the breast
the five year survival rate is over 95%.
Three Steps That Can Save Your Life!
- Monthly breast self-exam beginning by age
20. Become familiar with the look and feel of
your breasts. If
any change
occurs--have a clinical breast examination by a
trained medical professional.
- Clinical breast examination by a medical
professional at least every 3 years beginning at
age 20, and annually after 40.
- Annual screening mammography for women by
age 40. Women under 40 with either a family
history of breast cancer or other concerns about
their personal risk should consult with a
trained medical professional about when to begin
mammography.
"I'm only 21, I don't need to worry about breast cancer..."
Although breast cancer is extremely rare in women under 25, Dr. Harpham stresses that "the idea of young women doing self breast exams is critical because it's a skill and most lumps are found by women themselves, not at exams."
"The woman who does it every month beginning at age 20, becomes skilled with examining her own breasts. The bottom line is, if she does it all the time she's more likely to pick it up when it's smaller because she'll know her breasts...there won't be a long interval between her self breast exam."
