For years, October and the color pink go hand in hand to promote Breast Cancer Awareness. The universal pink ribbon represents prevention, early detection, and treatment – supporting the mission to spread awareness and education. We invite you to attend an upcoming event.
Breast cancer affects one in eight women, and chances are you know someone – a co-worker, a family member, a friend – who has been diagnosed. From regular screenings to lifestyle changes, there are many ways to prevent breast cancer or catch it in its earliest stages – when success rates are higher.
Every month, especially in October, we ask you to always "think pink" and help spread the word of the importance of regular breast screenings for women 40 years old and earlier with a family history.
Cancer prevention is action taken to lower the chance of getting cancer. By preventing cancer, the number of new cases of cancer in a group or population is lowered. Hopefully, this will lower the number of deaths caused by cancer.
To prevent new cancers from starting, scientists look at risk factors and protective factors. Anything that increases your chance of developing cancer is called a cancer risk factor; anything that decreases your chance of developing cancer is called a cancer protective factor.
Some risk factors for cancer can be avoided, but many cannot. For example, both smoking and inheriting certain genes are risk factors for some types of cancer, but only smoking can be avoided. Regular exercise and a healthy diet may be protective factors for some types of cancer. Avoiding risk factors and increasing protective factors may lower your risk but it does not mean that you will not get cancer. Ask your doctor about taking our Breast Cancer Risk Assessment.
Different ways to prevent cancer are being studied every day.
You can help in the fight against cancer: Get screened. Remind someone you love to get screened. Run/walk at an event to fight cancer. Volunteer. Eat better. Exercise. Raise awareness. Tweet it, Facebook it, Instagram it and YouTube it. Join us in the fight!
For more information on cancer screening guidelines, call the Summa Health Cancer Institute at 330.375.7280 or click here to learn more about our cancer services.
The risk of breast cancer depends on lifestyle and personal health history. There are some risk factors that can be modified, including:
Other risk factors can’t be modified, such as:
There is hope for reducing the risk of breast cancer in high-risk cases. A change in lifestyle may minimize risk factors that can be modified. Schedule an appointment for a mammogram and discuss your risks.
Complete our online appointment form or call 234.312.5800.
