Priscila Tolentino, Alisha Dattoo, and Shari Sooklal

This month, you may see people wearing pink ribbons or pink clothing, and you might be asking yourself: why? Every October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Every October, people wear pink, partake in walks, and wear ribbons and other attire in order to support breast cancer awareness and fund research for the disease. While everyone shows support for spreading awareness, not many people know the details behind the disease.

What is Breast Cancer?

According to The American Cancer Society, “Breast cancer is a type of cancer that starts in the breast. It can start in one or both breasts. Cancer starts when cells begin to grow out of control. Breast cancer occurs almost entirely in women, but men can get breast cancer, too.” In the United States, about 240,000 women and 2,100 men are diagnosed with breast cancer each year. About 42,000 women and 500 men die from breast cancer each year. The chance that a woman will die from breast cancer is about 1 in 39 (about 2.5%).

Leading Causes and Risk Factors

There are many factors that contribute to the cause of breast cancer. Two of the main factors are the two most common breast cancer genes, breast cancer gene one (BRCA1), and breast cancer gene two (BRCA2). Both of these genes increase the risk of breast cancer and ovarian cancer. According to doctors from Mayo Clinic, “Doctors estimate about 5 to 10 percent of breast cancers are linked to gene mutations passed through generations of a family.”  There are also many risk factors to breast cancer. Risk factors are something that makes you most likely to get breast cancer. But, just because you have one of the risk factors doesn’t mean you’ll get breast cancer. There are many women who get breast cancer and the only known risk factor in their body is simply being women. Some risk factors for breast cancer are:

• Being female
• Increasing age. Breast cancer is most common in older people
• A history of breast conditions
• A family history of breast cancer
• Inherited genes
• Exposure to radiation
• Obesity
• Beginning your period at a younger age
• Beginning menopause at an older age 
• Having your first child at an older age
• Never being pregnant
• Postmenopausal hormone therapy
• Drinking alcohol

Survival Rates

Breast cancer survival rates vary by year. This means that the survival rate is measured by how many people are alive 5-15 years after their diagnosis. The survival rate for breast cancer is 90% (90 out of 100 women are alive 5 years after being diagnosed). 84% of women are alive 10 years after being diagnosed. 80% of women are alive after 15 years after being diagnosed with more invasive breast cancer.

The Cardozo Community Comments

Cardozo health teacher Mr. Levine spoke to The Verdict about his knowledge of breast cancer and what individuals should look out for. He stated that he has a family member who is a survivor of breast cancer and that a fellow teacher at Cardozo died from breast cancer. With this, he said, “early detection could save your life.”

One thing he said that people should be doing to spread awareness for breast cancer is to spread accurate information. There are many myths out there that people believe could cause breast cancer for example, getting hit in the breast, or some deodorants, but that is not true. He also advises to ask your health care provider about anything that you are concerned about. He strongly advises that you, “don’t ignore symptoms but don’t panic about them either.” For example, “You look at yourself in the mirror and you see something out of the ordinary and you assume the worst, you shouldn’t because you’re scaring yourself.” 

Prevention and Treatment

Here are some ways to reduce the risk of getting breast cancer:

• Making changes to your daily life.
• Ask your doctor when to start doing breast cancer screening exams.
• Drink alcohol in moderation.
• Exercise often.

Organizations and Charities to Help

Here are some non-profit organizations here in New York that you can contribute to show awareness for breast cancer:

• Strength For Life Inc. Kings Park, NY
• Share Self-Help for Women with Breasts or Ovarian Cancer, Inc. New York, NY
• You Can Thrive! Foundation New York, NY
• Young Survival Coalition Inc. New York, NY
• The Breast Cancer Research Foundation, Inc. New York, NY