October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Prevention, early detection important in breast cancer
Mary Margaret Moorhead - Staff Writer

Even though October is designated as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, women and men need to be aware all year long of the importance of prevention and early detection of this disease.

According to the American Cancer Society, the nation's leading voluntary health organization, an estimated 215,990 new invasive cases of breast cancer are expected to occur among women during 2004 with an additional 1,450 cases in men. More than 40,000 of those will be Hoosier women.

An encouraging statistic is that the mortality rates from the disease are on the decline. From 1990 to 2000, the rate declined 2.3 percent per year. This decrease, the American Cancer Society indicates, is due largely to detection and improved treatment options, which have been discovered through research.

Among the promising new breast cancer research areas are chemoprevention, which may be able to keep breast cancer from developing.

According to Harmon J. Eyre, MD, the American Cancer Society's national chief medical officer, re
searchers are also studying how to harness the body's immune system to attack the breast cancer once it has occurred.

"Because we can now look at the very beginnings of how breast cancer develops at the DNA level, we have the potential to unlock the basic biology of breast cancer," said Dr. Eyre. "This gives us the tools we need to develop more targeted treatments for breast cancer now, and hopefully, allows us to devise prevention strategies in the future."

Currently, the American Cancer Society is funding 179 breast cancer research projects totaling more than $98.7 million. Since 1972, the Society has awarded approximately $246 million to breast cancer research.

Among the programs designed to help with early detection, the American Cancer Society has initiated the "Tell A Friend" program, in which trained volunteers contact five friends or acquaintances to encourage them to get a mammogram.

In the past several years, the "Tell A Friend" program in Ripley County takes place during the Relay for Life event in June. The Great Lakes Division of the American Cancer Society
has recruited nearly 2,000 volunteers for "Tell A Friend," and these volunteers have reached 20,690 women with a life-saving message concerning mammography.

Another important program for women who have to deal with breast cancer is "Reach to Recovery," a one-to-one peer support program which for the past 35 years has trained breast cancer survivors to counsel with others who are going through breast cancer diagnosis or treatment.

In Ripley County, four breast cancer survivors are certified as "Reach to Recovery" volunteers: Phyliss Hafft, Rhonda Belter, Tracy Fox, and Barbara Pittman. Hospitals or oncologists usually get in touch with one of these ladies when the need arises.

Because women often go through times of feeling unattractive during breast cancer treatment, the unique "Look Good...Feel Better" program teaches female cancer patients a number of beauty techniques that can improve their self-image. Co-sponsored by the Cosmetology Association and the American Cancer Society, volunteers are trained to work with hairstyles, wigs, and makeup procedures.
Locally, Cheryl Welch of Klip & Kurl and Stephanie Wyatt of The Hair Cottage are trained as facilitators of the "Look Good...Feel Better" program.

Breast cancer patients, as well as others affected by cancer, can get expert information by calling 1-800-ACS-2345 or by going online to the Cancer Survivors Network. The American Cancer Society's website is www.cancer.org.

In this month's Self, a 22-page handbook called "Healthy Breasts for Life" is included to inform readers of the latest issues on prevention, treatment, and coping with breast cancer.

Acknowledging the fact that breast cancer isn't just an older woman's disease, Self points out that 4,300 women under age 35 develop breast cancer each year. "Even more puzzling and frightening," says the article, "is that only 79 percent of those women survive five years compared with 88 percent of older women."

According to Lyndsay Harris, MD and assistant professor of medicine at Harvard School of Medicine, "One thing doctors know for sure is that by the time breast tumors are discovered in young women, the masses tend to be larger and often more advanced."

A Breast Cancer Flash included in the handbook says: "...a new blood test called CellSearch can measure effectiveness of treatment in about four weeks (instead of three months). If the test finds treatment isn't helping, doctors can choose to switch to a new course much earlier on."

Included in the special section in Self is a step-by-step guide for what to do should a woman find a lump in her breast. There are also five graphic signs that the lump is NOT cancer and nine moves that "may slash your cancer risk."

Among the nine suggestions are: exercise five days a week; fill up on
fiber; take a folic acid supplement; sip green tea; snack on dark grapes; quit smoking; opt for breast feeding; get a good night's sleep; and maintain a healthy weight.

To pursue information on breast cancer, one may turn to the Discovery Health Channel on October 28 at 8:00 p.m. for a one-hour documentary, "Breast Cancer Legacy," hosted by Meredith Baxter.

The documentary tells "the incredible stories of four families confronting the breast cancer histories that haunt their pasts, while exploring the medical community's increasing understanding of the genetics of the disease."

For more information, one can log on to www.discovery.com/health.