Roseau Times-Region - Serving Roseau County for over 100 Years - The Official Roseau County Newspaper

The Roseau Times-Region is proud to participate in National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Breast cancer is the most common kind of cancer in women after skin cancer. About 1 in 8 women born today in the United States will get breast cancer at some point in their life.

The good news is that most women can survive breast cancer if it’s found and treated early.

Talk with your doctor about when to start getting mammograms and how often to get them.

Find out about your risk for breast cancer, especially if a close family member of yours had breast or ovarian cancer. Your doctor can help you decide when and how often to get mammograms.

Know the signs and

symptoms of breast cancer

Everyone’s breasts are different, and your breasts can change with age and at different times of the month.

It’s important to get to know how your breasts normally look and feel so it will be easier to spot if there are any unusual changes for you.

If you do spot any unusual changes to your breasts you should still get them checked out by your doctor.

Finding out about breast cancer signs and symptoms can help you understand what breast changes to look out for.

How should I check my breasts?

There isn’t any special technique and there isn’t any training needed to check your breasts. Everyone’s breasts are different, so get to know yours. It makes it easier to spot anything unusual.

Be sure to check the whole breast area, including your upper chest and armpits.

If you notice any changes in your breasts, make sure you get checked by your doctor as soon as possible.

What should I be looking for?

Usually the first symptom is a lump. But there are other signs and symptoms you should look out for too.

Pain in your breasts is not normally a sign of breast cancer, but it can be if it is associated with other symptoms. While most pain is not usually a symptom, it’s important to look out for any pain that is unusual and persists over a period of time.

What are the main risk factors

for breast cancer?

There are several different risk factors that affect whether you might develop breast cancer.

A persons chances of developing the disease depend on a combination of our genes and bodies, lifestyle and life choices and the surrounding environment. But we don’t have control over some things that affect our risk.

Being female and your age are the two biggest risk factors, but unfortunately, you can’t change these factors.

How can I reduce my risk of breast cancer?

Many things affect our risk of developing breast cancer. Some of these things can’t change, like the genes we inherit or getting older, but our lifestyles can play a part too.

There are some things we can change to help prevent breast cancer. Leading a healthy lifestyle, by limiting how much you drink, keeping to a healthy weight and being physically active are wise decisions you can make. This isn’t a guarantee against breast cancer, but it can help lower the chances of the disease developing.

It is known that taking hormone replacement therapy and contraceptive pills can affect your risk of breast cancer. Many women make an informed choice to use hormone replacement therapy or the pill, but be sure to consider the risks before you make a decision.

National Breast Cancer Awareness Month is a chance to raise awareness about the importance of detecting breast cancer early. Pay attention, early detection is key!