What is actually scary about October

  • Published
  • By Jenni Osborne
  • 354th Medical Operations Squadron health education program manager
EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska --  It is October and pink is everywhere; October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and it seems everyone and everything has jumped on the bandwagon of promoting a cure for breast cancer.

In a recent report from the Center for Disease Control, the incidence rates of breast cancer have decreased. The awareness campaigns are working; however, there are women who still avoid getting a mammogram.

The very word mammogram can make many women run the other direction. For some, there is good reason Breast Cancer Awareness is in October - right there beside Halloween. Dracula, skeletons, and witches have nothing on cold plastic, radiation, and the dreaded compression.

Having worked in Women's Health for some time, I know mammograms may not be comfortable, but they aren't as bad as they are made out to be. Mammograms play a central role in early detection of breast cancers because they can show changes in the breast up to two years before a lump can be felt. Research has shown that annual mammograms can find breast cancers when they are the most treatable.

What is really scary, more so than any slasher movie or ghost story, is a diagnosis of cancer, any cancer.

Terrifying--is not knowing what the future holds. Prevention is difficult, but early detection is vital. When I meet a cancer survivor, I like to ask them what they would recommend to help others and the number one thing is to promote early detection.

"Tell women to get their mammograms," "get tested" and "drag them in if you have to."

The American Cancer Society recommends that women should start doing breast self exams in their 20s. Women in their 20s and 30s should have a clinical breast exam performed at least once every three years.

If you are 40 years of age or older, you should have screening mammography done annually. Discuss further options with your doctor if you are at an increased risk for developing breast cancer.

To make mammography as easy as possible, the medical clinic will be sponsoring the Breast Cancer Detection Center's Mobile Mammography Team during the first part of November. Please call 377-6637 to make an appointment.

Be proactive when it comes to your health. Getting a normal result for a routine cancer screening is a relief. Kind of like knowing you don't have to hand out candy again for another 364 days. For more information, please contact the Health and Wellness Center at 377-6662.