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| Gloves Raised in Solidarity and Remembrance |
October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and what better time to celebrate the success of the All Abilities Team? Why did this team of dedicated individuals decide to take on this challenge? For many, the satisfaction of accomplishment and the opportunity to make a real difference was more than enough inspiration to keep them going when fatigue struck or dedication wavered. But for some, this was a personal mission, as their lives have been touched by breast cancer.
The alarming statistics show that it is likely that we all will be touched in some way by breast cancer.
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- Excluding cancers of the skin, breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed among U.S. women, accounting for more than 1 in 4 cancers.
- Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women, after lung cancer.
- One out of eight American women who live to be 85 years of age will develop breast cancer, a risk that was one out of 14 in 1960.
- 2.4 million women living in the U.S. have been diagnosed with and treated for breast cancer.
- An estimated 182,480 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed in American women during 2008. About 1,990 new cases of breast cancer are expected in men.
*Information from Cancer Facts & Figures 2008, American Cancer Society.
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Women with Disabilities
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- Women with disabilities are just as likely to have breast cancer as other women.
- Some risk factors for breast cancer, like exposure to large amounts of radiation, never being pregnant, or not getting regular exercise, are more common among women with disabilities than among women without disabilities.
- It is important that women with disabilities remain proactive in their breast health. When scheduling mammograms women with disabilities should inform their clinics about their disabilities to help make the mammogram as comfortable as possible. In addition, women with disabilities should ask their doctors to perform more frequent breast exams if they need the assistance.
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