Staff report
October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, an international health campaign organized by major breast cancer charities in 1985 to increase awareness of the disease and to raise funds for research into its cause, prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and cure.
The City of Newport building — awash in pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. (Photo provided)
The color is pink — as in pink ribbons often used to symbolize support — and, in Newport, the city building is awash in pink in recognition and support of the month.
There are a number of local charities that support breast cancer research, patients and survivors, treatment, and counseling and more, so how you support those efforts is entirely a personal choice.
Be aware, however, that breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among American women, that black women are most likely to die from breast cancer than women of any other racial or ethnic group, that about 85% of breast cancers occur in women who have no family history of breast cancer — and that men can get breast cancer too.
Early screening matters. Schedule a mammography. Regular breast self-exams and an annual exam by your doctor are important tools in detection, and early detection means any cancer may be more treatable.
The American Cancer Society estimates that in 2023:
• About 297.790 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in women;
• About 43,700 women will die from breast cancer.
• That the average risk of a women in the U.S. developing breast cancer sometime in her life is about 13%.
• At this time, there are more than 4 million breast cancer survivors in the U.S.
Be aware — and see your doctor.
