National Breast Health Day Is This Week: Get The Jump On Cancer

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. America will acknowledge a day later this week that is meant to educate women and men on the importance of self-examinations and clinical procedures aimed at catching cancer at the earliest possible stage.

Breast cancer causes more than 40,000 deaths per year in women, according to the American Cancer Society. In many cases, breast cancer victims could have prevented the cancer from spreading by taking precautions like scheduling breast exams.

National Mammography Day is Friday, October 16.

National Mammography Day Is October 16 And Encourages Women To Have Clinical Exams Done To Detect Cancer Early

Unsplash: Ubaid E Alyafizi

Mammograms are performed in medical offices by trained healthcare professionals who can help detect tumors or other precancerous warning signs. Depending on the stage of the cancer, some tumors can be removed and, with a combination of drugs, can be eradicated before spreading to other parts of the body. The stages range from 0 to five, with five being the most serious and life-threatening.

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Once again before year's end, invasive breast cancer will be detected in close to 300,000 women nationwide, according to the American Cancer Society.

Approximately one in 10 women are diagnosed with breast cancer before age 45, with the median age being 63, according to the ACS.

Please encourage friends and loved ones to have a mammogram completed if they are over 40 and have never had one done. Many cancers are not death sentences and can be beaten if discovered before they have the chance to spread to other parts of the body.