5 Things You Can Do During Breast Cancer Awareness Month

If you know me personally, or have been following my socials over the past few months, you know that my mom fought breast cancer to the very end. Finding out that cancer is in our genetics came as a shock, but also as a wake-up call.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, and here are 5 things you can do for yourself and your loved ones.

Get Educated

As with any disease, breast cancer will always come with myths and hearsay. The important thing is to get educated and know the difference between facts and misinformation.

There are plenty of available resources online, and you can always talk to your doctor about any questions you might have. While this is especially true for women and people with family history of cancer, anyone and everyone should get themselves informed and checked.

Know Your Risk

It’s a myth that only women over 40 are at risk. People of any gender and any age have the possibility of getting it, although some demographics are at higher risk than others.

There’s relative risk and then there’s absolute risk. For example, simply by being female or being female at birth, you already have 12% risk. Personal risk differs, and genetics is a huge factor. There’s an online breast cancer risk quiz you can take for free.

Educate Others

You can always talk to family and friends about issues important to you, including breast cancer. You may have noticed I’ve been posting about this fairly often especially over the course of my mom’s battle and after.

Here are some free links you can read and subsequently send to start the conversation:

• BreastCancer.org Myths vs Facts
• Breast Cancer Institute: Breast Cancer Prevention
• CDC: What is Breast Cancer?

Donate to a Cause

There are ways to donate to cancer research, including specifically breast cancer. Here are a few:

• INH x WCRF: All October 2020, all profit from Insert Name Here’s pink products will be donated to the World Cancer Research Fund, using the code BOOBIES at checkout.
• In the Philippines, there are several organizations to visit and donate to.

Get Tested

Women over 40 especially need to get a mammogram. However, no matter your age, it is important to do a breast self-exam. Here is a simple, easy to follow guide. The moment you find anything suspicious, reach out to your doctor.