Ghouls, goblins, ghosts and boobies.
Although we may be used to other fearful things during October, it is also a time to recognize the frightening facts about breast cancer. We are in the middle of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the perfect time to remember the ways we can help prevent the disease.
This is also a time to remember what breast cancer has done to almost all of us. An ABC News poll says four in 10 women have had a close relative diagnosed with the disease. Odds are someone close to you has felt the cold fear that accompanies the diagnosis.
Elementary education professor Susan Tancock said her heart nearly stopped when she got the call from her doctor about her own breast cancer. After surgery, radiation and eight rounds of debilitating chemotherapy she is doing fine, but that time in her life was fraught with emotional, mental and physical pain.
We all know someone who has felt this hurt. Many of us know women who have suffered the nauseous treatment of chemotherapy, only to have their hair fall out and their vision go blurry.
Many of us know women who don't feel like women anymore because their breasts have been removed.
Some of us have been to the funerals of our friends, sisters and mothers who died too soon because of breast cancer.
By remembering these assaults on our health and on the health of our loved ones, we can recognize the importance of prevention.
Early detection is by far the best shot women have at surviving this disease, and events like the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure help to provide funds for research and to spread awareness.
Monthly breast self-exams become important when women turn 20, and later mammograms are key to catching the disease in its earliest stages, as happened with Tancock.
According to the American Cancer Society, more than 184,000 cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed by the end of this year, and about 40,000 people will die because of breast cancer. October is of course a time to enjoy the tricks and treats of Halloween, but it's also the time to remember the scary truth about breast cancer.
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