As the awareness of breast cancer increases, so does the availability of information on the disease to the general public. There has been much research done on the disease, which includes the statistics on its prevalence and survival rates. Below is an enumeration of these statistics.

Recent figures

Breast cancer has been proven to be the second leading cause of cancer deaths in women today. It is also the most common form of cancer among women. This trend is expected to continue. Studies conducted by the World Health Organization estimate that for 2006, there will be 1.2 million women who will be diagnosed with breast cancer.

Studies have also shown that a woman?s chance of developing breast cancer during her lifetime is about 1 out of 7 or 13.4 percent. However, breast cancer is not restricted to women. Studies also estimate that thousands of men will be diagnosed with the disease.

With regard to death rates, it is estimated that the chance that breast cancer will be the cause for a woman?s death is about 1 in 33, or 3 percent. In recent years, the incidence of breast cancer death has declined. Doctors attribute these declines to early detection and new treatments.

Figures also show that the chance of having the disease increases with age. By the age of 30, the chance of having the disease is 1 out of 2,212. For women over the age of 80, the chance increases to 1 out of 8. However, the survival rates are less for younger women because they tend to have more aggressive forms of cancer. It has also been proven that white, Hawaiian and African-American women have the highest incidence of breast cancer as opposed to their Asian counterparts who have some of the lowest incidence rates.

Studies also show that early detection increases the survival rate by as much as 96 percent, especially for those women who detect breast cancer in its first stage. However, the survival rates for patients who have had the disease decreases after five years.

These figures tell us a number of things. One of these is that the key to surviving breast cancer is early detection. Another important thing is that women need to be aware of the risks that they face and that they should take preventive measures to mitigate the effects of this dreaded disease.

Even with all the information about breast cancer awareness, self-exams and breast cancer statistics available, many women still choose to put off having a mammography and even doing self-exams. They give a variety of excuses including, “no time”, “no family history” or “lack of convenience” with having to travel to a hospital for a mammography. Fortunately hospitals are beginning to combat these excuses by incorporating a mobile mammography unit into the services that they offer to the community.

The mobile mammography has shown great success and community support in the areas that currently have the service. It was originally thought that it would be a service for the underserved such as those without transportation, insurance or low income families. However, it has become successful in other arenas as well, such as among working women or women with children that state that they don’t have the time to take off work or be away from their children to go get a mammography. Some businesses are even working with the hospitals to have the mobile mammography come to their organization as a health benefit program for their employees.

Contact your local hospital to see if they have a similar service. If they don’t, talk to them about the benefits. It is also important that you make time to go to the hospital to have a mammography and perform a monthly self-exam. Susan G. Komen for the Cure recommends that beginning by age 20, women should be doing a monthly breast self-examination. You can find information on how to do a monthly breast self-examination online. Early detection is imperative in the fight against breast cancer. Don’t make any more excuses: your health and your life are more important than any excuse you can make.

Regrettably, breast cancer is all too common, and contemporary medical treatments are well entrenched. Most cancer patients choose to accept the application of these techniques and there is comparatively low demand for alternative therapies. However there is growing interest in alternative methods of cancer prevention; and there is also a great deal of success being enjoyed by such treatments.

Some of the activities or techniques that are becoming increasingly relied upon, and which are essential elements of the practice of Yoga, include:

-Attention to nutrition
-The avoidance of ingestion of chemical and other environmental pollutants
-The need for regular exercise
-Adequate breathing and oxygenation of the blood
-Freedom from psychological stress, and
-The need for a vital positive interest in life

With respect to breast cancer in particular however, there are another two very important factors deserving of strict attention if women are to maximize their chances of avoiding the disease. They are:

Adequate Exercise of the Arms

Circling the arms from the shoulder, shrugging the shoulders and other exercises that specifically stimulate the muscles and circulation around the lymphatic glands under the arms. These Yoga exercises should be considered a daily discipline and take only a few minutes.

Avoidance of Suppressant Deodorants

Today, deodorants are considered an integral aspect of body hygiene, but unfortunately many of those in the contemporary market-place contain chemical perspiration suppressants. Such deodorants pose a threat, especially to women, in that the toxins that are naturally evacuated in perspiration may well settle in the nearest parts of the body, particularly where circulation is poor, viz. the breasts

Of course there are deodorants on the market that don’t contain the chemical suppressants of the more popular brands but it is really necessary, for women in particular, to check the product labels to be assured this is the case.

Be particularly careful to scrutinize those products that guarantee full protection from perspiration as these will usually contain the offending chemicals. .

Remember that underarm perspiration is Nature’s way of exuding toxins from the upper body and when the process is suppressed it is pretty obvious that there is going to be an adverse reaction.

Sally Janssen is one of the best known Yoga teachers in Australia, and is a former President of the International Yoga Teachers Association. In 1964 she founded the Triad Yoga School in Sydney, Australia, and remained its Principal until 1978. During that time it was the most eminent Yoga school in Australia. Sally now runs an informational website that deals with the very spirit of traditional Yoga.

Breast cancer affects mainly women with one out of nine women encountering the risk of developing breast cancer over her lifetime.

Treatment for breast cancer has advanced with various drugs and procedures being developed and put into clinical use. One of the more common forms of cancer therapy is to undergo chemotherapy treatment. This used to be a painful and fatigue inducing exercise where the patient has to undergo frequent trips to the hospital. However with the introduction of oral chemotherapy, patients can now undertake the medication from the comfort of their own homes. Known as capecitabine pills, patients are prescribed 12 hourly medications for 2 weeks in a row, with another weekly interval in between for the body to recover.

The risks of getting breast cancer has also been reduced by the introduction of tamoxifen in 1998. This drug has a reported 50% effectiveness but the side effects made it uncomfortable for many patients which includes hot flashes. Tamoxifen has since then been replaced by raloxifene, which has less side effects but delivered the same degree of effectiveness in reducing breast cancer risk.

Even though modern medicine has advanced breast cancer research and treatment options to a new level, our modern lifestyle has been linked to playing an important role in raising the risk levels as well. So in my opinion, modern medicine is only playing catch up.

We can take a proactive role by doing some of the following activities, if not all of them, to reduce your breast cancer risk as well as developing a great healthy lifestyle.

An elevated estrogen level has been linked to greatly increased risk of breast cancer. We can help rein in our estrogen levels thorough regular 30 minutes a day exercise, 5 times a week. This should help to keep our weight in control which is also another factor in maintaining healthy estrogen levels. Any gains over 70 pounds could possibly double our risk levels.

Stay away from foods high in polyunsaturated fats such as sunflower oils, switch over to olive oil, which is a tasty and healthy monounsaturated fat source. Fruits and vegetables that are high in carotenoids, which are known to have cancer reducing properties, have plenty of these on a daily basis especially carrots, tomatoes and watermelons.