Unless you have been living in a cave for the past several years, you have probably encountered many of the breast cancer awareness days that have been happening in various communities around the country. These are put on by local groups and the American Cancer Society for a very good reason -- to raise your breast cancer awareness level.

You may be asking yourself why should my awareness be raised, since I am already familiar with the possibility of breast cancer. The big problem is that there is not a known cure at this point for breast cancer, so your best defense is early detection and early diagnosis. Someone who has been diagnosed with breast cancer in its very early stages has a significantly higher chance of being able to beat it with the treatments that are available today.

Did you know that the American Cancer Society estimates that there will be more than 200,000 reported cases of breast cancer this year? The number of reported cases is rising every year, but for some reason, there are also many people who do not take this disease seriously. Believe it or not, there are some women who have gone more than 4 or 5 years without an examination, which is just asking for trouble. If they develop breast cancer in the meantime, it will clearly not qualify as an "early detection" and it could be fatal for them.

Did you know that breast cancer is not limited to women? That's right, the American Cancer Society estimate that approximately 1600 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year, and that about 400 of them will die from it.

You should become aware of the typical symptoms of breast cancer and be sure to see your doctor if any of those symptoms occur. For women, a checkup should be planned at least once every 2 or 3 years, and over age 40, at least every year. You may want to have exams more often if there is a history of breast cancer in your family, although studies to date are inconclusive as to whether or not breast cancer can be termed hereditary.

Raise your breast cancer awareness levels and get those checkups. Be aware of the symptoms and if you see any of them, be sure to get an exam soon. Remember, the best chances for beating breast cancer are early detection and early diagnosis.

Wear a pink breast cancer ribbon, and you can raise awareness. Just by having your ribbon pinned on, or by having a pink ribbon in the window of your vehicle or in a public workplace, you remind women to get regular screening, to do self-exams, and to talk to their doctors.

Maybe the ubiquitous pink ribbon's best purpose is to indicate solid social support to those who are fighting breast cancer. Research indicates that social support has significant positive impact on outcomes for patients.

Social support is sometimes experienced as a subjective feeling of connection to others. One recent study showed that women who had strong social connections to others were able to function better as they made their way through treatment, and experienced less anxiety, depression, and pain. In other words, not being isolated in the midst of crisis enhanced quality of life and helped women in the study cope.

It's such a small gesture to wear or display a pink ribbon. This little ribbon reminds is that somewhere, someone's life is at stake. Sometimes people need a reminder, since over 40,000 women die every year in the U.S.

It's the little things in life that make the difference. The first time you see the pink ribbon, you ask, what is that? Often that is the first time you ask about breast cancer, if your life or that of a loved one has not yet been touched by it.

The pink ribbon is an icon of hope for women. It not only reminds women to have regular screenings, it encourages everyone to give to research and other non-profit agencies, such as the American Cancer Society and Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, agencies on the front lines of the struggle to educate, treat and promote awareness.

Every year, the "Race for the Cure" in over 100 U.S. cities and towns. Millions of Americans participate in this awareness-raising event, a five-K run/fitness walk. The sight of hundreds, even thousands, of women walking side by side in their pink caps and with their pink ribbons on their chests is undeniably the most hopeful image one could witness.

The American Cancer Society annually sponsors "Relay for Life," a mobilizing awareness event where the pink ribbon is prominently displayed. Nationwide, over 4,800 teams of 8 to 15 survivors and supporters perform a 24-hour relay circling a track, with survivors taking the first laps. It's a time of sharing and fun as well, as participants camp out with tents and sleeping bags with the goal of keeping one team member on the track at all times.

Women can survive breast cancer, a disease that strikes one out of eight American women, and even some men. But women need hope to heal themselves and to get through diagnosis and treatment. Women need support, something that anyone can provide by wearing a pink breast cancer ribbon!

As Sidney Poiter said on the Oprah Winfrey show in March 2007, "I was left with the responsibility to effectuate my own survival." As adults, we're all accountable for our own survival. Yet as decent human beings, we need to ensure each other's survival by learning what is not always easily discovered, but necessary to know. This is especially true when one is newly diagnosed with breast cancer.

By raising our awareness, we can literally keep death at bay by spreading knowledge, wisdom and courage. It takes either personal experience, or a special dedication to a vision of a better future for girls and women, in order to make a deep, ongoing commitment to breast cancer awareness.

It is so important to get an early diagnosis. In 2006, the American Cancer Society estimated that there would be 212,920 new cases, and of these, 40,970 women would die. Each year, around 1,600 men will be diagnosed and 400 die.

About 30% of patients are women under 40. Women with a family history or other concerns might need to begin screening tests earlier than the recommended annual exam at age 40. Clinical breast exams need to be done at least every 3 years starting at age 20, and every year after 40.

Breast cancer is unique in that it is a disease where there is no known prevention, like there often is with other cancers. We must rely on measures that improve the chances of early detection.

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of death from cancer among women in the United States, behind lung cancer. The five-year survival rate is 90%. For breast cancer detected early, having not spread to the lymph nodes, the five-year survival rate is 98%. Awareness could help save tens of thousands of lives each year by helping women get diagnosed earlier through regular screening.

The death rate dropped significantly from 1989 to 2003, a decline mostly due to the increasing role of mammography in detecting early-stage tumors, as well as improvements in therapy.

New diagnostic methods are coming soon. According to Science Daily, in the future, dentists may be able to administer a simple, non-invasive saliva test for at regular dental checkups. Though not yet approved by the FDA, if this method of diagnosis does receive approval, dentists and physicians could collaborate to diagnose breast cancer earlier.

You raise your own awareness when you:

* Talk with doctors, nurses, advocates, and survivors.

* Read books and articles and visit websites.

* Participate in the annual Breast Cancer Awareness Month events in October, as well as year-round awareness events such as those sponsored by Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

* Do monthly self-exams. Though not all lumps are detectable by touch, 70% is found through monthly breast self-exams.

* Have regular mammograms starting at age 40.

You or someone you know may be the one woman in eight who will develop breast cancer during her lifetime. Develop your awareness and give yourself and someone else the gift of life!

Cancer is only a physical symptom of underlying emotional stress on the body and the body’s cells. But how does emotional stress cause cancer in the body? And why does emotional stress only cause cancer in some people, while not in others?

For the majority of people, coping with stress and highly stressful or traumatic events or conflicts is dealt with, with relative ease. Although those in this larger group feel the devastating effects of stress, stressful events, trauma, and conflicts, including grief and loss – stressful events are seen as part of life’s challenges, life’s ups and downs, and they are for they most part anticipated and not completely unexpected. These people are able to move on with their lives quickly afterwards.

Those susceptible to cancer, are highly vulnerable to life’s stresses and trauma, and feel unable to cope when life throws a curve-ball their way. These people are perfectionists and live in fear of conflict, stress, trauma and loss and are deeply frightened of negative events “happening” to them. And when faced with a highly stressful or traumatic event they have not anticipated, which inevitably happens during their life, react adversely and are unable to cope.

They experience Inescapable Shock and remain deeply affected by the experience. They have difficulty in expressing their inner grief, their inner pain, their inner anger or resentment, and genuinely feel there is no way out of the pain they are feeling inside. And because their mind cannot fathom what has happened, and remains in a state of disbelief or denial, these inner painful feelings are continually perpetuated, shooting up stress hormone levels, lowering melatonin and adrenaline levels, causing a slow breakdown of the emotional reflex centre in the brain, and creating the beginning of cancer progression in the body.

When faced with a major trauma, the cancer personality feels trapped and unable to escape from the memory of the traumatic experience and the painful feelings of the experience. Stress hormone cortisol levels skyrocket and remain at high levels, directly suppressing the immune system, whose job it is to destroy cancer cells that exist in every human being. High stress levels generally means a person cannot sleep well, and cannot produce enough Melatonin during deep sleep. Melatonin is responsible for inhibiting cancer cell growth. This means cancer cells are now free to multiply. Adrenaline levels also skyrocket initially, but are then drained and depleted over time. This is especially bad news for the cancer personality.

Adrenaline is responsible for transporting sugar away from cells. And when there is too much sugar in cells of the body, the body becomes acidic. This means normal body cells cannot breathe properly because of low oxygen. Cancer cells thrive in a low oxygen state, as demonstrated by Nobel Prize winner Otto Warburg. Cancer cells also thrive on sugar to keep them alive. Put simply, too much internal stress causes a depletion of adrenalin, leads to too much sugar in the body, resulting in the perfect environment for cancer cells to thrive in the body.

For the cancer personality, the news of being diagnosed with cancer and the fear and uncertainty of death represents another Inescapable Shock, creating another spike in stress hormone cortisol levels, and a further drop in melatonin and adrenalin levels. There is also a further breakdown of the emotional reflex centre in the brain that causes cells in the corresponding organ to slowly breakdown and become cancerous.

Learned helplessness is a key aspect of the cancer personality when facing a perceived inescapable shock, and is a strong developmental factor of cancer. Researcher Madelon Visintainer took three groups of rats, one receiving mild escapable shock, another group receiving mild in-escapable shock, and the third no shock at all. She then implanted each rat with cancer cells that would normally result in 50% of the rats developing a tumour. Her results were astonishing.

Within a month, 50% of the rats not shocked at all had rejected the tumour; this was the normal ratio. As for the rats that mastered shock by pressing a bar to turn it off, 70% had rejected the tumour. But only 27% of the helpless rats, the rats that had experienced in-escapable shock, rejected the tumour. This study demonstrates those who feel there is no way out of their shock / loss are less likely to be able to reject tumours forming within their body, due to high levels of stress weakening the immune system. [Seligman, 1998, p.170]

Cancer occurs at the cellular level. And there are a number of factors that create stress on the body’s cells, causing them to become (1) depleted of adrenaline, (2) high in sugar and (3) low in oxygen, where they are more prone to mutate and become cancerous. The higher the sugar content of the cell caused by a depletion of adrenaline, and the lower the oxygen content, the greater the likelihood of normal cells mutating and becoming cancerous.

There are a number of factors that contribute to a normal cell becoming depleted of adrenaline, high in sugar and low in oxygen. Physiological stresses include (and are not limited to): Poor nutrition, Chemicals, Toxins, EMF Radiation, Parasites, Liver / Colon / Kidney disease, Lack of Exercise, etc. Psychological stresses include (and are not limited to): Inescapable Shock, Repressed Feelings, Depression, Isolation, Poor Sleep, Emotional Trauma, External Conflict, etc.

In the vast majority of those with cancer, there exists both a combination of psychological as well as physiological stresses that have contributed to the body’s cells becoming depleted of adrenaline, high in sugar and low in oxygen, causing them to mutate and become cancerous.

Undergoing any of the breast exam procedures may be taxing, but the benefits can be life saving. The earlier a cancerous lump is discovered, the higher is its chance of getting healed. How often should women go through breast screening exams?

According to the U.S. Institute for Clinical Systems Integration, women between the ages 35 and 40 with high risk factors should undergo baseline mammogram. High risk factors include a family history of breast cancer and old age among others. On the other hand, all women between the ages 40 and 49 should undergo mammogram at least once every 2 years. Furthermore, women ages 50 and above should have an annual mammogram. Other experts, including the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, advocates those women under the age of 40 and who do not have any breast cancer risk factors do not necessarily need to have breast cancer exams by their doctor. Additionally, they say that women with no risk factors do not need to go for a mammogram until age 50. They also say that older women ages 75 and above with no prior history of cancer can forego mammogram screening.

Another respected organization, the American Cancer Society, recommends that women should commence mammogram exams every one to two years by the age of 40. The U.S. Institute for Clinical Systems Integration makes a similar recommendation. After comparing the various researches made around the world regarding the benefits and harms of mammogram performed to women below the age of 50, the National Cancer Institute concluded that there are no clear benefits or harms a woman can get from undergoing mammogram before reaching 50 years old. It is therefore important to discuss these matters with your doctor to clear things up. Whether you will undergo mammogram or not, it is good to remember that routine self-breast exam and clinical breast exam are important steps in the early detection of breast cancer.

It is recommended that a breast self-exam, or BSE, be routinely done every month. This will greatly increase the likelihood of detecting breast cancer in its early stages. A monthly breast self-exam is even recommended by the American Cancer Society for all women ages 19 and above. This procedure is fairly easy to do and most women without any disability can perform the test in the privacy of their own room or in the bathroom. Around menstruation time, a woman’s breast may feel lumpy, tender and swollen. These are normal occurrences. If you perform a monthly exam on your breast, you will develop familiarity with its feel, shape and size. This familiarity will enable you to detect any changes should these happen. While doing the breast self-exam, it is important to take notice some new and developing occurrences:

1. New lumps and changes in the size and shape of already existing lumps.

2. You should always be keen in looking for changes in the shape and breast contour including any unusual swelling.

3. Skin color and texture changes in your breast are also important signs.

4. Look for skin rash, dimpling, crusting and puckering especially around the nipple area.

5. Fluid leaking from the nipple should also be noticed.

Finally, even if you develop any of the above signs, do not get emotionally upset. These do not necessarily mean that you have breast cancer. Most breast lumps are not even cancerous. Always inform your doctor about your discovery so that more tests can be done to rule out breast cancer.