The month of October is considered Breast Cancer Awareness Month. This is the month when we recognize everyone who has been affected or is currently fighting through the battle. It is an extremely important month and always brings out the best in people. Whether it’s people going out in their community and making an impact or major sports going pink out to recognize the people affected by cancer, it’s always in good faith.
Now, what is breast cancer? According to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc. (NBCF), “Breast cancer is a disease in which malignant (cancer) cells form in the tissues of the breast”. Some may question how someone gets breast cancer. Breast cancer isn’t necessarily caused by anything in particular. It usually comes up like any other cancer would. “Breast cancer starts in the cells of the breast as a group of cancer cells that can then invade surrounding tissues or spread (metastasize) to other areas of the body.”
There are a lot of misconceptions about how breast cancer develops. Myths such as a breast injury can cause breast cancer, breast cancer is more common in women with bigger breasts, or breast pain is a definite sign of breast cancer. Even men do not get breast cancer; it affects women only. Many of these misconceptions make breast cancer even more scary than it already is. It can also send people into a panic over common myths that reside with the type of cancer.
Another topic people may not know much about is the different types of breast cancer. There is a lot more to breast cancer than just the cancer itself. The most common type of breast cancer is Invasive Ductal Carcinoma (IDC) as stated by NBCF, “Invasive Ductal Carcinoma (IDC) is an invasive cancer where abnormal cancer cells that began forming in the milk ducts have spread beyond the ducts into other parts of the breast tissue. Invasive cancer cells can also spread to other parts of the body. It is also sometimes called infiltrative ductal carcinoma.” “IDC is the most common type of breast cancer, making up nearly 70- 80% of all breast cancer diagnoses.”
Mrs Rodriguez, a teacher on the Canyon High School campus, experienced a form of cancer. She said that her family members helped her get through the battle along with the amount of research she did on her form of cancer. We are glad that she battled through the cancer and is here with us at Canyon High School.
Bringing in a Canyon High School staff member who wishes to remain anonymous. They speak about their experience dealing with breast cancer. The staff member goes into detail about cysts they had early on before going to a doctor. The staff member had a history of breast cancer through their family as their grandmother passed away from breast cancer in 1981. Once they went to see a professional doctor, based on prior history, the doctor recommended that they go through a bilateral subcutaneous mastectomy.
To conclude, breast cancer is a very scary and confusing form of cancer. Although it rarely affects men, it can happen to everyone. We take this month to recognize this very specific form of cancer and inform others about the topic. Even though a cancer diagnosis can be one of the scariest things you can find out, not all of it has to be negative.
A large majority of factual information from: https://www.nationalbreastcancer.org
