Submitted by Monroe County Health Dept.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and The Tennessee Breast and Cervical Screening Program (TBCSP) encourages women to follow early detection guidelines which include breast exams and mammograms. It is important to find breast cancer early in order for treatment to be successful. Breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosis among women, other than skin cancer.  It accounts for one in every three cancers diagnosed in U.S. women.  One in eight women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime.

The risk increases with age. According to the latest information from the Tennessee Cancer Registry, 15 percent of all cancer cases are breast cancer cases. White females were more likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer than black females.  There will be approximately 4,000 cases of breast cancer diagnosed and 910 deaths in 2009.

The incidence rate is higher among Caucasian women, however, the mortality rate remains higher among African-American women. Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in Tennessee women, after lung cancer.  Overall, the incidence rate of breast cancer was lower than the U.S, rate.  The breast cancer mortality rate was slightly higher than the U.S, rate.

The Tennessee Breast and Cervical Screening Program urge all women to be aware of the tools of early detection for breast cancer.  If detected early, breast cancer can often be treated effectively with surgery that preserves the breast. The survival rate is greater than 95 percent for women who find breast cancer at its earliest stage.  The earliest signs of breast cancer include the following: an abnormality that is detected on a mammogram, a physical sign or symptom that may include skin irritation, dimpling, swelling, a breast lump, thickening, tenderness and nipple pain, scaliness, ulceration or retraction.

The Commissioner of Health, Susan Cooper, RN, MSN states "Breast Cancer may be detected at an early stage if women receive monthly breast self-exams beginning at age 20, clinical breast exams at least every three years beginning at age 20 and annually after age 40 as part of a periodic health examination and annual screening mammography beginning at age 40."

The Tennessee Breast and Cervical Screening Program (TBCSP) is available in most health departments and some community health centers across the state to enroll uninsured women with limited income for clinical breast exams, Pap tests and mammograms at no charge  There are certain hospitals throughout the state which offer special rates or provide mammograms at no charge during the year.

For more information, call the Tennessee Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening Program at 1-877-96-WOMEN (1-877-969-6636) or visit the TDOH Web site at http://health.state.tn.us/BCC/index.htm.