Military Spotlights Breast Cancer

Week of October 06, 2008

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, designed to highlight the importance of monthly breast self-exams for all women and annual mammograms for women over age 40 or with family histories of the disease. Breast cancer can often be diagnosed with mammography long before a lump is discovered through self-exam, medical experts say. Early detection has led to a significant decrease in fatalities in recent years. Women over age 40 should begin getting yearly mammograms in addition to their monthly breast self-exams, said Staff Sgt. Dominique Fisher, a mammography technician at Yokota. In addition, those who have had a mother or sister develop breast cancer should start annual mammograms 10 years before the age that relative was diagnosed.