Tales of survival, hope during breast cancer awareness month
October is breast cancer awareness month.
On Tuesday, the Butler Eagle proudly presented its annual Pink Edition showcasing inspirational stories about local women fighting the disease.
We introduced you to Evelyn Taylor, a Butler woman who underwent 20 radiation treatments after being diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancer and who said, “Sometimes, the best thing you can do is to cry it out because you’ve been through so much and your body has been through so much.”
We introduced you to Melissa Philson, a breast cancer survivor and Butler County Community College professor who is organizing fundraisers to benefit breast cancer research.
We introduced you to Kelly Graham, who has been fitting cancer survivors with prosthesis for 17 years at Evans City Pharmacy.
Statistics on breast cancer are staggering.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer during their lifetime.
According to cancer.net, an estimated 271,270 people (268,600 women and 2,670 men) in the United States will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer this year, and 42,260 people (41,760 women and 500 men) will die from breast cancer.
But as our stories showed, screening exams, education and early detection are key to prevention and recovery.
The goal of screening exams for early detection of breast cancer is to identify breast abnormalities as early as possible. If breast cancer is found early, there are more treatment options and better chances for survival.
Early detection is important because breast cancer found in stage 0 or stage 1 is very curable. When breast cancer is detected early, often treatment can be shorter with fewer side effects and more options.
Breast ultrasound testing was not included in the Affordable Care Act, but a bill before the state legislature would require insurance companies to pay for such testing.
Helping more women have access to affordable ultrasound tests and mammograms is important, and we urge the legislature to take swift action on the bill to help save lives.
