One in 8 women will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer over their lifetime, and 1 in 39 women will die from it, according to the American Cancer Society.

For women in the United States, it is the most common type of cancer and the second leading cause of death from cancer. It’s second only to lung cancer, as the most common cancer-related cause of death for both men and women across the country.

To put it simply, breast cancer has claimed too many lives.

That’s why it’s so important every October — or anytime — to spread awareness of the cancer and remind the women in our lives about the ways to catch the cancer early.

If diagnosed with breast cancer at a “distant” level, the survival rate is only 30%, according to the American Cancer Society’s Breast Cancer Facts & Figures 2022-2024 report. The survival rate is 99% for the localized version of the disease and 86% when it qualifies as regional, the report said.

Regular mammograms can help identify breast cancer at an early stage.

Women, especially those with a family history of breast cancer, should have the chance to begin annual screenings between the age of 40 and 44. All women should be screened annually between the ages of 45 to 54.

Women ages 55 and older should then transition to screenings every other year.

Because breast cancer affects so many of us — our friends and family — it’s critical to offer support for those who are diagnosed. As of Jan. 1, 2022, more than 4 million women living in the United States had a history of invasive breast cancer. Some of them were cancer-free and others may have been going through treatment at that time.

Here in Butler County, people, such as breast cancer survivors, Cheryl Parish, of Slippery Rock Township, and Ursula Slater, of Butler Township, are amazing examples of what it looks like to offer support to breast cancer patients.

Parish created 80 journals over the past year for patients to use during their treatment; and Slater serves as a parent volunteer for the breast cancer awareness fundraising efforts of the girls volleyball and girls soccer teams at Butler Senior High School.

Here at the Butler Eagle, we’re proud to share their stories in this very special pink edition of the paper. We hope this edition of the paper will encourage you to remind the women in your life about screening for breast cancer, and we hope to support those who are diagnosed by giving 50 cents of every pink newspaper we sell Tuesday to the Butler Breast Cancer and Women's Cancer Support Group.

— TL