Breast cancer is a horrible disease. This is  a sensitive subject with me because my grandmother is a breast cancer survivor. She was diagnosed at an early age, but luckily it was also caught during its early stages. It was hard to see her go through all of the treatment of chemotherapy and it eventually led to her having a mastectomy. My grandmother’s situation made me feel scared and worried that I may develop breast cancer.

One in eight women will develop invasive breast cancer during her lifetime. This year alone there are more than 2 million women with a history of breast cancer in the United States. This includes women currently being treated and women who have finished treatment.

A women’s risk of breast cancer nearly doubles if she has a first-degree relative (mother, sister, or daughter) who has been diagnosed with breast cancer. Individual risk is affected by many different factors, such as family history, life-style and others.

You hear stories that women with a history of breast cancer in the family have a higher risk of developing the disease. Although many times clinics will not do mammograms on women younger than 40, it should be allowed for anyone under that age if there is a history of breast cancer in the family.

Breast cancer survival rates have increased, and the number of deaths steadily has been declining, which is largely due to a number of factors such as earlier detection, a new personalized approach to treatment and a better understanding of the disease.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and my family and I feel that we should do what we can to help raise awareness because it has had such an effect on our family. We are thankful every day that early detection helped in saving my grandmother who has now been cancer free for over 10 years. Life is too easily taken for granted.