Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Breast Cancer Awareness Month began on Thursday, 1 October and ends on Saturday, 31 October and is a yearly campaign that aims to increase the awareness of the disease, educate and offer support to those that are affected by breast cancer.

DID YOU KNOW?

Breast Cancer is one of the most common cancers in South Africa

What is breast cancer?

Breast cancer is a type of cancer that starts in the breast. Cancer starts when cells begin to grow out of control.

Myths about breast cancer

‘Children don’t get cancer’ – False: In Canada, a 2-year-old was diagnosed with breast cancer, and by the time she was 3 years old her breast was removed. In South Africa, our youngest survivor was 6 years old by the time she was 8/9 years old she had a double mastectomy.

‘With new treatments, we can now cure breast cancer’ – False: There is no cure for breast cancer.

‘Men don’t get breast cancer’ – False: Men can get breast cancer. The reason being men also have armpits, nipples and breast tissue, and muscles

As we can see, breast cancer affects everyone, young and old, males or females.

Breast cancer is more common than we think, and check-ups are highly recommended for early detection.

How to reduce Cancer risk:

  1. Get screened for early detection
  2. Avoid tobacco
  3. Avoid alcohol
  4. Be SunSmart
  5. Lead a balanced lifestyle

Breast Self-Examination (BSE)

Self-examining your breasts can be an important way to increase the odds of early detection and helps you understand the normal look and feel of your breasts.

It is recommended to be done monthly and about 3 to 5 days after your menstruation starts. It is also recommended to do it at the same time every month.

View the infographic below on how to do the breast self-examination (BSE):

breast cancer self-examination guide

At MOT our core values are Courage to live, Courage to care, and Courage to say No and therefore we ask all our breast cancer patients to beat this illness by having the courage to live and never giving up!

We would like to ask those who haven’t been diagnosed with this cancer to have the courage to care for yourself and others, by educating and remaining aware of the causes and preventions of this disease, including following ours guide on how to self evaluate for any lumps or irregularities.

Lastly, we ask our MOT family and supporters to have the courage to say no to hiding from this cancer and educating our youth!

For more information about breast cancer, click here

To find out more about how you can donate and support these causes nationally, please visit: https://www.pinkdrive.co.za/

To find out how you can donate and support these causes internationally, please visit: https://www.wearitpink.org/about

For advice from cancer survivors contact counselling@cansa.org.za or call  0800 22 6622 or .

References:

https://www.gov.za/BreastCancerAwarenessMonth2020

https://www.pinkdrive.co.za/