Straight, No Chaser: October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

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Breast cancer disturbs me deeply, and if it doesn’t affect you as well, you haven’t been paying attention. One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. It’s more likely than not that every single one of us has been affected by this, either directly or through a friend or family member.
Breast cancer is different. We’ve found the way to eradicate certain cancers and have made remarkable progress on others. Aside from the hereditary component, breast cancer seems so…random, so dehumanizing and so debilitating to so many. Unlike so many of the things I address as an emergency physician, breast cancer isn’t like trauma, STDs and many other conditions, where one is often directly suffering the consequences of their behavior. It is vital that you appreciate the need and value for early detection to give yourself the best possible chance for the best possible outcomes. I’ll be discussing all these considerations in detail throughout the week.
I appreciate the sentiment behind a National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, but if I could offer you anything on this, it would be a plea to be ‘aware’ every month, and use this month as a (re)commitment to take basic steps that will reduce your risk, a charge to maintain steps for early evaluation and a prod to point you toward prompt treatment if and when needed. In fact, those three areas will be the topics of my next few posts. In the meantime, please share this or other information about breast cancer to any and all females in your life. I also hope you choose to engage your family, friends and others in conversations geared to improving breast cancer awareness. Odds are many of them have been or will be affected by breast cancer.
I welcome your comments or questions.
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0 thoughts on “Straight, No Chaser: October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

  1. Thank you very much Dr. Sterling for using this platform to share valuable and life-saving information. I post the blog on my Facebook page daily and I forgot to post it yesterday, and my mom called me and asked me why didn’t I post it because she looks forward to reading it every day. So it looks like you have at least one fan. 🙂

    1. Lol. Hi, Stephanie. You should know that your mom can follow my blog as well by looking at the upper right hand corner of the page and entering her email address (or you could do it for her; be sure to respond to the confirmatory email WordPress sends). Of course on Facebook, she can get my posts (and other health content) directly by liking my site SterlingMedicalAdvice.com. Thanks for your comment and support! By way, tell your mom thanks also. For the record, it appears that as of today, I have 625 followers!