‘No Bra Day’ promotes breast cancer awareness
Millions of women around the world are not wearing bras
today as a campaign to raise awareness about breast cancer.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
The 13th of October has been set aside as ‘No Bra Day’ to raise awareness about breast cancer - the most common cancer in women worldwide.
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According to the 2016 National Cancer Registry (NCR) stats, 1 in 25 women in South Africa has a lifetime risk of getting breast cancer. CANSA also states that approximately 19.4-million women aged 15 years and older live at-risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer.
Risk Factors:
There are several things that can put women at risk of getting breast cancer.
The CANSA website states that women who are overweight, inactive, consuming alcohol, poor dietary habits, smoking, and exposure to chemicals have a higher risk of getting breast cancer.
Prevention:
Prevention is always better than cure.
Apart from living a healthy life and staying away from anything that might put you at risk of breast cancer, women are encouraged to examine their breasts regularly for any lumps.
“We encourage annual medical check-ups and cancer screening for early detection, as symptoms don’t always present until cancer has spread,” states CANSA website.
The World Health Organisation states that the low survival rates in less developed countries is due to the lack of early detection programmes, resulting in a high proportion of women presenting with a late-stage disease, as well as the lack of adequate diagnosis and treatment facilities.
The video below shows how to examine yourself for breast cancer.
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Image courtesy of iStock/ @Veni vidi...shoot