Breast cancer is the second most common cancer in American women. Symptoms can include changes in the size or shape of breasts, nipple discharge other than breast milk, lumps in the breast or underarms, and pain in any part of the breast. Some people may not have symptoms at all, so it is important to stay aware of your health and get regular exams once over the age of 50, or if at risk through other factors. About 9% of new cases of breast cancer in the United States are under the age of 45. By doing self-exams and getting regular mammograms, breast cancer can be caught early on, making treatment much easier and more effective.
No one should have to face breast cancer alone. Take this month to share information with your friends and families, schedule screenings, and start conversations with those around you. You never know what might convince someone to make a life-saving doctor's appointment! Free Educational Guides are available through the National Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc.
Worried about the cost of treatment? The National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program provides breast and cervical cancer screenings for uninsured or underinsured women with low incomes.
Browse the library catalog for books about breast cancer.
Talking To My Tatas: All You Need To Know From A Breast Cancer Researcher and Survivor
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Provides accessible science and health information for the love of your boobs, especially when they have cancer. Dana Brantley-Seiders spent twenty years working as a biomedical breast cancer researcher. Then, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She thought she knew breast cancer before it whacked her upside her left boob and left her bleeding on the curb of uncertainty. Turns out, she had a lot to learn. This book shares Brantley-Seiders' personal journey with breast cancer, from the laboratory bench to her own bedside, and provides accessible information about breast cancer biology for non-scientists. Talking to My Tatas: All You Need to Know from a Breast Cancer Researcher and Survivor, offers accurate, evidence-based science that is accessible to all readers, including the more than three hundred thousand individuals diagnosed with breast cancer every year, their caregivers, and their loved ones. Knowledge is power, and lack of it can lead to overtreatment, unnecessary pain and suffering, and even death. By demystifying the process from mammograms, biopsies, pathology, and diagnostics, to surgical options, tumor genomic testing, and new treatment options, Brantley-Seiders aims to arm breast cancer patients with the tools they need to battle this disease with a healthy dose of humor, grace, and hope.
The Breast Cancer Book: A Trusted Guide For You and Your Loved Ones
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Providing comprehensive, current, and reliable information on breast cancer, this book, written by an experienced oncologist, a surgeon, and a breast cancer survivor, informs and inspires readers, wherever they are in the breast cancer experience. Patient stories, essays from medical specialists, and illustrations add clarity and insight.
The Cancer Journals
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First published over forty years ago, The Cancer Journals is a startling, powerful account of Audre Lorde's experience with breast cancer and mastectomy. Long before narratives explored the silences around illness and women's pain, Lorde questioned the rules of conformity for women's body images and supported the need to confront physical loss not hidden by prosthesis. Living as a "black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet," Lorde heals and re-envisions herself on her own terms and offers her voice, grief, resistance, and courage to those dealing with their own diagnosis. Poetic and profoundly feminist, Lorde's testament gives visibility and strength to women with cancer to define themselves, and to transform their silence into language and action.