Breast Cancer Awareness Month, observed in Alabama and across the country, is an international health campaign that’s held every October. The month aims to promote screening and prevention of the disease, which affects 2.3 million women worldwide.
Known best for its pink theme color, the month features a number of campaigns and programs aimed at:
- Fundraising for breast cancer research
- Supporting people diagnosed with breast cancer, including those with metastatic breast cancer
- Educating people about breast cancer risk factors
- Encouraging women to go for regular breast cancer screening
In April 30, 2024, the United States Preventative Services Task Force updated its recommendations for breast cancer screening. The task force now recommends women who are at average risk for breast cancer get screened every other year starting at age 40 and continuing through age 74.
The Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) urges women in the state to schedule mammograms at the recommended age and to not wait for symptoms. The department stresses that early detection saves lives.
An estimated 4,500 new cases of female breast cancer and approximately 720 female breast cancer deaths were expected to occur in Alabama in 2023, according to ADPH.
While the female breast cancer incidence rate of 121.8 per 100,000 women is lower than the U.S. rate of 126.8, Black women in the state have both a significantly higher breast cancer incidence and mortality rate than white women, with a rate of 27.4 versus 19.4.
Signs and symptoms of breast cancer:
- A new lump or thickening in or near the breast or in the underarm area.
- Any unexplained change in the size or shape of the breast, including swelling or shrinkage (especially if on one side only).
- Dimpling anywhere on the breast.
- Puckering in the skin of the breast.
- A nipple turned inward (inverted) into the breast.
- Discharge (fluid) from the nipple (particularly clear or bloody discharge).
- A change in the skin texture, discoloration, swelling, or an enlargement of pores in the skin of the breast (some describe this as like an orange peel’s texture).
- Scaly, red, or swollen skin on the breast, nipple, or areola.
- Recent asymmetry (unequal or lack of sameness) of the breasts.
Alabama Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program:
According to ADPH, the Alabama Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (ABCCEDP) which has detected breast cancer in more than 2,000 women.
For more than 25 years, the department says the initiative has provided free cancer screening and diagnostic services to uninsured women in Alabama.
To be eligible for this program, participants must:
- Be a woman
- Be a resident of Alabama
- Be between 40-64 years old
- Have a household income at or below 250 percent of the Federal Poverty Level
- Have no insurance
The program also provides free mammograms for women under the age of 40 who are experiencing breast cancer symptoms, women with a known genetic mutation such as BRCA 1 or 2, and women with a first-degree relative with breast cancer or known genetic mutation such as BRCA1 or 2.
If a patient participating in the ABCCEDP is diagnosed with breast cancer, she is eligible to receive free cancer treatment through the Alabama Medicaid Agency.
For more educational resources and other information about breast cancer, the importance of early detection and the ABCCEDP, click here.
