Governor’s Column (Featuring the First Lady)
By First Lady Melanie Blunt

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Across our nation October is celebrated as Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It is a time to raise our perception about how we can help find a cure for breast cancer and be proactive about our own health.

On September 21, I was privileged to attend a proclamation ceremony where as governor, my husband recognized October 2005 as Breast Cancer Awareness Month in Missouri. He understands one of the most important things a woman can do for her health is to be screened for breast cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, an estimated 5,000 women in Missouri will be diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005. Almost 900 women will die from the disease in Missouri this year. Early detection is vital to fighting this disease.

I applaud the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services for their emphasis on screening and early detection of breast cancer. For the past 13 years, the department's Show Me Healthy Women program has educated women about breast cancer and provided free breast and cervical cancer screenings to those who qualify. This program works with public health agencies, private physicians, clinics and hospitals to provide cancer screening services.

As we celebrate Breast Cancer Awareness Month we also celebrate survivors, support and acknowledge those battling the disease and remember those we have lost to breast cancer.

When I was 19, my mother joined countless others who have lost their fight against this horrible disease. I am humbled to help bring awareness to this cause in her honor and memory and ask you to be proactive about your health.

The American Cancer Society recommends that women, beginning in their 20s, learn about the benefits and limitations of breast self-examination. All women should report any lump and other change in their breasts to their health care provider. Women with a family history of breast cancer should talk with their doctors about the benefits of earlier and more frequent screening tests. Screening guidelines recommended by the American Cancer Society include:

• Yearly mammograms for women starting at age 40
• Clinical breast exams by a health care professional at least every three years for women in their 20s and 30s and every year for women 40 and older

Breast cancer affects many of us personally and we must work together to help bring awareness to this cause not only during Breast Cancer Awareness Month but throughout the year.

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