The breast cancer alphabet helps women recognize symptoms

17,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer every year. You’d rather not think about it, and of course hope it will save you and your loved ones. That’s why it’s important to be able to recognize the symptoms of breast cancer, so you can catch it more quickly if things get worse. This does not only apply to women, because the diagnosis is also increasing among men. Therefore, the Breast Care Foundation publishes what is called the Breast Cancer Alphabet.

Know the symptoms

We know that many women are diagnosed with breast cancer every year. But what is less known is that 20 to 25 percent of these women are younger than 50. Also, many do not know the information indicating that this percentage has increased between young women and men in recent years. Therefore, recognizing the symptoms of breast cancer becomes even more important – there is more than just a lump in the breast.

The entire month of October is designated as Breast Cancer Awareness Month. To better inform people about symptoms, Alexander Monroe Hospital and the Breast Care Foundation have teamed up to launch a better information campaign. This led to the breast cancer alphabet.

the alphabet

Alexander Monroe Hospital specializes in treating breast cancer. In collaboration with Breast Care Foundation, the hospital wants to make people aware of (symptoms and information about) breast cancer among women and men. Alarmingly, research has shown that 84 percent of women don’t know what the 12 most common symptoms of breast cancer are – even though there are several symptoms in total that could indicate the disease. For this reason, Alexander Monroe Hospital, in collaboration with the Breast Care Foundation, developed the Breast Cancer Alphabet, where each letter represents a common symptom of breast cancer.

Attention is important

It is very important that we are better aware of the symptoms of breast cancer. Did you know that in the Netherlands, 2,500 out of 17,000 people diagnosed with breast cancer each year are between 18 and 35 years old? Did you know that breast cancer among this group of people is not discovered until after a long period? It’s all about young people not realizing that something is wrong. This has a number of reasons. First, breast tissue in younger people is more compact, making it more difficult to recognize abnormalities. Second, young women (and men) don’t think about breast cancer when they notice something abnormal in their breasts. A scary thought, especially when you know that breast cancer in young women is often more aggressive than in older patients.

Source: Breast Care Foundation, Marie Claire | Image: Adobe Stock, Breast Care Foundation