October, when most see the first day of October they think of the wonderful fall and spooky season. Halloween then ends up being just around the corner and with the scary, and yet cute Halloween costumes out. That’s not all of what October really is, October is breast cancer awareness month as well. If you don’t know already, breast cancer is when cancer that forms in the blood cells of the breast.it ends up creating a lump in your breast and has many side effects. Breast cancer is the most common cancer that is found in women, but it isn’t only found in women, it can also be males too. 

On average over 200,000 women and men get diagnosed with breast cancer. It is a traumatic disease that takes a lot of mental stability and strength, it is also very costly as well. For one medication called lynparza, it can cost up to $156,00 dollars a year, for a basic round of chemo it can cost up to 10,000 to 100,000 dollars a year. That alone is a tremendous amount of money, and that is just the very beginning. Before undergoing all this stuff it takes finding out, or worrying if you have breast cancer first. There are ways to check if you have this cancerous disease, you could go and get a clinical exam which is really for if you are very scared and feel as if you have this. You can also get a mammogram, these tests can see more than what meets the eye, they can find lumps that may be growing that could strengthen and become cancerous. Lastly, you can do at home check-ups on yourself, it is advised for women to do this once a month. There are many tips for self-examination and with a quick google search, you can find all the steps and on how to do it. 

Many families and people deal with the pain of a loved one having this cancerous disease. About 3,670 new cases of breast cancer were found in the state of Kentucky as of 2019. As you get older though it seems that breast cancer is becoming more and more of a problem and something you should worry about. Right now at our age luckily we don’t really have to worry about this issue, but sadly some of our loved ones do. Sadly through breast cancer, a lot of mental and physical things change because of the medication to help them. Losing hair is no surprise when it comes to chemo but there are many other things that can be side effects along with the treatment itself. Side effects from treatment may include fatigue, headaches, dental issues, heart problems, blood clots, new cancers, and infertility. 

This issue isn’t one that should be taken lightly, it is an issue that affects thousands and thousands of people. If you have a loved one or maybe just someone you know who has breast cancer, please tell them how proud of them you are. Tell them about how strong they are, and how much you love them because this cancer can ruin your life. If you possibly can, maybe think about donating to the national breast cancer awareness foundation, you could be helping someone’s loved one who may not be as lucky as you are. Next time you see perhaps your grandparents or even your parents make sure you tell them you love them because the world works in the strangest ways, and sometimes it can turn completely upside down and terrifying.