Breast Cancer Awareness Month: Five Reasons to Have a Mammogram

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and, in an effort to encourage women to utilize this important screening tool, Judges and Lawyers Breast Cancer Alert (JALBCA) is sponsoring free mammograms in New York City. If you are a woman aged 40 or older, have never had a mammogram, or have not done so in the past year, here are some reasons why you should visit their SCAN VAN.

1. One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime.

2. A mammogram can detect early signs of breast cancer and can show changes within the breast before the patient or doctor can feel them. Mammograms are the most powerful and accurate method currently available for detecting breast cancer.

3. Early detection saves lives. According to studies, breast cancer in younger women – between the ages of 40 and 50 – tends to be more aggressive than in older women; therefore early detection is particularly crucial for this age group.

4. Mammograms lower the risk of dying from breast cancer by 35% in women aged 50 and over. While women in this age range tend to have slower-growing breast cancers, they make up eighty-five percent of new diagnoses.

5. Approximately 75 percent of patients who are diagnosed with breast cancer have no discernible risk factors, making mammograms a vital factor in early detection. Since 1990, mammograms have reduced breast cancer mortality in the United States by nearly one-third.

JALBCA’s SCAN VAN will be at the following locations in Queens on Monday October 26th:

Queens Family Court, 151-20 Jamaica Avenue, from 8:00a.m. to 12:00p.m.

Long Island City Court House, 2510 Court Square, starting at 1:30p.m

Appointments are necessary.  To make an appointment, call 1-800-564-6868.

By: Vivienne Duncan, Director, Cancer Advocacy Project, City Bar Justice Center.

CAP is supported by funding from JALBCA.