October is one of my favorite months. The weather cools down, the trees change colors, and those of us on an academic calendar look forward to upcoming holidays. But, most importantly to me, is the “Race for the Cure” that happens each October in Little Rock. For, by God’s good graces, I am a breast cancer survivor! There are many of us right here on this campus who have experienced this difficult disease and come through it “voluptuous” in spirit!

I know you’re thinking, “but, I’m young – that’s a disease that happens to older women.” Don’t kid yourself. Ignorance is not bliss when it comes to your body and your health. Pay attention to your body and learn as much as possible. Don’t lull yourself into a false security by thinking that you’re not at risk. There was absolutely no breast cancer in my family. I was active and healthy, and never even got a cold! Yet, there it was… staring me in the face. I had breast cancer. One out of every ten women was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1990. Today it’s one out of every eight!

Being an educator, I started researching and I wanted to know as much as I could find out about breast cancer. I discovered that seventy-five percent of cancers are environmental! That was alarming, as we can’t always change the environment in which we live, yet we can make some healthylife-style changes early on which can lead to preventative measures. The time to make those changes is now, while you’re young and healthy. The habits you acquire now will stay with you the rest of your life. You can be proactive with your health now, or just reactive as you get older.

Doctors cannot always explain why one person gets cancer and another does not. Anything that increases a person’s chance of developing a disease is called a risk factor. Simply being female is the main risk factor for breast cancer! Anything that decreases a person’s chance of developing a disease is called a protective factor. Some of the risk factors for cancer can be avoided, but some cannot. For example, you cannot choose which genes you inherited from your parents, but you can avoid some of the risk factors and increase the protective factors that can be controlled so that the chance for developing breast cancer decreases. Some of the preventative measures that you can take are:

• If there is a history of breast cancer in your family (your mother, grandmother, aunts, etc.) , it would be a good idea for you to get a mammogram before you’re thirty years old. This will establish a baseline.

• Never start smoking! Smoking is a risk factor for certain kinds of cancer. (Breast cancer is second only to lung cancer as the leading cause of cancer death among women in the United States.) Your body is your temple.

• Do regular breast exams yourself. (Make this a monthly habit.)

• Studies show that in populations that consume a high-fat diet, women are more likely to die of breast cancer than women in populations that consume a low-fat diet. (Eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and soy.)

• Exercise, especially in young women, may decrease hormone levels and contribute to a decreased breast cancer risk. (Get in a habit now of aerobic exercise at least three times per week. This is a great stress-buster too!)

• Strive to maintain balance in your life. Women are the care-takers of the world, but in order to serve others effectively for a life-time, you must first learn to take care of yourself. (Try a yoga class. Pray and meditate daily. Schedule time in your day just for you!) You are the daughter of God! Nurture your body, spirit, and mind.