RIBBONS SERVE AS REMINDER OF BREAST CANCER

The tiny pink ribbons being handed out at stores and events this month are to remind women of something very important.

The ribbons are a reminder that early detection is the best way to keep from dying of breast cancer, said Jana Kassell, a committee member for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

October is designated as Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

"I think it really does save lives to hand out pink ribbons," Kassell said. "You might give it to someone who has a lump on her breast who doesn't know what to do. The ribbon might give her the push to have it looked at."

Or the pink ribbon might remind a woman to make or keep an appointment for a mammogram, practice monthly breast self-exams or go to a doctor for a clinical breast exam, all important ways to detect breast cancer in its early stages.

Seeing things like people wearing pink ribbons, getting a brochure in your pay envelope, seeing a display at a store or a reminder on a table in a restaurant, all things the Breast Cancer Awareness Committee is pushing, keeps breast cancer at the front of women's minds.

That's important because all women, no matter what their age or family history, are at risk for breast cancer, Kassell said.

It's not just women over 60 who get breast cancer, but also those in their 50s and 40s, according to the American Cancer Society. Even women younger than 40 can have breast cancer, Kassell said.

Also, according to the cancer society, the majority of women diagnosed with breast cancer have no close relatives with this disease.

This year an estimated 3,600 Missouri women will be diagnosed with breast cancer, according to the Missouri Department of Health.

When found in its early stages, breast cancer is more easily treated and involves less suffering, said Sherri Homan, deputy director of the Missouri Department of Health's Division of Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.

For women age 50 and older, routine screening, including mammography, can reduce the breast cancer death rate by 30 percent, Homan said.

Among women whose cancer has not spread beyond the breast at the time of diagnosis, their five-year survival rate is 97 percent, according to the American Cancer Society.

While the incidence of breast cancer has been growing at about 2 percent per year in the United States, the death rate from the disease has gone down slightly, said Barbara Crowell, director of Womancare at St. Francis Medical Center and a member of the Breast Cancer Awareness Committee.

She said most of this decrease because of early detection.

Crowell said an increasing number of women are following the guidelines set by the American Cancer Society.

Those are:

-- Start monthly breast self-exams by age 20.

-- Have clinical breast exams done by a doctor or nurse trained in breast exams. These should be done every three years for ages 20 to 39 and yearly for women over age 40.

-- Have a baseline mammogram performed between ages 35 and 40.

-- Women over 40 should have an annual mammogram.

The target groups of this year's awareness campaign are minority women, who tend to have the worst survival rates, and the under served, women who don't have insurance or the resources to afford a mammogram, Kassell said.

To serve low-income women, the Missouri Department of Health's Breast and Cervical Cancer Control Project offers no-cost screening services, including mammograms, to eligible women. To qualify, women must live in Missouri, meet age requirements and income guidelines.

"The program is geared to women ages 40 to 64," said Nancy Dickerson, outreach worker for the project's Cape Girardeau office. It's thought those over 64 will be covered by Medicare, she said. Those younger than 40 can receive help if a doctor finds an problem.

BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH ACTIVITIES

Volunteers will be handing out pink ribbons and brochures on breast cancer awareness at the Jackson Wal-mart from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. today; at the Southeast Missouri University homecoming parade on Saturday; at Country Mart in Jackson and Save-A-Lot in Cape Girardeau from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday; at the Cape Girardeau Wal-mart from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday; at Food Giant from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 16; and at Save-A-Lot in Jackson from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 23.

Clip for the Cure will be held at the Regis Hairstylists at West Park Mall on Oct. 16. Hair cuts will be $10, with all proceeds donated to the Regis Foundation for Breast Cancer Research, which funds research at the Mayo Clinic. Outside the hair salon, volunteers will hand out pink ribbons and the "Wall of Survivors" will be on display.