How you can help yourself and others battle breast cancer

(ARA) - For some things in life, that old adage "the sooner the better" not only applies, it can be life altering. Diagnosing breast cancer is one of those things; 98 percent of all women diagnosed in the earliest stages of breast cancer will survive the disease.

Breast cancer is the second most common type of cancer among American women. One in eight women will be diagnosed with it in her lifetime. That statistic implies that more people than not will be touched by breast cancer's impact - chances are you know someone who had the disease.

"The prevalence of breast cancer makes it very likely most people at least personally know of someone who has had the disease," says Janelle Hail, a breast cancer survivor and cofounder and CEO of the National Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc. (NCBF). "What people may not be as aware of is the fact that early detection of breast cancer, in its first stage, can ensure a five-year survival rate of 98 percent. Stage two breast cancer also has a very high five-year survival rate of 88 percent."

No one is certain if breast cancer can be prevented, but women can take steps to reduce their risk of developing the disease, and improve their chances of surviving it. Preventative steps include getting regular exercise, maintaining a healthy diet and weight, reducing alcohol intake and quitting smoking.

Women of every age should do a monthly breast self-exam. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Medical Association both recommend women begin getting yearly mammograms starting at age 40. Discovering a lump through a self-exam or mammogram does not necessarily mean a woman has cancer; eight out of 10 lumps are benign, or noncancerous. But the only way to know for sure is to consult a doctor.

"To help women meet the challenge of detecting breast cancer early, NBCF has created the Early Detection Plan," says Hail. "The Early Detection Plan reminds women to schedule their mammograms, clinical breast exams, and self breast-exams. It takes just 60 seconds to create, but it's helping save the lives of thousands of women across the country."

At www.mypinkplan.com, women can find an interactive online tool to create a customized Early Detection Plan using e-mails, text messages, RSS feeds and/or calendars for clinical and self-exam reminders. The website is the result of a partnership between the NBCF and Procter %26 Gamble's (P%26G) GIVE HOPE program, which is designed to educate women about breast cancer in the hope of saving lives.

P%26G brands from Swiffer and Tide to Downy, Olay and others, will also make a donation to the NBCF when shoppers redeem special coupons that will be available in Sept. 26 and Oct. 10 GIVE HOPE brandSAVER coupon booklets available in 55 million newspapers around the country. Visit www.mypinkplan.com to learn more. You can find a list of newspapers that contain brandSAVER coupons by logging on to www.pgeverydaysolutions.com and clicking on the brandSAVER link at the top of the page.

Funds from the donation will help the NBCF finance education programs across the country. It's an effort that can help save lives, says Carrie Ann Inaba, a judge on "Dancing with the Stars." Inaba's dedication to the cause stems from personal experience.

"I've seen the importance of early detection firsthand when my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer three years ago," Inaba says. "She was lucky to have caught it early and her cancer is in remission. I hope other women will hear my story and learn more about early detection and its importance."