BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Breast Cancer Awareness Month carries a powerful message: early detection can save lives.
Observing Breast Cancer Awareness Month is as simple as knowing your body and recognizing changes.
Jacqui Engstrom, a nurse supervisor and navigator at Adventist Health, says that monthly self-examinations are important “so that you get to know your own breasts.”
She said that some lumps “come and go,” but when an unfamiliar lump stays, it is important to get it checked.
“Early detection means that this disease is very curable,” Breast Cancer survivor Carol Rice told 23ABC.
A Breast Cancer diagnosis can be frightening, but Kern County has valued resources for patients.
Local nonprofit Links for Life provides wigs, grocery assistance, and support groups to patients and survivors.
On Friday, they're hosting their Hot Pink Celebration — bringing together patients, survivors, families and healthcare professionals together — on Friday at Luigi’s. The doors open at 6 p.m.
When asked about the importance of celebrating Breast Cancer Awareness month,
Executive director of Links for Life Jennifer Henry told 23ABC, "1 in 8 will be diagnosed with breast cancer. Just this year, in Kern County, approximately 450 women will be diagnosed with Breast Cancer."
Engstrom added that “only have 65% of ladies in Kern County getting their screening. We're missing 35% of ladies."
Doctors recommend women over 40 should get a yearly mammogram screening.
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