Healthcare Career Blog, Physician Blogs

Physicians Key Players During Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Author Healthcare Career Blogger | 08.10.2009 | Category Family Medicine, Healthcare Career Blog, Medical doctor jobs

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness month and a time when attention to the disease is at a year-long peak. While breast cancer remains the most common cancer among women in the US, the death rate from the disease continues to drop, according to a new American Cancer Society report. However, there still remains much work to be done in prevention, screening and treatment, in particular among lower income groups that may not have as much access to early detection procedures.

This month, as always, it is a key part of any medical doctor’s job to emphasize the benefits of healthy lifestyle changes and potentially life-saving procedures such as regular self-exams and mammograms. There are many misconceptions in the general population about causes of cancer, treatment options and survival rates. Patients (and friends and family, too) should be encouraged to consult knowledgeable experts like their family physician, or even reliable online sources such as the American Cancer Society (www.cancer.org) or the Susan G Komen Foundation (ww5.komen.org) websites.

Often patients and their families grow anxious because they feel there is not enough they can do in the face of a frightening and somewhat unpredictable disease. Volunteering is a great way to regain some personal control, and October is the month to do it.

Physicians — along with all healthcare workers — will get a special boost out of participating in local breast cancer awareness events like walks and fundraisers. Being involved demonstrates your concern for the community and most medical doctors — just like the rest of the world — have family members who have been affected by breast cancer.

Want to participate in a neighborhood event? Check out the American Cancer Society’s local event finder tool: http://www.cancer.org/docroot/PAR/PAR_9_Calendar_Of_Events.asp

And if you’re looking for a more extended volunteering opportunity, the ACS needs volunteers in advocacy, patient service, online support communities: http://www.cancer.org/docroot/emp/emp_2_volunteers.asp