BREAST CANCER PREVENTION AND EDUCATION PROJECT

Sonia Sales, MS, MPH, RD, CDE

Breast Cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death. In fact, one out of eight women in the US develops breast cancer at some time in her life. Even men can be affected. Records show that 180,000 women and 1,400 men in the US develops breast cancer every year. In 1995, there were 400 noted cases of breast cancer in Waianae. More Hawaiians die of breast cancer largely because the cancer is detected late, usually when it has already spread.

While the real cause of breast cancer is not known, some people are more likely to get it. Your chances of developing breast cancer are higher if you are a woman, Hawaiian or Asian Pacific Islander, overweight, if you have a close relative with breast cancer, if you eat a high fat diet and do not engage in some physical activities.

YOU CAN protect yourself by doing three things: 1). CHECK your breast for possible lumps or changes in size, shape and color once a month; 2). EAT foods like whole grains, dark-colored fruits and vegetables, dried beans, herbs and spices; and 3). DO activities that keep you moving like walking your dog, playing with your kids, gardening, or taking the farthest parking lot when you go shopping.

The Preventive Health Department of the Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center shared breast cancer information with 105 women enrolled in the Women, Infants, Children (WIC) last year. Many of these women recognized the factors that increase chances of developing breast cancer. As a result, four out of five began doing breast self-examinations, and three out of five (60%) began including cancer protective foods in their meals more often. Thanks to the financial support of the Susan Komen Foundation, Inc., we are continuing to echo these messages to more women. In fact, we are now reaching out to high school students at both Waianae and Nanakuli High Schools through a program called Teaching Adolescents Self-Care. Information on risk factors for breast cancer, how to do a breast self-examination and breast cancer prevention are being shared using videos, taste-testing of health recipes and a demonstration using a breast model.

For more information, please call 696-1560 or 696-1506.