Being able to educate people of all ages and ethnicities about breast health is very rewarding. This week, I went from presenting to ten 40-50 year old Caucasian and African American women at YWCA of NYC, to one hundred Asian high school students at Lower East Side Prep High School.
People of all ages and ethnicities need to be educated about breast cancer because it unfortunately, affects everyone. Our focus remains on early detection. The earlier you find any type of cancer, the better. Despite all the controversy out now about what age you should get mammography, we at the Maurer Foundation still emphasize getting annual mammograms done starting at 40 years old, in addition to annual clinical breast exams, and doing monthly breast self exams. There has also been much debate about the benefits of breast self exams, however, so many women are finding cancer lumps through doing this exam, that it is still something we recommend.
