Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Tender Touch Begins

With October designated as Breast Cancer Awareness Month, breast cancer will receive high visibility in the media. Nevertheless, those most at risk, women over age 50, will likely ignore the admonitions to learn breast self-examination techniques and get annual mammograms.

Many older women still cling to the belief that aging lowers their susceptibility to the disease, when in fact, it increases. According to statistics from the National Cancer Institute, more than 75% of breast cancer cases diagnosed each year occur in women over 50. And a woman of 70 is twice as likely to develop breast cancer in the next year as a woman of 50.

Early detection is constantly emphasized as being the key to fighting this deadly disease. Consequently, we urge all women to learn correct breast self-examination (BSE) techniques, and do it regularly each month. Have a clinical breast exam by your doctor each year and get a mammogram every year.

Project Tender Touch, made possible through a grant from the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, offers breast cancer education to older women in church and community groups throughout the year. This project takes participants one step further by including a segment on nutrition, since this has been deemed a major component in disease prevention.

To schedule a program with Project Tender Touch, contact me at the Area Agency on Aging, 234-7410 or toll free, 1-800-272-2127.