This year alone, about 182,000 American women will be told they have breast cancer. Nearly 46,000 of them will die.

To help draw attention to the need for preventative measures, October has been designated Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

The disease is the No. 1 cancer diagnosed in women and the No. 2 cancer killer of women, said Lynn Lanning, manager of the McFarland Clinic’s Oncology Department.

Lanning said Breast Cancer Awareness Month is important because “it is a disease that touches all of us in some way, whether it’s our self, a mother, sister or grandmother.”

Women need to establish awareness and start preventative measures early, Lanning said.

Rebecca Fritzsche, a staff physician at Iowa State’s Student Health Center, said breast self-examinations are important because they “help women get familiar with their breasts so they know what is normal.”

The earlier women get into the habit of self-examines and mammograms, the earlier breast cancer can be caught and more women will survive, Lanning said.

Although breast cancer is most common with older women, it is much more aggressive and dangerous in younger women, Fritzsche said.

Lanning said she has seen women in their 20s with breast cancer.

Fritzsche has not treated an ISU student for breast cancer, but she has seen many women come in to be evaluated for breast lumps. She said it is common to have lumps, and it is important to have persistent, painless masses aspirated or biopsied to be sure they are not cancerous.

“The fear factor often keeps women away from health professionals,” Lanning said. “But only 25 percent of all breast lumps that are found and biopsied are malignant.”

The guidelines for early detection of breast cancer by the American Cancer Society include monthly breast self-examines after the age of 20, a breast examine by a health care professional every three years between the ages of 20 and 40 and every year after 40, a baseline mammogram by the age of 35 and a mammogram every 1 to 2 years between the ages of 40 to 50 and every year after 50.

Women who have had a sister, mother or maternal aunt with breast cancer are two to three times more likely to get breast cancer themselves. Obesity and high dietary fat intake also are risk factors. Risk increases as women grow older.

But, Lanning said, 75 percent of women who are diagnosed with breast cancer have no risk factors.

Because over exposure to estrogen has been linked to breast cancer, Fritzsche said, birth control pills could create a greater risk to women. She suggested women evaluate their use of birth control pills on a regular basis.

A healthy lifestyle is the best prevention for breast cancer, Lanning added.

Lanning said McFarland Clinic is involved in a study with the National Cancer Institute that is testing the use of Tamoxifen to prevent breast cancer.

The study calls for 16,000 women to try either Tamoxifen or a placebo pill. About 4,000 more participants are needed.

Lanning said women who would like to be involved in the study can call Amy Wood at McFarland Clinic at 239-4744.