Los Alamos County Council Vice Chair Christine Chandler, center,  presents a proclamation Tuesday evening at the regular Council meeting declaring October “Breast Cancer Awareness Month” in Los Alamos to Los Alamos Council on Cancer board members, from right, Dianne Hammon, president , Nancy Partridge, Tom Kelley and Marlene Kelley. Photo by Maire O’Neill/losalamos reporter.com

COUNTY NEWS

Nancy Partridge and members of the Los Alamos Council on Cancer accepted a proclamation Tuesday from the Los Alamos County Council declaring the Month of October “Breast Cancer Awareness Month” in Los Alamos County.

The proclamation reads as follows:

WHEREAS:     According to the American Cancer Society, this year 268,670 people will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in the U.S.; more than 40,000 women and more than 400 men in the U.S. are expected to die from breast cancer; and

WHEREAS:     Besides skin cancer, breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among American women; it is second only to lung cancer as cause of cancer death; and

WHEREAS:     A woman living in the U.S. has a 1-in-8 lifetime risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer, and men have a 1 in 833 lifetime risk of getting breast cancer; and

WHEREAS:     Breast cancer typically produces no symptoms when the tumor is small and most easily treated; and although breast cancer generally has been referred to as a single disease, there are up to 21 distinct subtypes; and

WHEREAS:     The Los Alamos Council on Cancer provides education about breast cancer and supports cancer prevention and treatment; they partner with the American Cancer Society and the National Cosmetology Association to provide the “Look good and Feel Better” program for women with breast cancer; and

WHEREAS:     The Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program at the NM Department of Health provides eligible women with free breast and cervical cancer screening; and

WHEREAS:     Public education about breast cancer symptoms, early detection and treatment is the key to fighting breast cancer;

NOW, THEREFORE, on behalf of the Council of the Incorporated County of Los Alamos, I do hereby proclaim the Month of October as

“BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH”

in Los Alamos County, and encourage our community to become educated about the early warning signs and causes of this particular cancer and its effective treatment.

The proclamation is signed by Council Chair David Izraelevitz.