October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and it is crucial for women to screen for and be aware of breast issues, no matter their age. Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers among women in the United States, affecting hundreds of thousands of women annually. Dr.
Mandalyn Mills, a general and breast surgeon at Mosaic Life Care, explained that women should start getting annual mammograms at age 40, with the exception of people who have family history. "In general, if you have a first-degree relative, such as a mother that had breast cancer, you wanna try to start your screening even 10, five to 10 years before they were diagnosed with their breast cancer," Mills said. However, breast cancer can happen to anyone.
Angela Smith was 34 when she found out that she had breast cancer in March of 2020. "It should've not happened to me," Smith said. "I had no family history, I tested for every genetic test they could give me and I tested negative for everything.
I was 34 years old, I was healthy, I was working out every day, I was meal-prepping. I was doing everything that I was supposed to do that was right, and I still had cancer." Smith went through chemotherapy, radiation and surgery, and has been officially cancer-free since December of 2020.
But she said that even though her treatment is over, life is still challenging for her as well as other survivors. "Just be kind because people, you don't know what they're struggling with," Smith said. "You know, my cancer's gone, m.