Did the government just want to create a lot more red tape when it set aside one month a year as Breast Cancer Awareness Month? Or did the men and women who were chosen by the American public have good reason to designate one month a year as Breast Cancer Awareness Month?  The answer to those two questions lies in the actions of the local communities.

Many local communities have invited nonprofits affiliated with the cause of breast cancer to host special outreach programs during this designated month. The communities fequently donate the space for such programs.  These programs typically target the elderly and the disadvantaged. The women in those segments of the population need improved access to information about breast cancer. Such women benefit greatly from the efforts extended during Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Much of the information distributed during Breast Cancer Awareness Month focuses on methods for breast cancer detection. The women targeted by the outreach programs receive a strong message regarding the importance of a yearly mammogram. They also get a reminder about the value of doing a monthly self breast exam. But the outreach efforts do not stop with literature and discussion on the issue of breast cancer detection.

The outreach efforts that have taken place during Breast Cancer Awareness Month have made a habit of alerting the female public to the newest developments from the labs and hospitals in various research centers. For example, many American women have learned about the data that shows a lumpectomy can be as effective a breast cancer treatment as a mastectomy. Consequently, many victims of breast cancer now request that breast-conserving procedure.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month has also helped to spread the word that a mastectomy or a lumpectomy needs to be followed by use of the drug tamoxifen. Women have learned that use of tamoxifen will prevent female sex hormones from stimulating tumor growth. The action of tamoxifen thus lowers the chances for a recurrence of the breast cancer.

In the future the women who benefit from the outreach efforts during Breast Cancer Awareness Month may be hearing about XPNG. This is a new cancer vaccine for breast cancer awareness, that is ready for use in clinical trials. The XPNG has the ability to interfere with the transmission of selected genetic material. It somehow blocks the RNA that could otherwise start the uncontrolled growth of cancer cells.

In the future every woman young and old will appreciate even more the need for information about breast cancer, as well as information about other female-related diseases. Even now the interest in Breast Cancer Awareness Month extends into the chambers where local city leaders meet regularly. 

These leaders understand the reason for recognizing the importance of such a month. They know that because of this special month, at least one half of the voters they represent benefit from insurance of a longer life.