One in every eight women will develop breast cancer in her lifetime. Just gather in a room of your friends, look at their faces, and suddenly that statistic doesn't seem so remote. It is hard to feel 'it won't happen to me' when you consider it this way. It could be you, your mother, your sister, your niece, your best friend. Breast cancer affects us all.

This month, WomanLinks.com is getting serious about providing information you need to understand the disease, know your odds, improve your odds, and make decisions about your treatment.

First the facts. What are the symptoms of breast cancer? How can you prevent it? What treatments are available? You'll want to take a look at the disease overview, Breast Cancer. If you would prefer to see statistics and breast cancer facts, though, take a look at the Breast Cancer Facts Quick Tip Sheet.

What about prevention? What can you do to level the odds in your favor? The most simple form of prevention is in your hands. Perform regular monthly self-exams. Not sure how to do it? Be sure to read and print out the How to Do a Self-Exam Quick Tip Sheet. Your diet may also contribute to or lower your odds of developing breast cancer. For a rundown on what you should be eating, and some recipes to get you started, take a look at Breast Healthy Eating. Then there are always mammograms. Unfortunately, a mammogram may or may not be as effective as we'd all like to believe. Read the latest in Fiddling While Rome Burns: The Latest Mammogram Controversy. Confused on whether a mammogram can help you? You'll want to see Confronting the Mammogram Dilemma.

Finally, what do you do when you or someone you know develops breast cancer? If you are the patient, you'll want all the treatment information you can get. Start with The Lowdown on Tamoxifen to find out if you are a candidate for this form of therapy. If someone you know has breast cancer, you'll want to see What To Do When Someone You Know Has Been Diagnosed With Breast Cancer for some ideas on how you can really help. There are a ton of online resources available too, covering everything from the latest treatments, education and patient advocacy. WomanLinks.com has compiled a list of Breast Cancer Resources to get you started.

So, beyond monitoring your own health, how else can you help? There are many companies and programs that have joined the fight to wipe out breast cancer in our lifetime. By supporting these programs, your consumer dollars bring us one step closer to a cure. For a rundown of programs you can support, see Fighting Breast Cancer. We've also made it easy for you to spread the word to friends, co-workers and family members by creating a gallery of free Breast Cancer Awareness E-Cards.

Be well.

blessings,

Catie

Copyright 2000 WomanLinks.com

About the Author : Catie Hayes is founder/editor of WomanLinks.com; a community of support, spirituality, growth and empowerment for women. She is a freelance writer, the single mom of two, and an avid fan of laughter, spontaneous dancing, cats and chocolate (not necessarily in that order).