The month of October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. I’d really love to paint my whole blog pink in honor but our Wordpress template has been rather fragile of late, so I’m not going to tempt the fates.

However, I did want to share these facts: Breast cancer is the most common and second-most fatal cancer among women, effecting one in nine females who reach age 90. 211,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer every year, and there are an average of 43,000 fatalities attributed to breast cancer annually. Despite these crazy stats, the 5 year survival rate of women who have detected breast cancer early enough can surpass 95%! Get checked early and keep it up on an annual basis.

Also, I want to remind people of the number one killer of women and, to me, it’s something that doesn’t get talked about enough. Heart disease claimed my mother’s life and her loss has had such an impact on me that I need to share. My mother’s birthday would have been this week (she would have been 70) and I miss her so much. Make sure you’re doing what you can for your heart and ask lots of questions of your doctor whenever you get a chance. Here are some facts:

• Heart disease is the # 1 killer of American women.
• 1 in every 3 women dies of heart disease, 1 in 30 dies from breast cancer.
• Nearly two-thirds of American women who die suddenly of a heart attack had no prior symptoms.
• Americans can lower their risk of heart disease by as much as 82% just by leading a healthy lifestyle.