At the direction of the Long Beach City Council, the city attorney will draft a resolution recognizing October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
“While most people are aware of breast cancer, many forget there are practical steps that we can take to detect the disease in its early stages,” Councilmember Cindy Allen, a breast cancer survivor, said.
The item, which was unanimously supported by the council on Tuesday night, is intended to increase awareness and encourage healthy lifestyle choices that could reduce the risk of cancer.
“My sister is also a breast cancer survivor,” Councilmember Mary Zendejas said. “I think it is important that we all understand the importance because everybody has moms and daughters and sisters.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), breast cancer is the second most common cancer among women in the United States.
About one in eight U.S. women will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime and one in 39 will die from breast cancer, according to the American Cancer Society.
Black women die from breast cancer at a higher rate than white women, according to the CDC.
In a report from 2019-2020, the American Cancer Society listed the death rate for non-Hispanic Black women at 28.4 deaths per 100,000 which was double that of Asian/Pacific Islander women.
Councilmember Suely Saro noted that Breast Cancer Awareness Month, nationally observed in October, reminds people to schedule their mammograms.
“If you’re not scheduled to get tested, it’s a good time to make sure you do and that it’s on a regular basis,” Saro said.
Allen also emphasized the importance of mammograms.
It was at the insistence of her friend that Allen got a mammogram in her 40s that eventually led to a breast cancer diagnosis.
“When I look back and I think of those conversations I thought ‘I’m young,’ and it was just a distant thought, cancer, but she was persistent,” Allen said.
Allen went on to have a double radical mastectomy.
She noted that early onset of cancer, which is in women under the age of 45, is one in 10.
“Breast cancer is very common, but it is also preventable,” Allen said. “So today I’m asking the city to recognize October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month and help our residents be more informed and better prepared to prevent, manage and survive breast cancer.”
