It’s October, and we all know that October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Look around. See all the pink ribbons? The color pink is a reminder to learn the basics of breast cancer and then get screened. And men, don’t think this doesn’t apply to you. Though it’s much more common in women, breast cancer affects men, too.

Consider these facts. About one in eight American women will develop breast cancer over the course of her lifetime. Breast cancer is the second most common cancer in women after skin cancer and the second leading cause of cancer death in women. Only lung cancer kills more women each year.

The American Cancer Society estimates that 281,550 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in American women in 2021. In addition, 49,290 new cases of non-invasive breast cancer (ductal carcinoma in situ) will be diagnosed. Sadly, about 43,600 women are expected to die from breast cancer this year.

Further, the American Cancer Society estimates that about 2,650 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in American men in 2021, and about 530 men will die as a result. A man’s lifetime risk for developing breast cancer is about one in 833.

Breast cancer occurs when cells in the breast start growing uncontrollably. Most of the time, but not always, these extra cells collect and form tumors. These are the lumps that can often be detected in the breast on your self-exams or mammograms.

A new lump in your breast or armpit is one symptom of breast cancer, but there are others as well. You might notice thickening or swelling of an area of your breast, or irritation or dimpling of your breast skin. Look for red or flaky skin near the nipple, as well as secretions from the nipple other than breast milk. Changes in the size and shape of your breast, and pain in any area of the breast are other breast cancer symptoms.

If you have any of these symptoms, visit your doctor for a proper diagnosis.

Breast cancer is the result of a mutation, or abnormal change, in the genes that regulate the growth and reproduction of breast cells. About 5 percent to 10 percent of breast cancers are inherited, or caused by mutations passed on from your parents. The rest are caused by abnormal changes that occur as the result of aging and life in general.

That makes getting older a risk factor for breast cancer, one you can’t do anything about. Other risk factors for breast cancer you cannot control include getting your period before age 12 and menopause after 55, having dense breasts, having a personal or family history of breast cancer and having been treated with radiation therapy.

There are also risk factors for breast cancer you can control, things like being physically inactive, being overweight, drinking a lot of alcohol and taking hormones. In addition, having your first baby after age 30, not breastfeeding and never having a full-term pregnancy can also increase your risk for breast cancer.

You can’t change your age or your genes, but there are steps you can take to reduce your risk for breast cancer. A few of these suggestions are no-brainers. We already know that we should maintain a healthy weight, exercise regularly and limit our alcohol consumption to one drink a day.

These suggestions you may not have heard. For one, think hard and have a heart-to-heart discussion with your doctor about the risks of taking the Pill or hormone replacement therapy (HRT). They may not be right for you. If you have a baby, consider breastfeeding, if you’re able. If you have a family history or a genetic mutation, talk to your doctor about ways you can lessen your breast cancer risk.

With breast cancer, as with most cancers, early detection is critical to treatment success. It’s best to find it before the cancer cells have had a chance to invade the nearby lymph nodes and spread to other areas of the body. Maintaining a routine screening schedule can assist with early detection.

The first part of the screening process is regular breast self-exams. You know the look and feel of your breasts, so you’re likely to notice changes such as lumps, pain, or differences in size or shape. You should also get routine clinical breast exams by a doctor or nurse, who use their hands to feel for lumps in your breasts.

The next step is to get a mammogram. The American Cancer Society’s Breast Cancer Screening Guidelines recommend that women begin yearly mammograms by age 45. They can switch to having mammograms every other year at age 55. If lumps are detected, your doctor may perform a biopsy to determine if their cells are cancerous.

If cancer is detected, there are many approaches to treating it. Doctors often use more than one approach on each patient.

Chemotherapy is a common approach. It uses drugs to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Surgery, called mastectomy, is often used to remove the breasts and the tumors. Radiation therapy uses high-energy rays directed at the spot of the cancer to kill cancer cells. Unfortunately, chemotherapy and radiation therapy have uncomfortable side effects.

Doctors use additional treatment approaches including hormonal therapy, which doesn’t allow the cancer cells to get the hormones they need to survive. Another approach is biological therapy, which works with the immune system, your body’s natural defense against disease. Biological therapy helps the immune system fight the cancer. It also helps control the side effects of other cancer treatments.

Breast cancer is the subject of much research, and if you’re interested, you can participate in a clinical trial to test the safety and effectiveness of new drugs and treatments. To find a clinical trial near you, ask your doctor or go to clinicaltrials.gov.

Now, you know the basics of breast cancer. Put on something pink and share what you’ve learned!

When should you get a mammogram? If you’re a woman past 40, that question isn’t as easy as it used to be. Health organizations are no longer in agreement about when, or how often, women should be screened for breast cancer through mammography.

Since the 1980s, women have been encouraged to get routine annual mammograms, certainly by age 50 and possibly even younger. Groups like the American Cancer Society said yearly mammograms should start at 40. The thinking was that breast cancer caught early is the most curable.

Now some groups have changed those recommendations, but not uniformly.

Let’s start with the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. In January, the federal advisory panel of health experts issued guidelines that not only altered recommended ages for mammography but also how often women need mammograms.

The advisory group now recommends routine mammograms for women between the ages of 50 and 74. Not every year, mind you, but every other year. This is for women at average risk. For instance, they don’t have a sibling, mother or child with breast cancer, or the breast cancer gene mutation known as BRCA1 or BRCA2.

The more conservative guidelines are meant to provide a balance between screening for breast cancer to save lives through early detection and lessening the risk of false positive findings and overtreatment.

The task force panel’s recommendations basically say women between 40 and 49 need to make their own decisions while weighing the possibility of good versus harm. In other words, what is the likelihood that the harm from mammograms such as false positives outweighs the likelihood of catching an aggressive cancer?

Sometimes, what looks like it might be cancer on a mammogram really isn’t. But to find out, women must go through the anxiety of being called back for another look and possibly undergo biopsies that weren’t really needed.

Or the mammogram might detect a very small, localized lesion called Stage 0. It may or may not progress. Unfortunately, there aren’t any tests to say for sure, but some studies are questioning whether treatment is really necessary in lieu of careful monitoring.

According to the task force, the scientific evidence isn’t strong enough to indicate whether women older than 75 significantly benefit from mammograms compared to the potential harm of false positives and overtreatment.

This age group isn’t included in studies about screening mammograms. Information on the task force website, however, says there may be some indicators that the older a woman becomes, the less she may benefit.

Meanwhile, other health groups aren’t in agreement with the Preventive Services Task Force panel and want women to know it.

The American Cancer Society now has new guidelines and recommends annual mammograms start at age 45. After age 55, women can adopt every-other-year screening, according to the ACS.

On the other hand, the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology recommends that routine mammograms begin at 40. So does the Society of Breast Imaging, which has started a web campaign called End the Confusion. The campaign is aimed toward advising women why getting fewer screening mammograms isn’t wise.

So now we’re in the gray zone of “shared decision making.” In consultation with their doctors, women will have to figure out what is best for them as individuals.

When even experts can’t agree, this might seem difficult.

One factor women should consider is family history, although there’s a wrinkle here, too. Women who have sisters, mothers or daughters with breast cancer do have higher risk and it’s likely their doctors would recommend more frequent screening. However, not having a family history is no guarantee. More than 85 percent of new cases are diagnosed in women without a family history of the disease.

In the end, a woman will have to determine how comfortable she is with uncertainty. Would she rather lessen her chances of having an unnecessary biopsy or being faced with the decision of treating a very early cancer that might never be harmful? Or is she the type who never wants to risk the possibility of breast cancer going undetected because she had less frequent mammograms?

Taking care of her self is something every woman needs to do. How often that includes routine mammograms is a personal decision she will have to make.