Women need to feel their boobs.

They need to touch them, feel them and check them.

Why? Because women need to take responsibility and take the preventive actions necessary in order to prevent having breast cancer.

Breast cancer is a disease in which malignant, or cancer, cells form in the tissues of the breast.

It is considered a heterogeneous disease that differs by individual, age group and even the kinds of cells within the tumors themselves.

Most women do not realize the true harm of breast cancer.

They stand oblivious to the fact that breast cancer is second only to lung cancer as a cause of cancer death in women.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and the Cerritos College women’s volleyball team has taken the initiative to participate in the Side-Out’s Dig Pink National Breast Cancer Awareness Rally to raise funds and breast cancer awareness in the community.

It will be one of the thousands of teams from around the country that will be participating in Dig Pink to promote breast health education as well as raise funds to help eradicate breast cancer.

Although it is such a great move on their part, what good is that effort when 55 percent of women fail to take the time to test or check themselves for breast cancer?

So much effort is being put into finding a cure for breast cancer or at least a form of reducing its malignancy.

According to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, it is estimated that every year nearly 200,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer and more than 40,000 will die.

Contrary to popular belief, men are also victims of breast cancer.

Approximately 1,700 men will also be diagnosed with breast cancer and 450 will die each year.

So then why is it that people fail to recognize and acknowledge something that affects both men and women, and is the second highest death-causing disease?

Why is it that people refuse to perform a self-examination or even take the time out of their oh-so-busy day to set up an appointment that could potentially be the one visit that will save their life?

Check your breasts! Go to the doctor! Get a mammogram! Do your research! Get informed! Educate yourself! How hard is it to do that?

How hard is it to protect yourself and protect your body from a harmful disease? How hard is it to care about yourself?

There are millions of dollars being given by millions of people to the millions of scientists that are trying to find a cure for breast cancer.

If there are so many people out there that care about curing breast cancer, you should at least be considerate enough to check yourself and also contribute to preventing breast cancer.

People need to start taking the initiative to perform self-exams and receive mammograms.
A simple test when you get out of the shower or before you go to sleep could end up saving your life.