Walk into any crowded room these days and chances are you’ll be standing next to someone who has either been diagnosed with breast cancer or knows someone who has. With over 2.3 million women diagnosed last year, next to skin cancer, it’s the second most common killer of women. According to 2007 statistics, there were 178,480 new cases of breast cancer in women and 2,030 cases in men. But, there is good news. It starts with a little education from the October National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Breast cancer is a disease that is caused by the uncontrolled division of cells in breast tissue and results in “Benign” or “Malignant” tumors. Benign tumors are the most common (representing over 80% of breast cancers) and the easiest to treat. Malignant tumors are far more dangerous, can damage other tissues and spread rapidly throughout the body. Allowed to progress without treatment, malignant tumors can advance to “Metastatic” cancer and reach the bones, lungs, liver or brain.

The most common risk factors for contracting breast cancer are:

• Gender