Breast Cancer Awareness Month matters because it turns attention into action—prompting earlier detection, addressing disparities, and aligning clinicians, community partners, and families around evidence-based steps that save lives. It also helps spread updated guidance, like the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendation for mammograms every two years starting at age 40.
The stakes are high. In 2025, the American Cancer Society estimates 316,950 new invasive breast cancer cases in women and about 2,800 in men, with 42,680 deaths. Black women experience about 38–40% higher breast cancer mortality than White women despite similar incidence, and breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death for non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic women—underscoring persistent inequities.
It’s a myth that breast cancer only affects older women. In fact, approximately 9% of all new breast cancers in the US are diagnosed in women who are younger than age 45, and the incidence is rising in this age group. Therefore, it’s important to have breast self-awareness, so you can tell your physician if there is a new change like nipple inversion or discharge, skin dimpling, or a lump. According to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network Guidelines (NCCN), every woman should evaluate her risk of breast cancer by age 25. Check out this tool for evaluating risk. If this 
assessment indicates an increased risk of breast cancer, your physician may recommend more frequent clinical encounters and/or starting screening mammograms or screening breast MRI before age 40.
How to spread awareness this October: share the age-40 screening message widely and help loved ones book appointments; use ready-made public-health toolkits for accurate posts, newsletters, and talking points; and host or join events that include insurance/transportation navigation and referrals to genetic counseling or high-risk clinics when appropriate.