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Washington, Oct 8 - Iowa Congressman Tom Latham issued the following statement on Wednesday to remind Iowans that October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month:

“Breast cancer remains one of the most common forms of cancer among American women, threatening lives across the country.  It’s likely that many of us will be – or already have been – personally affected by this horrific disease. It threatens our mothers, our wives, our sisters, our daughters and our friends. But with early detection and prompt treatment, survival rates continue to rise.  I encourage everyone to join the fight against breast cancer by raising awareness and getting involved, and my heart goes out to anyone who has been touched by this disease.”  

The chances for successful treatment of breast cancer improve with early detection.  The American Cancer Society urges women to receive regular mammograms as a means of identifying breast abnormalities that may be cancerous.  The risk for women to develop breast cancer increases with age, and doctors have identified other risk factors that include obesity, heavy alcohol use and physical inactivity.  

Death rates related to breast cancer have declined in recent years, most likely due to earlier detection and improved treatment methods.  Right now, there are more than 2.5 million breast cancer survivors in the United States, according to the American Cancer Society.