The Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) recognizes October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a time set aside each year to remind women of the risk of breast cancer and the preventive steps they can take.
Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women, and the second leading killer of women in the United States. In 2010, 432 Mississippi women died of breast cancer, an increase from 419 deaths in 2009.
While breast cancer can strike anyone, some people are more likely to be diagnosed with the disease than others. Women who have a family history of the disease, older women, women who drink, who have had a previous breast cancer diagnosis, overweight women and women who live sedentary lifestyles are more at risk of developing breast cancer.

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