October, the breast-cancer awareness month just passed away, and I am late yet again in passing on this information.

Although I am a firm believer of the saying, better late than never, there are times when delay can cost lives, and those are the matters where one should never take lightly. Breast-cancer is one such case, where timely diagnosis and treatment could save lives.

Therefore, October or November, I believe, it is our duty to keep spreading awareness about this killer disease among our peers. (Men too are included, as their chests too are susceptible to this cancer.)

Breast cancer, as I understand it, refers to the malignant growth of tumor-cells in the breast tissues, and their infiltration and proliferation to other tissues.

Many a times, the development of benign tumors to cancer might take months altogether, and therefore, many a times, these slow changes go almost unnoticed.

However, they can prove to be deadly once they proliferate the blood stream and the lymph nodes(the circulatory system) and migrate to other parts of the body, developing into a cancer.

The preventive measures that can be used to detect any malignant growth in the tissues range from simple screening, which includes regular check-ups, mammograms (X-rays), to more sophisticated scans like CT and PET

The risk factors for breast cancer are multi-pronged, ranging from lifestyle related factors like late maternity, avoiding breast-feeding(?), obesity (?) and age to genetic predispositions like family history of breast-cancer.

Most importantly, early detection minimizes risks of complications, maximizing chances of recovery.

For knowing more about symptoms, diagnosis and treatment, you can visit www.cancer.gov or browse any of the authoritative websites.