"Mom, I think I might have cancer."  For a while it seemed that every conversation I had with my daughter started with those words.  She had recently started work at a major cancer research center.  Surrounded every day by cancer stories, she began to interpret every ache or pain as potential calamity.  Everyone she worked with told her the same thing happened to them at first too.  The phenomenon is also common among medical students, except they experience every disease known to science by the time they graduate!

All day long our brains are monitoring the feedback from our bodies. 

Twinge in toe?  Must be those tight shoes.

Itch on left hip?  Too minor to consider.

Bump on cheek?  Oh, no.  Not a pimple right before my big date!

Then October roles around.  It's breast cancer awareness month.  From every media outlet we see breast cancer articles.  Because it's not news when a 68 year old woman is diagnosed in the earliest stages with the most common forms of breast cancer, we hear about the youngest patients with the most severe cases of the most unusual types of the disease.

Suddenly our brain is processing all those constant signals differently.

Twinge in breast?  Must be breast cancer.

Itch on left nipple?  Didn't I hear about two forms of breast cancer that start with an itch?

Bump on breast?  Is this what a breast lump looks like?  What if the cancer spreads before I can see a doctor?

Of course, I am exaggerating, but breast cancer awareness month can make us hypersensitive to symptoms that common sense would ordinarily tell us are not dangerous.

Breast cancer awareness month is scary.  It's easy to get carried away with fear like kids in a haunted house.   How are we to cope?

First, keep in mind that most of the problems that can go wrong with breasts are not cancer.  The skin on our breasts can get pimples and moles.  The muscles under our breasts can get sore and hurt.  The constantly changing hormones in our bodies can lead to cysts, tenderness and other problems.  Before you panic about a breast symptom, ask yourself how you would evaluate that same symptom if it were on your tummy or leg.

Second, use October to learn the facts about breast cancer and its treatment.  Too many women still think that all breast lumps are cancer.  Too many women do not realize that not all breast cancer starts with a lump.  Too many women do not check with their doctors about changes in their breasts because they think that breast cancer is an automatic death sentence they would rather not hear about.  With every newspaper, magazine, and television station running articles about breast cancer, you can learn about breast cancer symptoms and the newest treatments.  If you already have breast cancer, you will probably hear new information about your treatments or follow-up care that will help you.