Richard Roundtree Quotes

People used to say everyone knows someone who's had breast cancer. In the past few weeks, I've learned something else: Everyone has someone close to them who has had breast cancer.

I think a lot of people just aren't aware how young you can be and be diagnosed with breast cancer.

I have to admit, like so many women, I always knew there was a chance. But like so many women, I never thought it would be me. I never thought I'd hear those devastating words: 'You have breast cancer.'

I started realizing I could be an example for women to not just be aware of breast cancer but to act on it, to make an appointment, to give themselves an exam.

It was a huge shock when my mum was diagnosed. She was 49 when she found a lump in one of her breasts and sensed something was wrong. At the time, we did a breast cancer campaign together. I still do a lot of charity runs.

In mid-July 2007, after a routine mammogram, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. As cancer diagnoses go, mine wasn't particularly scary. The affected area was small, and the surgeon seemed to think that a lumpectomy followed by radiation would eradicate the cancerous tissue.

My mom, she's a breast cancer survivor and because of that I had started getting mammograms once a year, starting at age 30.

It wasn't until after the reduction that in the lab work, the pathology, that they found that I had DCIS (ductal carcinoma in situ) in my left breast. I was very, very lucky because DCIS is basically stage-zero cancer. So I was very lucky.

On a personal note: I have contracted an outstanding case of breast cancer, from which I intend to recover. I don't need get-well cards, but I would like the beloved women readers to do something for me: Go. Get. The. Damn. Mammogram. Done.

I had breast cancer. Yeah, I know it's scary.

My mother had breast cancer when she was 39.

I am passionate about talking to women about their breast health.

Shortly before I turned 37 and my older daughter turned 3, I was diagnosed with breast cancer: stage III of IV.

I have a new found respect for women who have been through breast cancer and this surgery.

I always sort of thought, 'I'm probably going to get breast cancer. There's a really good chance.'

Breast cancer deaths in America have been declining for more than a decade. Much of that success is due to early detection and better treatments for women. I strongly encourage women to get a mammogram.

Men need to be aware of the health of their bodies, as well - prostate cancer and breast cancer are almost on the same level. It's fascinating to me that the correlation between the two is almost the same - people don't talk about it so much, but they are almost equal in numbers.

If you have breast tissue, you can have breast cancer. So don’t be macho about it.

If only there was a vaccine to protect against breast cancer, we'd be lining up - wouldn't we?

In 1980, a woman promised her dying sister to change how Americans thought about breast cancer. Thirty years later, the result - the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation - is one of the nation's largest non-profits, and one of the most successful triumphs in public health marketing and changing health habits.

I didn't know anything about breast cancer when I got it.

With breast cancer, it's all about detection. You have to educate young women and encourage them to do everything they have to do.

Every woman needs to know the facts. And the fact is, when it comes to breast cancer, every woman is at risk.

If I were a 40-year-old woman, 40-to-50, I'd want to be getting my mammograms. They catch cancers, and cancer is very curable if you catch it early.

And I would urge all women to have that regular mammogram.