Wanda Sykes Quotes

Although it happens more rarely in men, breast cancer is not gender-specific. I was in Costa Rica, and in the shower I felt this lump under my left nipple. It was very small, mind you, but enough to make me call my doctor.

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

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

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.

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

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.'

In June 1992, I discovered a lump in my breast. A subsequent mammogram, ultrasound and a needle biopsy proved negative. But my instinct said it still didn't feel right, so I had a lumpectomy. I then got the news that it was cancer.

Both of my grandmothers were diagnosed with breast cancer - one is a survivor and one passed away.

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.

Lifestyle changes may help reduce risk, but no study has shown that lifestyle changes alone can eliminate the risk of breast cancer, especially in those carrying the BRCA mutation.

I have talked to women who do yoga, who are vegan, who have never smoked and/or never drank a day in their life, but they have Stage IV breast cancer. So you do what you can to be as healthy as you can if you know you're high-risk because yes, all those things can factor into that. But sometimes it's just a fluke.

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.

Well, right now, technically, I have no breast cancer.

Breast cancer is being detected at an earlier, more treatable stage these days, largely because women are taking more preventive measures, like self-exams and regular mammograms. And treatment is getting better too.

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.

The thing with cancer is that you want to get it as early as you can.

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

An estimated 2 million American women will be diagnosed with breast or cervical cancer this decade and screening could prevent up to 30% of these deaths for women over 40.

We know that childhood and adolescence are the most crucial times for environmental stimuli to affect breast cancer risk, but changes made during adulthood and even after diagnosis still have the potential to create positive changes in the body.

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

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.

Through my attempt to get pregnant through IVF, we sadly found out that I have early stages of breast cancer. It's been a shock.

I've been blessed with pretty strong stamina and healthy genes, so I'd call myself sensible. I've had regular mammograms ever since I found a lump in my breast when I was 30. Thankfully, all was well.