October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and no doubt you’ve been seeing the pink ribbons and stickers every now and then. 

Of the many things that are important to early detection and completely curing breast cancer, we’re going to talk about your family history.

It’s important that you ask your parents and aunts and uncles about the illness and health issues of your first- and second-degree relatives.  Getting a history about third degree relatives is also valuable but sometimes harder to get.  This can be awkward in some families, but a simple “My physician said I should ask for my own health” is a simple way to work past a reluctance to discuss negative feelings about family illnesses.  You may learn about several illness where family history is important:  heart disease, stroke, diabetes, blood clots, etc.   Patterns of cancer in your family are also very important—breast cancer included.