Breast Cancer 101: Everything You Need To Know To Stay Safe

It’s rare these days to meet someone who hasn’t been affected in some way by breast cancer, be it through their own personal struggle with the disease or that of a loved one. According to BreastCancer.org, one in eight women (around 12%) will battle invasive breast cancer in their lifetime, and it’s the second most deadly form of cancer (lung cancer being the first). That said, mortality rates have been decreasing steadily since 1989, with younger patients benefitting the most thanks to advanced screening methods. We spoke with breast-cancer surgeon Heather Halpin Richardson, MD, of Bedford Breast Center in Beverly Hills to see what information and best practices she could pass along that might help us stay safe. Here, the (sometimes surprising) things we learned.

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