Twenty years ago, a group of women's health advocates declared October "breast cancer awareness month."? The national breast cancer awareness campaign is sponsored by a number of prominent organizations including the American Cancer Society, the Breast Cancer Resource Committee, Center for Disease Control (CDC), and many other reputable organizations. The resources amassed by this conglomeration fund breast cancer awareness across the nation.

One of the big components of the breast cancer awareness effort is encouraging women to perform a monthly breast self-exam and get routine mammography testing at their doctor's office. Local, state, and national breast cancer awareness programs have increased consumer access to mammograms, improved the clinical screening process, and promoted breast cancer research. Since the campaign began, mammography rates have increased significantly and the breast cancer death rate has declined. According to statistics, 27 percent of women older than fifty had reported having a mammogram in the last two years. In 1998, this percentage increased to nearly 70 percent. While routine breast exams cannot prevent cancer, they can detect it at its earlier stages, thereby greatly improving one's chance of survival.