OKEECHOBEE – October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. At their Oct. 17 meeting, Okeechobee County Commissioners issued a proclamation highlighting the importance of prevention.

“Breast cancer touches a lot of people in your lives,” said Commissioner Brad Goodbread. “It touches everybody in some way, shape or form, sooner or later.”

“Our job is prevention,” said Dorothy Rieck, president of Okeechobee Professionals for the Cure. “You will not believe how hard it is to convince a woman she needs a mammogram.”

“I schedule a woman for a mammogram, with insurance or without,” she said. “If she doesn’t have insurance, we pay for it.”

She said they also help with any follow up testing or care if the mammogram shows a problem.

“If they need someone to go to the doctor with them, we do that too,” she said.

“This is not just a woman’s disease,” said Commissioner Kelly Owens. She said her husband, who had been treated for another kind of cancer, had a mammogram, “which gave him a whole new appreciation for the experience.”

“If you feel something may not feel quite right, don’t hesitate to go,” said Owens.

The proclamation states that breast cancer is now the most common type of non-skin cancer in women in the United States. In the United States, it is estimated that over 290,000 new cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed in 2024, and more than 43,000 individuals are expected to lose their lives to this disease in the United States. Early detection through regular mammograms and clinical breast exams has been shown to significantly reduce breast cancer mortality rates, with studies indicating a 20-30% reduction in death rates among women who receive regular screenings.