WHEREAS, breast cancer is the second most common cancer in women after skin cancer; and

WHEREAS, breast cancer is about 100 times more common in women than men, 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with the disease, and diagnoses increase as patients get older; and

WHEREAS, an estimated 2,800 men in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year and more than 500 will die from the disease; and

WHEREAS, metastatic breast cancer occurs when breast cancer spreads to other parts of the body, including the bones, lungs, liver, and brain resulting in an average life expectancy of 26 months; and

WHEREAS, doctors estimate that about five to ten percent of breast cancers are hereditary, and individuals whose family history puts them at increased risk for breast cancer should discuss with their doctor or qualified health professional the proper prevention and early diagnosis strategies; and

WHEREAS, since early diagnosis strategies have been introduced, the five-year survival rate for a breast cancer patient has greatly increased, now at almost 90 percent; and

WHEREAS, inflammatory breast cancer is an aggressive and rare form of breast cancer that resembles an infection, making it difficult to diagnose and often leading to the cancer reaching an advanced stage by the time of detection; and

WHEREAS, inflammatory breast cancer disproportionately affects younger women and has a worse prognosis as compared to patients with other more common types of breast cancer; and

WHEREAS, Breast Cancer Awareness Month serves as an opportunity to bring awareness of the disease and to encourage individuals to have a plan to detect the disease in its early stages; and

WHEREAS, it is vital that those affected by breast cancer have access to quality, affordable care, and that research of all forms of breast cancer continues to be vigorously supported;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Glenn Youngkin, do hereby recognize October 2023, as BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH in the COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA, and I call this observance to the attention of all our citizens.