October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, when people focus on battling the disease, supporting the survivors and honoring those who have lost their fight.

Breast cancer is the most common disease among women, affecting one in eight during their lifetime. According to the American Cancer Society, breast cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer death in women (only lung cancer kills more women each year). The chances that a woman will die from breast cancer are about one in 36, or around three percent. Death rates from cancer have dropped since about 1989 and can be credited to early detection and breast screening, including mammograms and self-examinations.

Inaki Aparicio works at the Center for Civic Global & Engagement at SCC. He said that his mother was diagnosed with stage III breast cancer in November 2015. Aparicio was with his mother during all her treatments and surgery and recalled that his mother was very nervous during her first round of chemotherapy but added that it didn’t let it affect her life. The good news for Aparicio is that his mother is now a breast cancer survivor.

“She is back to work and is even stronger than ever before,” Aparicio said.

Aparicio reflected more on his experience.

“When these kinds of things happen to you, it just makes you think in a very different manner,” he said. “People usually worry about small things, they complain about things that are not really worth worrying about and after such disease, it makes you look at life in very different perspective.”

Another breast cancer survivor, Sue Story, who has worked as a high school educator in the Valley for over 21 years, believes that women must stay diligent with their yearly breast screens. She was in her late forties when she was diagnosed.

“Women cannot bury their heads in the sand,” Story said. “They must take early detection serious.”

Through groups like City of Hope as well as the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, awareness of breast cancer and early treatment is growing, as are opportunities to help fight and support those affected by this disease.