Monthly exams consist of feeling around the breasts and looking at the nipples in a mirror. If you are experiencing symptoms such as discharge from a nipple, a change in the shape of one nipple, lumps or hardness, call your doctor immediately.

It cannot be stressed enough: Early detection is a vital part of surviving breast cancer. If your doctor finds a lump, he or she will order more testing to be done. A biopsy may be done to see if the tumor is benign (non-cancerous) or malignant (cancer).

Once breast cancer has been diagnosed, the next step is to find out how far the cancer has spread and in what stage it is. Often, if it is caught early on, a lumpectomy is done. Some women choose to have radiation and chemotherapy before surgery to try to shrink the cancer so they do not have to have a breast removed. When a woman has a mastectomy (breast removal), the lymphatic nodes under the arm are often taken to ensure the cancer does not reoccur. Many women have a lumpectomy - where the lump is all that is removed - followed by chemotherapy and radiation. Hormone therapy may be prescribed as well.

A decade or so ago, the common belief was that breast cancer "runs in families". It can be genetic, but research shows that 90 percent of breast cancer diagnoses have nothing to do with a family gene. Breast cancer does not discriminate according to DNA.

The great news is that more women are living through breast cancer than ever before. Doctors credit this to self-exams and early diagnosis. If you are a woman, please understand the importance of checking yourself monthly. Your doctor can show you how to do it as well as guide you as to which time in the month is best.