Many countries now organize major campaigns in October to increase awareness of the disease and raise funds for research into its cause, prevention, diagnosis, treatment and cure.
Breast Cancer Awareness Month activities began with Jalisco First Lady Lorena Arriaga de Sandoval urging women of all ages to perform breast self-exams at least once a month and stressing the importance of detecting breast cancer at an early stage.
Earlier this week, the charity Tejército distributed breast prostheses to women who have had a breast removed due to cancer.
A walk in solidarity with breast cancer victims and in support of research is planned at 5 p.m. on Saturday on Avenida Vallarta, going from Chapultepec to the Minerva Glorieta, which will be illuminated in pink at 6 p.m., along with several other city monuments.
According to state health authorities, the mortality rate from breast cancer in Jalisco is 13.5 per 100,000 each year and the figure is increasing each year. The 2010 rate in the United States was 21.9 per 100,000.
According to the American Cancer Society, women who are diagnosed with breast cancer before the age of 40 have a slightly poorer prognoses than older women. Their five-year survival rate is about 82 percent, compared with 85 percent among women ages 40 to 74.