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, one in eight women will be diagnosed with the disease, and diagnoses increase with age; and

WHEREAS, an estimated 316,950 women and 2,800 men in the United States will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in 2025, 8,180 women will be diagnosed in Virginia this year, and approximately 42,170 women and more than 500 men will die from the disease; and

WHEREAS, invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) is the most common type of breast cancer, accounting for roughly 70 to 80 percent of all diagnoses, and occurs when cancer cells begin in the milk ducts and spread to surrounding breast tissue: and

WHEREAS, invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC), the second most common type of breast cancer, accounts for about 10 to 15 percent of all breast cancer diagnoses each year, and because it can grow in a single-file pattern and is harder to detect through imaging, earlier recognition and research into ILC remain critical to improving outcomes; 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 30% of women initially diagnosed with breast cancer will develop Stage 4 or metastatic breast cancer; 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 2025, as BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH in the COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA, and I call this observance to the attention of all our citizens.