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Have you been diagnosed with breast cancer?
The Komen Foundation has a National Toll-Free Breast Care Helpline that is answered by trained and caring volunteers and staff. The Helpline is committed to providing timely and accurate information to anyone with breast health and breast cancer concerns, including breast cancer patients and their family and friends.
Talk to someone now: 1.800.462.9273
9 am – 5:00 pm Central Standard Time, Monday – Friday, TDD available.
From 1982 until October 1989, Foundation staff handled incoming calls from those who needed information or assistance. As the Foundation grew, the number of calls increased, demonstrating the need for a national Helpline. In October 1989, 1.800 I’M AWARE® was launched from a major medical center’s telemarketing department and their representatives responded to calls. It had always been the goal of the Foundation to have calls answered by trained volunteers, women who had faced this disease themselves. In April 1992, the Helpline was relocated to Foundation headquarters, where it is now answered by volunteers who have been personally touched by breast cancer and trained staff. Each year, the Helpline receives over 50,000 calls and 3,500 emails from women and men across the country.
Objectives of 1.800 I’M AWARE®
- To provide timely and accurate information to callers about breast health and breast cancer.
- To provide that information in a way that conveys compassion and concern.
- To use facts about disease and treatment options to assist callers in a way that motivates thoughtful, confident action.
- To provide callers with information about community resources and support groups.
The Helpline does not provide medical advice, make referrals to physicians, or evaluate physicians, medical facilities or services.
More resources
Here are a few quick resources you can use to learn more about breast cancer from a variety of national web sites on this topic.
A lot of changes occur in a woman’s breasts during her lifetime, and it’s important for her to understand which of those changes are normal and which are not. The first step to doing this is to become familiar with the structure of the breasts and how they function. This section of About Breast Cancer provides key facts about breast health and introduces the topic of cancer and other breast diseases.
“What causes breast cancer?” It’s a question women want a straight answer to. Unfortunately, the field of breast cancer research moves so fast—and the news media even faster—that it can seem that all women get is scientific sidestepping rather than good, solid information they can use. This section of About Breast Cancer helps cut through all this and describes the many known risk factors for breast cancer—breaking them down into those you can’t control (like age and family history) and those you can (like exercise and hormone use). Also included are tips for lowering risk, information on genetic mutations (including genetic testing) and options like tamoxifen for women at high risk.
It’s a fact: getting tested regularly for breast cancer is the best way for women to lower their risk of dying from the disease. These screening tests can find cancer early when it’s most treatable. In this section of About Breast Cancer, we discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each of the standard screening tests currently available to women—mammography, clinical breast exam and breast self-exam—as well as what happens if a test shows something abnormal.
Breast cancer is often first suspected when a lump is felt or when an abnormal area is found on a mammogram. Most of the time, these suspicious areas do not turn out to be cancer, but the only way to know for sure is through follow-up tests. Understanding what these tests are and how to interpret their results can help a woman take control of her situation and pick the course of action that is best for her. This section of About Breast Cancer discusses follow-up tests called biopsies, which involve the removal of cells or tissue from the breast. Also covered are additional tests that help determine the most appropriate treatment if cancer is found.
In the past two decades, great improvements have been made in the treatment of breast cancer. As a result, most breast cancer patients now live for at least 10 years after their diagnosis. Although each woman’s treatment will be slightly different, it generally involves some combination of surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy and/or hormonal therapy. Deciding on a particular treatment is as much a personal matter for women as it is a medical one. In this section of About Breast Cancer, we describe each treatment option and its risks and benefits.