Every Wednesday at 12:30 p.m., a group of about 20 women gather at the Issac Farrar Mansion in Bangor, to talk, laugh, and share personal experiences. While their ages and lifestyles vary widely, there is a common bond. They all have had breast cancer.

Some were recently diagnosed and are currently undergoing treatment, while others fought their battles decades ago. Regardless of circumstances, they come together and provide support for each other in a way no one else can.

“I’ve been coming to the ENCORE meetings for 14 years, ever since I was diagnosed. It’s the getting together and talking, and I have learned a lot,” said Betty B., 83. “They say people in support groups last longer because talking to people with the same thing helps. I’ll stay in ENCORE until I drop.”

Betty, whose cancer was caught very early, had a modified mastectomy and no follow-up treatment. She is fine today.

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness month. Both men and woman, as they get older, are at risk for breast cancer.

“The older you live to be, the higher the risk,” said Ro LeGasse, director of Caring Connections ENCORE support groups at the YWCA. “Mammograms are the best tool we have, but they don’t find every breast cancer.”

Breast self-exams, combined with mammograms and annual clinical breast exams by a health care professional, increase the chances of detecting cancer early, she said. And early detection is the best way to increase survival rates.

“There are more options for treatment with early diagnosis,” said LeGasse.

Not long ago, a Canadian study suggested teaching BSE did not increase life expectancy, and did not improve outcomes for those with cancer.

LeGasse is quick to respond to this claim.

“We sit in support groups with women who have found a lump that a mammogram failed to pick up,” she asserted. “And it is not just a lump issue. There can be discharge, dimpling, cracking or scaling around the nipple. There are many different kinds of breast cancer, and it is vitally important to know your own breasts and inform your doctor of any changes.”

The risk of breast cancer increases significantly with age. A woman 60 years of age has a one in 23 chance of getting the disease, while the rate increases to one in 10 at age 80. Heredity accounts for only a 5- to 15-percent risk factor.

“We don’t know how to prevent breast cancer, but you may be able to reduce your risk by limiting alcohol use, exercising regularly and eating a low fat diet,” said LeGasse.

New evidence suggests that using some forms of hormone replacement therapy may increase your risk. If you are on HRT, talk to your doctor before changing or stopping treatment, she added.

“Breast cancer isn’t something you choose to have, but when you’re my age it’s just another bump in the road,” said Betty M., 82, who had a cancerous lump removed at age 76 and a mastectomy at age 79, followed by 32 radiation treatments.

“After my second surgery, after I lost a breast, it was hard to look down for a while,” she said. “But I went to ENCORE and realized I’m not the only one with problems. And you couldn’t ask for better ladies than Ro and Robin [Long, LeGasses’s assistant] because they are always ready to give you a boost. It’s marvelous.”

Betty M. has words of wisdom for anyone facing a breast cancer diagnoses:

“Try not to get too down in the mouth. If you feel like it’s the end of the world – get help. We have wonderful support groups here and it is very important to stay in contact.”

In 2001, there were 1,000 new cases of breast cancer in Maine. Two hundred of them will probably result in death.

“Get a yearly mammogram and clinical breast exam, do self-exams and see a doctor if anything seems suspicious,” said LeGasse. “Above all, trust your instincts.”

And men take heed, not just for the women in your lives but for yourselves. While breast cancer strikes fewer men than women, it can happen, so beware.

For more information on Caring Connections or breast cancer, call the YWCA at 941-2808.

Carol Higgins is director of communications at Eastern Agency on Aging. For information on EAA programs and services, call the resource and referral department at 941-2865 or log on www.eaaa.org.