Cheyenne Women's Imaging Pavilion, CBS News Channel 5, and Cheyenne Radiology & MRI, in cooperation with the American Cancer Society and the Susan G. Komen Cancer Foundation, have all teamed up to bring you Buddy Check 5 - a program designed to help remind you and your buddy to do monthly self examinations as a means of preventing breast disease in its early stages.

Please do a breast self-examination on the 5th of every month, and then call and remind your buddy to do the same. You could save each other's lives by following this simple program. Hundreds of women already have. Please note that the information provided here is not to be used for self-diagnosing or to replace the services of a medical professional. Please consult with your doctor.

Medical Glossary of Terms 

• Adjuvant Therapy – cancer treatment, such as chemotherapy or hormone therapy, used in addition to surgery
• Alternative Therapy – any non-invasive cancer treatment used instead of a traditional medical cancer treatment
• Axillary lymph nodes – glands in the underarm that filter the lymph fluid
• Benign – not cancerous; does not invade tissue or spread to other parts of the body
• Biopsy – removal of tissue which is then examined for cancer cells
• BRCA1 & BRCA2 – human genes which, when present in a mutated (altered) form, increase a woman’s risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer
• Breast Conserving Surgery (lumpectomy) – surgery that removes only part of the breast, usually the breast cancer and some normal tissue around it
• Carcinoma in situ (CIS) – cancer cells that have not left the area where they started and have not spread to surrounding breast tissue or other parts of the body
• Chemotherapy – the use of drugs to treat cancer by destroying cancer cells
• Clinical Breast Exam – inspection (looking) and palpation (feeling) of the breasts by a health care provider to check for any changes or lumps
• Clinical Trials – research studies done with actual patients to test the safety and effectiveness of new treatments or diagnostic procedures
• Complementary Therapy – any non-traditional cancer treatment that is used together with traditional medical cancer treatment
• Estrogen – a hormone produced primarily by the ovaries that aids in developing female sex organs and in regulating monthly menstrual cycles
• Fibrocystic Breast Changes – non-cancerous breast condition that sometimes results in painful cysts or lumpy breasts
• Hormone (endocrine) Therapy – treatment that works by preventing cancer cells from getting the hormones they need to grow
• Invasive Cancer – the spread of cancer from the location where it started into surrounding tissue
• Lymphedema – swelling of the arm caused by removal of the axillary lymph nodes or by radiation therapy
• Malignant – cancerous
• Mammogram – an x-ray of the breast
• Mastectomy – surgery in which the entire breast is removed
• Metastasis – the spread of cancer from the location where it started to other parts of the body
• Neoadjuvant therapy – chemotherapy or hormone therapy given before surgery to reduce the size of a tumor
• Oncologist – a doctor who specializes in treating patients with cancer
• Palliative Care – the combination of active and compassionate therapies intended to comfort and support those with a life-threatening illness
• Progesterone – a hormone that is released by the ovaries during every menstrual cycle and that helps prepare a woman’s body for pregnancy and breastfeeding (when needed)
• Prognosis – the expected or probable outcome or course of a disease
• Prosthesis – an artificial form that can be worn under clothing after a mastectomy
• Radiation Therapy (radiotherapy) – treatment using high energy x-rays to destroy cancer cells in the exposed area
• Receptor – a specific location in a cancer cell that allows hormones to attach to it in order to promote growth
• Reconstructive Surgery – a procedure using plastic surgery to recreate a breast
• Recurrence – a return of cancer in the same site or another location
• Risk Factors – factors that affect a woman’s chances of getting breast cancer
• Stages of Cancer – a numbering system (from 0 to 4) that tells doctors how advanced a specific breast cancer may be in order to determine prognosis and appropriate treatment options
• Tumor – an abnormal growth or mass of tissue which may be benign (non-cancerous) or malignant (cancerous)