TEXAS – October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and while many of the traditional events recognizing the month aren’t happening this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is still a lot to know.

To start, it’s estimated that one in eight women will get breast cancer, according to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, and in the U.S. more than 270,000 women will be diagnosed in 2020.

Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer for women in the U.S., but organizers say early detection and treatment is key.

That was part of the motivation for starting awareness campaigns – to teach women what to look for.

First Lady Betty Ford is one of the reasons we hear so much about breast cancer today. Ford was diagnosed in 1974, a month after her husband became president.

According to the National Archives, Ford had a mastectomy two days after her diagnosis. That wasn’t the end of her journey, though. Ford started speaking about her cancer and made it her mission to inform the public about screening and treatment options.

After Ford started speaking on the topic, the Archives say breast cancer diagnoses rose in the U.S. by 15 percent. In 1976 she received an award from the American Cancer Society for being a “Communicator of Hope.”

Since then, breast cancer awareness has come even further, but the science and technology used to treat it has improved as well.

The National Breast Cancer Foundation says that death rates from breast cancer have been on the decline since the 1990s, largely because more women are getting diagnosed and treated earlier.

Another finding that has helped with the decline is the link between breast cancer and hormone replacement treatments given to some women going through menopause. It was found that some women who received such treatments had not only an increased likelihood of getting breast cancer, but the cancer was often at a more advanced stage.

This year, many of the usual breast cancer awareness events have either been canceled or gone virtual. Susan G. Komen For a Cure, one of the most well-known breast cancer advocacy groups in the U.S., is hosting several virtual walks throughout Texas this month.

Two events in San Antonio and Austin have already passed, but there are three coming up in North Texas.

The first is a virtual fundraising walk in Fort Worth on Saturday, October 3. There are two more virtual walks, one in Frisco on September, 12 and the other on October 23 in Dallas.