 It's October, which means it's Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Clayton Castle goes behind the Pink Ribbon and tells us the real meaning of the month. Pink is in full bloom at Ascension Health St. Joseph's Medical Center as it honors and remembers both those who have passed away from and who have survived breast cancer. Health officials take this time to remind women to get their annual mammograms. It's recommended to start screening at the age of 40 unless you have a high risk for strong family history and it's done yearly. Mammograms have evolved with technology and Ascension Health offers a clearer and easier way of screening for breast cancer. Here at Ascension, we do have the 3D mammography, which just gives you a little bit more detailed of a picture and decreases your risk of, or not your risk, your chance of having to come back for additional imaging because of how detailed of a picture it is. Ascension Health's clinical patient navigators provide integral support for those who have been diagnosed with a dangerous but treatable cancer. So if the result does show that they do have a breast cancer, then we're kind of their go-to nurse and so any questions they might have or appointments they need or I mean just any emotional support or support they need in the community and we are their go-to person. Along with those clinical patient navigators, breast cancer patients can take advantage of other resources that Ascension Health provides. We have a support group that meets here at the hospital on the second Friday of every month. We also provide them with a book and then we also give them online tools to help as we know with online. You can Google many things so we like them to stick to the resources that will provide them the most benefit. With it being October, you've probably seen a lot of pink ribbons around. Whether at an NFL football game or high school fundraiser, October plays an important role in the awareness of breast cancer screenings. If you put off your mammogram or you haven't had one yet, I think it brings that to the forefront and gets those ladies to come in for those mammograms. Reporting in Brainerd, Clayton Castle, Lakeland News. One in eight women will develop breast cancer in the course of her lifetime in 2017. An estimated 252,710 new cases are expected to be diagnosed in women in the United States. Along with 63,410 new cases of non-invasive breast cancer. If you've enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Lakeland Public Television.