 October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and the Pike County Health Department will be offering free breast exams on October 19th beginning at 8 a.m. No appointment is needed and the service is available at no cost. Pike County Public Health Director Tammy Riley says the key to fighting breast cancer is early detection and diagnosis. If there's one statistic I would like to give you today and it really highlights why it's important to have outreach and education so people understand. 99% of breast cancer diagnoses that occur in the first stages are curable. 99% of women who have early detection survive the diagnosis. So catching breast cancer early is extremely important and October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month so we're trying to send out notifications and raise awareness. But we have a special day planned on October 19th. You want to save money and Appalachian Wireless gets that. Right now you can get up to $650 off select devices including the latest and the greatest on the advantage and limited plan with a trade in. Did y'all hear me? Up to $650 off select devices including the latest and greatest with a trade in. I'm not a math whiz but this deal it's amazing and you'll be on the region's premier network. We are you. We are Appalachian Wireless. Appalachian Wireless.com for complete terms and conditions. Symptoms of breast cancer include soreness or tenderness, discoloration or noticeable pain. The health department will also be providing other useful information to those who attend. I would just add that over 240,000 women will receive a breast cancer diagnosis this year and about 43,000 will not survive that diagnosis. So what that tells us is that not all women are catching their breast cancer early. So again, knowing the signs and symptoms, a sore breast, a change in your breast, discharge, a change in the skin or pain in the breast. So being familiar with the texture and look and feel of your breast is very important for women to know. Reporting from Mountain Top News, I'm Nick Colum.