This month, we here at the Gulf States Young Breast Cancer Survivor Network want to acknowledge the people who love, support and take care of the women we are trying to help. Breast cancer doesn’t just take its toll on the young woman, it also can exact a heavy price on those around her. As Marc Heyison, founder of “Men Against Breast Cancer” says “Breast cancer devastates the entire family.” So here are some tips and resources for men, family members and caretakers helping young women fight breast cancer.

Young women facing breast cancer often feel alone, and can face issues that older women dealing with breast cancer never have to, ranging from dating and intimacy concerns to decisions about how to preserve fertility options before starting cancer treatment.

When Hoda found a lump in her breast in 2006 and went in for a biopsy, it was Karen who was by her side. Hoda was going through a rough divorce at the time and had no family nearby, so Karen wanted to be sure Hoda would not go through that process alone.

"Hi sweetie, I have something very important to tell you." Although I was only 8 years old, I could tell that my mother’s kind tone was only a gentle precursor for what she was about to say. She gazed at me with a sincere face and tears in her eyes as she explained to me that she had been diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. She said that our lives would be quite different for a while. My mother, at the time, was 38 years old.

Women should know only 5-10% of breast cancers are considered “familial” or resulting from inherited genes. Yet they should also know having a family history of breast cancer is one of the strongest predictors of breast cancer.

Is Your Doctor Telling You Everything? Don’t Be So Sure. If there were a vaccine to prevent cancer in your children, would you have them get it? Did you know there is such a vaccine? Has your doctor discussed that with you?

It will not come as a surprise to anyone reading this that smoking is bad for health – in big important ways and in some less life-threatening, but undesirable ways. As someone who has been diagnosed with breast cancer, I sincerely hope that if you are a nonsmoker your commitment to not smoke will be reinforced by what you read here and if you are a smoker that you will seize the opportunity to prevent adverse health effects by battling and beating cigarette addiction.

Predictability is my friend. My husband frequently calls me a "rule follower." Spur of the moment is not my idea of fun. I have never welcomed change ... until I was diagnosed with breast cancer.