Women are stereotyped as having the gift of gab, and it may be this talent for talking that is saving lives and bringing focus to breast cancer.

“Women talk about stuff,” surgical oncologist at the Mississippi Breast Center in Jackson Dr. Phillip Ley said, and this is one of the reasons that breast cancer has received so much attention.

“When patients get diagnosed with breast cancer, people they don’t even know are going to call them out of the blue and tell them what they should do about their breast cancer,” Ley said.

Men do not open up about what is going on with their bodies, he said, but women find comfort from sharing their experiences.

“Women commiserate about their health. Men do not,” he said.

And possibly it is due in part to these conversations between women that the American Cancer Society awarded $35.5 million for breast cancer research in fiscal year 2007-08, as reported by everdayhealth.com, followed by colorectal cancer receiving $26 million, lung cancer $20.4 million; prostate cancer $15.8 million; brain/nervous system cancer $12.9 million; leukemia $11.6 million; melanoma $10.3 million; lymphoma $6.7 million; ovarian cancer $6.2 million and pancreatic cancer $4.4 million.

The Susan G. Komen Foundation has also contributed immeasurably to the fight against breast cancer.

With a mission to save lives and end breast cancer forever, they have done more than any other organization, Ley said.

A Vicksburg resident and lead advocate for the second congressional district of the American Cancer Network, Pearl Carter said she thinks breast cancer is in the forefront because of the amount of time that has already been dedicated to the cause and the impact this type of cancer has on a woman.

“I think one of the reasons we are so focused on breast cancer is because of the years and years of research. We have been able to find preventative measures and cures and many women have been cured,” Carter said.

It is also a cancer that sometimes requires a woman to have to loose a part of her body.

“I think a woman feels her breast are a big part of what makes her a woman, and when a she looses her breasts, it can be as mentally devastating as it is physically,” Carter said.

“I don’t think that it is more devastating than any other cancer, but you can see the evidence. With lung or colon cancer, it is inside the body, but a breast is outside the body, and it can make it harder to accept,” she said.

Facts about breast cancer:

• The history of using a ribbon as a token of remembrance can be traced back to the 19th century. During this time, women may have worn yellow ribbons to remember loved ones serving in the military. The musical act Dawn, featuring Tony Orlando, again brought this practice to the forefront with their 1973 hit “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree.” As a more portable means of support, individuals started wearing smaller ribbons, and in the late 1980s and early 1990s, red ribbons were worn to support AIDS awareness.

Other charitable organizations and endeavors began following suit and in 1992, according to the breast cancer guide on About.com, Alexandra Penney (then the editor-in-chief of Self magazine) and Evelyn Lauder (breast cancer survivor and senior corporate vice president of Estée Lauder) teamed up to create a pink ribbon.

The Estée Lauder Co. went directly to their makeup counters with 1.5 million ribbons. Along with those pink ribbons, each woman was given a breast self-exam card, and in return, the company collected more than 200,000 pink ribbon petitions aimed at the White House asking for increased funding for breast cancer research.

•  In 2016, it is estimated that among U.S. women there will be 246,660 new cases of invasive breast cancer, 61,000 new cases of in situ breast cancer and 40,450 breast cancer deaths.

• There are more than 3.1 million breast cancer survivors in the U.S. today.

• Between 1990 and 2013, breast cancer mortality declined by 37 percent among women in the U.S.

• Breast cancer occurs when cells in the breast divide and grow without their normal control. Tumors in the breast tend to grow slowly. By the time a lump is large enough to feel, it may have been growing for as long as 10 years. (Some tumors are aggressive and grow much faster.) Between 50 to 75 percent of breast cancers begin in the milk ducts, about 10-15 percent begin in the lobules and a few begin in other breast tissues.

• The warning signs of breast cancer are not the same for all women. The most common signs are a change in the look or feel of the breast, a change in the look or feel of the nipple and nipple discharge.

• Breast cancer screening tests include clinical breast exam and mammography. For some women at higher risk of breast cancer, breast MRIs may also be used.