Ko Un Clara Park, MD, a breast surgical oncologist at the Dana-Farber Brigham Cancer Center at South Shore Health answers questions about risk factors, symptoms and the advancements in detection and treatment changing the course of breast cancer care.

November is Men's Health Awareness Month, a time to highlight health issues affecting men – including prostate cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, about 299,010 new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed this year and 32,250 men will die from the disease. Find out about risk factors, treatments and the screening tests that help catch prostate cancer early when it’s easier to treat.

While colorectal cancer rates have dropped in recent decades due to increased screening and better awareness about lifestyle-related risk factors, that downward trend has generally been seen in older adults. In people under age 55, colorectal cancer rates have been on the rise since the mid-2000s, increasing by 1% annually.

January is Cervical Cancer Awareness Month, a good time to shine a light on the disease and the importance of regular screening in its prevention. While once the most common cause of cancer death for women, cervical cancer death rates have decreased significantly with greater use of the Pap test, which can find changes in the cervix before cancer develops or detect it early when it is easier to treat.