Breast Cancer Awareness Month is this month, an annual reminder for women of all ages to be vigilant about their health. This year, one organization wants younger women to be especially careful.

Quilt for the Cure, an awareness group through Neighborhood Ford Store, made it a point last week to tell younger women, those under 40, to pay attention.

Nancy Lewis of Neighborhood Ford Store was spurred to speak when she saw statistics that women under 40 are more likely to have aggressive forms of the disease, that metastatic breast cancer rates in women under 40 have risen 3.5% each year between 2004 and 2017, and that younger patients are more likely to have genetic risk factors for breast cancer.

“I think that, sometimes, they just don’t think about it,” Lewis said of younger women. “Or they think, ‘I’m too young for that.’ But we’re hoping young women who hear this message will tell other young women.”

That’s sage advice that all women should heed. Those concerned about possibly having breast cancer should talk to their primary care physician or gynecologist. And monthly self-examinations are recommended to check for any lumps in the breasts or under the arms.

Your health is one of your greatest assets. Please do everything you can to stay on top of it.