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Breast Cancer Does Not Need to Ruin Your Life 2

Part 2.

In a normal life, there are a lot of things to get done in a day and not enough hours to do them. This is even more true when you have treatments to go to and are left feeling zapped of energy. Don’t be afraid to ask for help, or simply accept it when it’s offered.

Many people want to fight on and not take charity from others, but this can leave you stressed, tired, and make your body less prepared to fight your illness. Accepting the occasional dinner or offer to baby-sit can help you catch up or relax and leave you better able to cope.

While it may be a challenge to do, exercise is a great way to cope with the stress of breast cancer. Not only will it lift your spirits, it can also help maintain a positive body image which can be affected by a breast cancer diagnosis, especially if you have to undergo a mastectomy.

Plus, once you get over the initial drain, exercise actually helps give you more energy which can get you through your treatment and the rest of the day.

While it is possible to cope and live with cancer, you have to remember that this will change your life in many ways,both mentally and physically. Along with the anger and ‘why me’, will come a new appreciation for life, and less focus on the small stuff, with more on the big picture and leading a meaningful life for however long we are blessed to be here.

While it is true that your life won’t be the same, you can still continue to live positively and not let breast cancer define you or beat you

October 26, 2008By pc Breast Cancer, Health, Women's brest cancer, healthLeave a Comment

Breast Cancer Does Not Need to Ruin Your Life 1

Part 1.

When you’re diagnosed with breast cancer, it may suddenly feel like the only thing that matters to you. While it is important for you to spend time thinking about your treatment options and other arrangements, your cancer diagnosis doesn’t have to become your whole life. With a bit of effort you can help take the focus off your cancer and continue thinking about the things that really matter to you.

The most important part of getting through breast cancer treatment is having people around to support you. Whether it be friends, family, a support group, or another group of people, that support can actually be the difference between a failed and successful treatment. Talking to survivors and learning as much as you can about the disease is a great way to stay positive and pro-active about your health.

If you let it, breast cancer can easily take over you life, from what you do to how you think. This can leave you more stressed out and make your body less able to fight the disease.

Instead of stressing about what to do next, focus on relieving your stress. A great way to do this is through yoga. It calms your mind and body, helps you feel better mentally, and has even been shown to relieve the physical symptoms of breast cancer and cancer treatments.

Many people get their diagnosis and decide immediately that they must be strong and not let it get to them. While this seems like a great philosophy, it’s not necessarily realistic. You need to take time to express what you’re feeling instead of simply suppressing it and letting it get to you.

Yes, it’s good to keep a positive outlook, but you also need to take time to cry and vent your frustrations and fears to a friend or family member. This will help you feel better and get through each day.

Continued in Part 2.

October 25, 2008By pc Breast Cancer, Health, Women's breast cancer, health, mammogramsLeave a Comment

Breast Self-Exams Can Save your Life 2

Part 2.

Remember, most breast lumps are not cancer. Pay attention for lumps that persist more than a month, or that grow or change shape with time. Again, new research says that just because you might be prone to lumps does not mean that you will inevitably get cancer.

You doctor can perform tests to determine if a bump is cancerous or benign; so you should see them with any concerns.

It is important to perform breast self-exams regularly, not just once or twice. This is because a breast exam is looking more for changes rather than problems that are noticed with one exam.

You need to know how your breasts look and feel normally to determine if something has changed or is changing. This means keeping it up regularly to find problem.

If you have breasts with a more lumpy consistency, or if you’re just not good at remembering your breast texture enough to notice changes, you might want to start keeping a journal.

This way, you can make notes or even draw a quick sketch to help yourself remember. If you do notice changes, you can simply take the journal to your doctor to help find the problem. You can also note down your dates on a calendar to remind yourself to do the exam, and check your health diary to make sure you are keeping up.

Because your breasts change somewhat during your cycle, perform exams at the same time every cycle. While some people pick a day every month, this will gradually move to different times in your menstrual cycle. A better time would be to perform is right after the end of your period every month.

While mammograms and annual exams are also essential, the self-exam is your most powerful tool in detecting breast cancer early, and therefore having a better chance of treating it successfully.

October 24, 2008By pc Breast Cancer, Health, Women's health, mammograms, women's healthLeave a Comment

Breast Self-Exams Can Save Your Life 1

Part 1.

Breast self-exams are one of the most important tools around for detecting breast cancer, and they are still how most breast lumps are detected.

While annual exams and mammograms are important, doing a monthly self-exam can help find less obvious problems or spot changes sooner when they are more easily treated. That’s why it’s important for every woman to know how and when to do them.

While most people think self-exams are all about feeling for lumps, the first step is to simply look at your breasts. Do this by looking in a mirror, first with your arms down, then with them raised. There are several different things you need to look for:

* Changes in shape or size. While it is common for breasts to be two different sizes, watch to make sure one isn’t growing faster than the other. This could be a sign of a problem. Also look for visibly lumpy or uneven breasts.

Though recent research says that women who have lumpy breasts are not necessarily prone to cancer, any changes in the breast should be reported to your doctor.

* Changes in color. Look for general color changes as well as rashes on the skin.

* Texture changes. Examine each breast for rippling, dimpling, or bulging. You should also note the shape and direction of the nipples.

* Discharge. Check to see if there is any liquid or gooey discharge coming from the nipples.

The next step is to feel for lumps in your breasts. This needs to be done twice, once while standing up, and once while laying flat on your back. Many women prefer to feel for lumps while in the shower because it’s easier to move soapy fingers across the skin.

Put one arm behind your head as you examine the breast on that side. Slowly move your fingers in a circular motion applying soft, medium, and firm pressure to each spot to ensure you examine deep and shallow tissues. While different women use different patterns around the breast, the key is to make sure you cover every spot.

Continued in Part 2.

October 23, 2008By pc Breast Cancer, Health, Women's breast cancer, healthLeave a Comment

When Is a Good Time To Go for a Mammogram? Part 2

Part 2.

[If your mom or grandmother had breast cancer, you’re more likely to get it as well, so your doctor will probably want to give you a more thorough screening. Also, your doctor may want to perform a mammogram earlier if you or they find a suspicious lump they want to investigate.

Lately, there has been a lot of talk about digital mammograms. This is a great technology that can help save lives, but that doesn’t really mean you need to get a digital mammogram instead of a normal one.

These two machines produce the same picture, but a digital mammogram can do it faster because it doesn’t require films to be developed. This new technology allows doctors to take a picture of an abnormality while they’re performing surgery, making their cuts more exact, but it makes little difference when getting a routine scan.

While mammograms are important, they shouldn’t be your only defense against breast cancer. It is also important to perform a monthly breast self-exam to help with early detection of problems, and to have yearly exams by your doctor to detect breast and reproductive issues.

In addition, eating right, watching your weight, and being vigilant about any unexplained changes in your breasts will also go along way toward prevention of breast cancer, or early detection, when the likelihood of fighting the cancer is greatest

October 21, 2008By pc Breast Cancer, Health, Women's breast cancer, health, women's healthLeave a Comment

When Is a Good Time To Go for a Mammogram? Part 1

Part 1.

We all know that mammograms are an essential part of the early detection of breast cancer, but many of us still don’t get them as often as we should.

It is important for all women, especially over the age of 40, to know what a mammogram is, and when and how often they should have a scan.

A mammogram is simply an x-ray designed specifically to look for abnormalities in the breast. They show lumps and abnormalities that may not be detected by simply looking at or feeling the breast. While they often detect benign lumps as well, they are fairly reliable at detecting cancerous growths.

While most doctors agree that women should get mammograms regularly after a certain age, they tend to disagree on what that age is. You may think the earlier the better, but not only do early mammograms use time and money, they have a high rate of false positives that could lead to unneeded invasive procedures.

This false positive rate is higher the younger the patient. This not only wastes time and resources, but causes an immense amount of stress on the women who undergo these unneeded procedures.

Naturally, you should do breast self-exams every month.

Most doctors recommend you get your first mammogram between the age of 40 and 50, and then continue to get them every one to two years after that.

Almost all doctors recommend getting at least one mammogram before the age of 50. This is not necessarily to detect a problem, but to give the doctor something to compare later scans to. By being able to see changes in the breast, your doctor is better able to detect a problem early.

In particular, if you have a family history, you should get one done earlier, in your 30s.

The age of a first mammogram shouldn’t be the same for everyone though; there are a few factors that make getting them early more important. The first is family history.

Continued in Part 2.