Posted: 03 Nov 2009 05:02 PM PST

For fifteen years I have worked as a professional educator. For 5 of those years I have worked in a healthcare organization. One of the most talked about topics is breast cancer and breast health. The bottom line is that although breast cancer is not preventable, it is usually easily detectable.

Note: Breast cancer is not race specific - all races get breast cancer!

Note: Breast cancer is not gender specific - men get breast cancer too!

When breast cancer is caught in the early stages the chances of survival are very high. Please don't add yourself or a friend or loved one to the growing list of statistics. Take action today! Here is a simple three part action step plan to help you with the early detection of breast cancer.

Part One: Regular Mammograms

Ladies, this is the most important part of maintaining good breast health: regular mammograms. Mammograms are fast, simple x-rays similar to the x-rays you get at a dentist's office visit. In fact, mammograms actually use less radiation than a dental x-ray!

Mammograms put you light years ahead when it comes to cancer treatment because they can detect breast lumps long before you or your doctor could physically feel a breast lump. Because early detection is a key to survival, you need to put regular mammograms on your schedule.

The American Cancer Society recommends regular mammograms for all women starting at age 40. If you have a family history of breast cancer, your physician may want you to start a regular mammogram schedule much earlier.

The older you get, the higher your chances of breast cancer. Over 75% of all breast cancers occur in women who are 50 or older. Over 50% of all breast cancers occur in women who are 65 or older.

Ladies - listen to me! Get a regular mammogram! Please! For the sake of your friends and family who love you so much, schedule a yearly mammogram if you are 40 or older or have a family history of breast cancer.

Part Two: Clinical Breast Exam

Only your physician or nurse will do a clinical breast exam for you. All women in their 20's and 30's should have a clinical breast exam as part of their annual health checkups at least every 3 years. After the age of 40, this should be done every year without fail.

What Will Happen In A Clinical Breast Exam?

The physician or nurse will take your personal health history by asking you a series of health history questions. This will include asking about family history. Next the physician or nurse will look at your breasts while you stand in front of a mirror with your hands on your hips. Finally the physician or nurse will physically exam your entire breast up to the neck, in your armpit, the center of your chest and to the bottom of your rib cage. Finally they will discuss proper breast health with you as well as show you how to perform breast self-exams. The entire process can take up to 10 minutes. It should rarely be under 5 minutes.

Part Three: Breast Self-Exams

You need to become familiar with how your breasts look and feel regularly so that you are aware of any changes from normal. If you notice changes, report these to your physician immediately.

One of the most important steps you can take is to do monthly breast self-exams. An easy way to remember to do this is to check while you take a shower. Some organizations even have a shower card you can hang from your shower head with punch out holes for each month, so you can easily track when you have done your exams.

Remember that you need to physically exam your breasts by hand as well as look in the mirror for any visible changes. If you think you've found a lump or noticeable change, notify your doctor immediately.

Most breast lumps are NOT cancer, but you won't know until you ask and have it checked out.

Take Action Now!

Begin your regular breast health plan today which includes regular mammograms, clinical breast exams and monthly self-exams. When breast cancer is caught in the early stages survival rates are greatest. Take action now - for yourself, for your friends and family who love you so much!

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Ten Things Women Need to Know About Getting a Mammogram

Posted: 03 Nov 2009 02:36 PM PST

I've worked in the healthcare field for many years. During this time I've had many opportunities to talk with the doctors, nurses and technicians who work in the X-ray department that specializes in mammograms. Here is a list of the ten most important things that women should know about getting a mammogram.

This is the most important thing: have a yearly mammogram if you are over 40 years old or have a family history of breast cancer.
Go to an X-ray facility that regularly performs mammograms (at least 3-5 per day). This ensures that they have adequate experience in regularly dealing with mammograms. Ask to see their FDA certificate - this shows if they have met high quality professional standards.
Go to the same facility each year, if you are happy with the quality they provide. This way it is much more likely that the same people will look at your mammograms each year, and this makes comparing x-rays from prior years much more easy. If you go to a new facility, take copies of your old mammograms to the new place so they can easily compare the x-rays.
Medicare, Medicaid and most health insurance plans usually cover the costs of a mammogram up to a certain percentage. Low-cost mammograms are made available in some areas by the American Cancer Society.
Every mammogram facility must send your results to you within 30 days. If they find a problem they are to notify you within 5 days. Call your physician or the x-ray facility if you don't get your results within these time frames.
Less than 1% of mammograms will lead to cancer (only 2 to 4 out of 1000). 10% of all women may require a second mammogram - and only 8-10% of these women will need a biopsy. 80% of those biopsies will not be cancer.
You will have to undress down to your waist, but a wrap or gown should be provided for you.
Things that may interfere with a good mammogram are: deodorant, powders or creams under the arms. Avoid these things before a mammogram if you can.
Most mammogram x-ray technologists are women. The technologist will be the only one present during most of your mammogram.
Most mammograms take about 20 minutes to perform, including 2 views of each breast. There may be discomfort during the breast compression x-ray. Try not to schedule a mammogram during the week of your period. Let the technologist know immediately if there is pain during the procedure.

The summary is this: have regular, annual mammograms done each year!

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Eight Years That Could Save a Life!

Posted: 03 Nov 2009 11:18 AM PST

How many women do you know who have had or have breast cancer? I can see you going through the list in your mind. Most of us know someone or may have even suffered the disease personally.

There are women all over the world from the famous to the infamous diagnosed with this disease and over 12,000 women (and 90 men) die yearly. 90% of women who develop breast cancer have no family history of this disease - what a terrible tragedy that this is still happening and often needlessly.

Bad news particularity about our health sends our mind and body into 'free fall'. At this time our immune system is suppressed. Our survival mechanism for fight or flight takes over just when we need to be at optimum health. The sickly feeling at the thought of what you might have to experience on in order to feel well again and the crucial hours of waiting for test results can seem endless. Many women put on a brave face for the sake of family, friends and loved ones and so it can be a long and solitary battle - but do you know it really does not have to be like this?

If ever you have seen a fire fighter going into a smoke filled building looking to see if there are any bodies still inside you will have seen the infra-red heat seeking camera providing 'sight' in pitch black conditions for the fire fighter and saves valuable time in detecting where the body is located. Now lets take this a step further... we all agree that early detection and monitoring of abnormal physiology (physiology refers to the study of the mechanical, physical, and biochemical functions of the body) is of gigantic significance in the prevention of breast disease or any disease for that matter?

Thermography or digital thermal imaging is a non intrusive and non destructive screening test of physiology of any part of the body. A thermal imaging camera produces a thermal scan. Now the amazing feature of this type of scan is that it works on the premise that tumors have abnormal blood vessel patterns which give off more heat than the surrounding tissue, hence alerting the clinician or doctor to the fact that there is an abnormality at a very early stage.

Breast screening up until now, has relied on mammography, doctor or nurse examination or self examination but now all women can benefit from Digital Infra-red Thermal Imaging (DITI). In 1982 the FDA approved Infra red thermal imaging as a safe diagnostic scanning procedure.

This thermal scan takes a 'picture' records the heat that is given off by the breast, which is then displayed on a computer monitor. A visual measurement of the metabolic rate of breast tissue appears on screen. If any abnormalities are found these are also known as "hot spots" indicating increased metabolism and abnormal blood vessel patterns.

With thermal imaging, there is no exposure to radiation and no contact with the body at any time. The benefits of such a scan alert doctors and nurses to any subtle changes that might show evidence of breast disease way before it becomes a tumor. Generally it takes eight years for a cancer cell to develop into a tumour so look at the valuable time that could be saved and the number of women who need not go through such torment.

With a mammogram in a positive test, the tumor may already be evident and will be at a more advanced stage of development. A positive Thermal Scan is essential for future development of cancer and catches this history much earlier. So why are health authorities not offering every woman this method of testing which is a right not a privilege! As always it comes down to money and investment in new technology.

Having had a thermal imaging scan I can say it was an enlightening experience - painless, without exposure to radiation and a subsequent session proving grateful reassurance.

In Britain a mammogram is freely available to women over 50 on the NHS (National Health System) as these women as considered more at risk, however women between the ages of 30 - 50 years old have denser breast tissue making it more difficult for a mammogram to be more effective and show any underlying disease - it is these women that Infra-Red thermal imaging could help offering the earliest possible detection of any abnormality allowing us to be more pro-active rather and re-active at a much later stage.

Any woman who had had breast cancer can also benefit from a Thermal Imaging Scans performed before and after a surgery or other treatment as it can help evaluate the success of any medical intervention the by monitoring the metabolic changes around the cancer area. So take control of your health and be proactive rather than reactive - early detection really can save lives!

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Signs of Breast Cancer - Knowing Them Before It's Too Late

Posted: 03 Nov 2009 07:17 AM PST

One of the main reasons why most breast cancer patients are not surviving this treatment is because they do not know that they have this disease in the first place. Because of this, they were not able to undergo treatments in order to stop the growth of cancer early on. With this the following are the signs of breast cancer you should be aware of.

The most common signs of breast cancer are the lumps that you can feel when you have been doing some self examinations on your breasts. The doctors will be able to feel this once your doctor does a physical exam on you during your physical exam. Once they have felt a lump, they will have it tested in order to find out if it is a malignant or benign tumor. Just the same, doctors will be able to check out on mass growth on the breasts through routine mammograms. In this way, they would see whether there are some malignant formations that cannot be felt by the hand.

Other signs that you should watch out for on your breast is the size and the shape. With this, you can try to suspect that the immediate change might be caused by cancer cells growing in your breasts. Aside from this, the breasts' skin should also be checked for any markings or dimpling.

Aside from just the breasts itself, the nipples should also be checked. One of the common signs on the nipples is its inversion. Once you noticed that there is this change on your nipples, you should start consulting your physician immediately. Aside from this you should also take note of nipple discharge.

Other symptoms may also include the Paget's disease. The symptoms of this disease are eczema type symptoms such as redness, itching and burning and even some tingling feeling. This may be taken for granted as the symptoms may just be regular eczema. However, there are cases that women who have this disease also have breast lumps.

Since breast cancer is a type of cancer, you can also consider other cancer symptoms such as unexplained weight loss, swollen lymph nodes and even joint pains as something connected to this disease.

Once one or more of these symptoms were detected, it is very important for people to have these checked immediately in order to do proper work up. Keep in mind that these symptoms may not only be indicative of cancer but also of other diseases. And the breast-specific symptoms may also be an indication of benign diseases of the breasts. Through early check up and detection, you will be able to undergo treatments that will prevent the growth of the lump or the spread of the cancer cells and thus preventing it to grow to its next stage. This will help the women to survive this breast disease.

Overall, these signs of breast cancer should be known to everyone so they would be able to stop this disease from affecting a number of women in the country through early treatments.

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Breast Cancer

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

“Breast Cancer and Breast Health - Take Action Now to Avoid Being a Statistic” plus 3 more

“Breast Cancer and Breast Health - Take Action Now to Avoid Being a Statistic” plus 3 more

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