Breast: Blessed and Cursed, Of all little baby girls born today, statistics say that 1 in 8 of them will go on to be diagnosed with breast cancer. If you know 100 women, 12. 5 percent of them may hear that news : it's breast cancer. Think of your closest eight girlfriends. There's a good chance you will be supporting one of them as they walk the cancer journey. There's a good chance you might be that 1 in 8 needing the dukungan.
I recently spent the day with some of my closest girl friends (like, known-forever, grew-up-together, very dear-to-my-heart girl friends.) There were about 10 of us that went to our ol' stomping grounds in Salem, Oregon for a foto shoot together. It was such a blast to capture ourselves now as 30-year-olds. Most all of us moms. Most all of us wives. But as an oncology nurse who knows the stats too well and sees its fruit daily, I couldn't help but wonder ; between the " cheese! " and " should we smile or do a silly face? " the quiet thought came to my mind : At least one of us. Who is it going to be?
Day after day after day, I see woman after woman after woman on their breast cancer journey. All walks of life. A youthful and healthy 26-year-old. A wrinkled and seasoned 96-year-old. Some of them have it in the family, and some are blazing the cancer trails. I'll say it now as I have said a thousand times : cancer is indiscriminate. It doesn't care how young or old you are. That you are a mom or hope to be some day. That you have plans for life or dreams to chase or goals to reach. So what do we do when our chances are that high to either know the woman or be the woman on the breast cancer journey? Especially when the disease is a silent one, often having no signs or symptoms until advanced stages.
These three things I would suggest for all women who have the beautiful but unfortunate physiology that makes us susceptible to breast cancer :
Do your own breast self exams at home. It's free. It's easy. It's private. It's best to try and do it around the same time every month, about 4 days after your monthly cycle (your breasts are usually less lumpy at this time.) Set your phone calendar to remind you. Write it in your pocket book. Put a sticky note on your bathroom mirror. Whatever it takes to remind you. The more you really know your own breasts (weird, I know) the more likely you are to notice when something isn't right. I am always so impressed when a woman found her own lump during a breast self exam (and actually speaks up about it!) potentially saving her own life! Empowering.
Don't miss your annual exam. Whatever age you are, get your annual exam that includes a clinical breast exam. It's really not too intrusive, even for a very private and modest woman like myself. Your provider will very gently and carefully juicet palpate around to make sure you don't have any unusual lumps or breast asymmetry. It's quick, easy, and painless.
Get. Your. Mammograms. The recommendation has always been that women with average risk for breast cancer should start getting annual screening mammograms at age 40. It seems there's a grup looking to change that age to 50, but I say the more mammograms in your life, the merrier (hopefully your insurance will agree.) I can't tell you how many women did find their cancer because they were on top of their mammograms. The opposite is true - the unfortunate number of women who found their cancer in advanced stages because they never had a mammogram.
What have your experiences been with breast cancer? Do you have it? Did you have it? Know someone who did or does? How did they find it? What will you do to remember to do your breast self exams?
I recently spent the day with some of my closest girl friends (like, known-forever, grew-up-together, very dear-to-my-heart girl friends.) There were about 10 of us that went to our ol' stomping grounds in Salem, Oregon for a foto shoot together. It was such a blast to capture ourselves now as 30-year-olds. Most all of us moms. Most all of us wives. But as an oncology nurse who knows the stats too well and sees its fruit daily, I couldn't help but wonder ; between the " cheese! " and " should we smile or do a silly face? " the quiet thought came to my mind : At least one of us. Who is it going to be?
Day after day after day, I see woman after woman after woman on their breast cancer journey. All walks of life. A youthful and healthy 26-year-old. A wrinkled and seasoned 96-year-old. Some of them have it in the family, and some are blazing the cancer trails. I'll say it now as I have said a thousand times : cancer is indiscriminate. It doesn't care how young or old you are. That you are a mom or hope to be some day. That you have plans for life or dreams to chase or goals to reach. So what do we do when our chances are that high to either know the woman or be the woman on the breast cancer journey? Especially when the disease is a silent one, often having no signs or symptoms until advanced stages.
These three things I would suggest for all women who have the beautiful but unfortunate physiology that makes us susceptible to breast cancer :
Do your own breast self exams at home. It's free. It's easy. It's private. It's best to try and do it around the same time every month, about 4 days after your monthly cycle (your breasts are usually less lumpy at this time.) Set your phone calendar to remind you. Write it in your pocket book. Put a sticky note on your bathroom mirror. Whatever it takes to remind you. The more you really know your own breasts (weird, I know) the more likely you are to notice when something isn't right. I am always so impressed when a woman found her own lump during a breast self exam (and actually speaks up about it!) potentially saving her own life! Empowering.
Don't miss your annual exam. Whatever age you are, get your annual exam that includes a clinical breast exam. It's really not too intrusive, even for a very private and modest woman like myself. Your provider will very gently and carefully juicet palpate around to make sure you don't have any unusual lumps or breast asymmetry. It's quick, easy, and painless.
Get. Your. Mammograms. The recommendation has always been that women with average risk for breast cancer should start getting annual screening mammograms at age 40. It seems there's a grup looking to change that age to 50, but I say the more mammograms in your life, the merrier (hopefully your insurance will agree.) I can't tell you how many women did find their cancer because they were on top of their mammograms. The opposite is true - the unfortunate number of women who found their cancer in advanced stages because they never had a mammogram.
What have your experiences been with breast cancer? Do you have it? Did you have it? Know someone who did or does? How did they find it? What will you do to remember to do your breast self exams?
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