How can I find out more information regarding the Plexus Pink Breast Exam Kits and Dr. Spencer’s Breast Cream?
What's the best time for breast self-exams?
What are the benefits of breast familiarity?
What strategies can I do to help decrease my risk of breast cancer?
How do I conduct a breast self exam?
Does physical activity reduce the risk of breast cancer?
Will a healthy diet keep me from having breast cancer?
Does smoking cause breast cancer?
Does alcohol increase my risk of breast cancer?
Are oral contraceptives a link to breast cancer?
How often should I do breast self-exam (BSE)?
Does a family history put me at high risk?
Are mammograms painful?
Does my menstrual history affect my breast cancer risk?
How often should I go to my doctor for a checkup?
What kind of impact does stress have on breast cancer?
Is wearing a bra a risk factor for developing breast cancer?
What role do personal products such as deodorants have in the risk of breast cancer?
What does lymphatic breast massage do?
Where did your research come from and where can I go for more information?
What can I consider breast cancer early warning signs and when should I contact my doctor?
How can I find out more information regarding the Plexus Pink Breast Exam Kits and Dr. Spencer’s Breast Cream?
www.plexuspinkbreastexam.com
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What's the best time for breast self-exams?
The best time to perform a breast self-exam is about a week after the start of your period. That's when your breasts are least likely to be tender or swollen. Your breast tissue undergoes changes each month during your menstrual cycle. Changes in hormone levels associated with menstruation cause your breasts to swell. Once your period starts, the swelling subsides and your breasts return to normal.
During pregnancy and nursing, your breasts may feel more lumpy than usual. If you have any questions about how your breasts look or feel, don't hesitate to ask your doctor about them.
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What are the benefits of breast familiarity?
When you know the normal feel of your breasts, it's easier to notice subtle but potentially serious changes. These changes may become apparent quickly, over the course of just a few months.
Say, for example, you feel a barely perceptible area of thickening in the upper quadrant of your breast, next to your arm. If you've become familiar with how your breasts look and feel, you know your breast usually feels completely smooth in that area. Without a tactile memory from having done many breast self-exams, though, you might not notice this difference. Detecting such a change should prompt you to see your doctor.
Although most breast abnormalities discovered on breast self-exams aren't cancers, a small proportion are. Some of those cancers are at an early stage, when prompt treatment can be lifesaving. That's why regular breast self-exams — examining your breasts in a way that's comfortable to you, with an awareness of what's normal for you — are particularly important if you're at increased risk of breast cancer.
To gain the greatest benefit from regular breast self-exams, ask your doctor to review your technique at your next checkup.
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What strategies can I do to help decrease my risk of breast cancer?
- Limit alcohol. A strong link exists between alcohol consumption and breast cancer. The type of alcohol consumed — wine, beer or mixed drinks — seems to make no difference. To help protect against breast cancer, limit alcohol to less than one drink a day or avoid alcohol completely.
- Maintain a healthy weight. There's a clear link between obesity — weighing more than is appropriate for your age and height — and breast cancer. This is especially true if you gain the weight later in life, particularly after menopause. Excess fatty tissue is a source of circulating estrogen in your body. And breast cancer risk is linked to how much estrogen you're exposed to during your lifetime.
- Stay physically active. Regular exercise can help you maintain a healthy weight and, as a consequence, may aid in lowering your risk of breast cancer. Aim for at least 30 minutes of exercise on most days of the week. If you haven't been particularly active in the past, start your exercise program slowly and gradually work up to a greater intensity. Try to include weight-bearing exercises such as walking, jogging or aerobics. These have the added benefit of keeping your bones strong.
- Consider limiting fat in your diet. Results from the most definitive study of dietary fat and breast cancer risk to date suggest a slight decrease in risk of invasive breast cancer for women who eat a low-fat diet. But the effect is modest at best. However, by reducing the amount of fat in your diet, you may decrease your risk of other diseases, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and stroke. And a low-fat diet may protect against breast cancer in another way if it helps you maintain a healthy weight — another factor in breast cancer risk. For a protective benefit, limit fat intake to less than 35 percent of your daily calories and restrict foods high in saturated fat.
- Consider regular colon cleansing. See recommended websites for more information.
- Perform regular breast lymphatic massage. See posted information or websites for details. information.
- Perform skin brushing. See posted information or websites for details.
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How Do I Conduct a Breast Self Exam?
To carry out the self exam, lie on your back, place a pillow under your right shoulder and place your right arm behind your head; this position will flatten the right breast. With your left fingers together and extended, move the three middle finger pads in tiny circles (palpate) across the gland counterclockwise covering the entire region. Feel for cyst lumps.
Repeat twice using a different pressure with each complete coverage. Vary from light pressure to deep pressure. Extend the area of coverage to the armpit, collarbone and shoulder.
Alternate patterns of feel may be used as long as the entire region is covered. You may use longitudinal lines (in the direction of head to foot) or radial lines from the outer margin to the nipple and back to the margin.
Finish the breast self exam by gently squeezing the nipple and checking for a discharge. Finally, repeat this entire examination in the left breast.
Sexual partners may also perceive changes. These should be confirmed with a self exam.
Approximately one in eight women will develop breast cancer at some point in her life. For early detection, the American Cancer Society recommends the following breast care guidelines:
- Women age 20-39: Perform an optional self exam monthly and have a physical every year.
- Women age 40-50: Perform a self exam monthly, have a physical annually, and have a mammogram every year or two.
- Women age 50 and over: Perform a self exam monthly, have a physical and mammogram annually.
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Does Physical Activity Reduce The Risk Of Breast Cancer?
A woman who exercises four hours per week reduces her risk of breast cancer. Exercise pumps up the immune system and cuts the estrogen level.
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Will A Healthy Diet Keep Me From Having Breast Cancer?
Eat a low-fat, nutritious diet. A high-fat diet increases the risk of breast cancer since fat triggers the hormone estrogen that fuels tumor growth. Fill your diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables.
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Does Smoking Cause Breast Cancer?
Most studies have not found smoking to cause breast cancer. One recent study indicated there might be a link. Studies of the relationship of breast cancer to cigarette smoking and second-hand cigarette smoke are still under study. However, smoking decreases your survival rate once you have been diagnosed with breast cancer.
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Does Alcohol Increase My Risk Of Breast Cancer?
One or two drinks a day slightly increase your risk of breast cancer. The more alcohol you drink, the higher your risk.
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Are Oral Contraceptives A Link To Breast Cancer?
There is an increased risk of breast cancer for women under the age of 35 who have been using birth control pills for 10+ years.
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How Often Should I Do Breast Self-Exam (BSE)?
Give yourself a breast self-exam once a month. Look for any changes in breast tissue, such as changes in size, a lump, dimpling or puckering of the breast, or a discharge from the nipple. Eight out of 10 lumps are not cancerous.
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Does A Family History Put Me At High Risk?
If you have a grandmother, mother, sister, or daughter who has been diagnosed with breast cancer, this does put you in a higher risk group. Have a baseline mammogram at least five years before the age of breast cancer onset in any close relatives. See your physician at any sign of unusual symptoms. Learn more about the role genetics play in breast cancer at: www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/genetics
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Are Mammograms Painful?
Mammography compresses the breasts and can sometimes cause a slight discomfort for a very brief time. It may be more comfortable for you to have a mammogram a week after your menstrual cycle when your breasts are less tender.
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Does My Menstrual History Affect My Breast Cancer Risk?
You are at a higher risk if you began your menstrual cycle before the age of 12, you have no children, you had your first child after the age of 30, or you began menopause after the age of 55.
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How Often Should I Go To My Doctor For A Checkup?
You should have physical every year. If any unusual symptoms or changes in your breasts occur before your scheduled visit, do not hesitate to see the doctor immediately.
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What Kind Of Impact Does Stress Have On Breast Cancer?
Although some studies have shown that stress factors such as traumatic life events and losses can alter the way the immune system functions, they have not provided scientific evidence of a direct cause-and-effect relationship between the two. One area that is currently being studied is the effect of stress on women already diagnosed with breast cancer. Researchers are looking at whether stress reduction can improve the immune response and possibly slow cancer progression.
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Is wearing a bra a risk factor for developing breast cancer?
According to Elizabeth Vaughn, MD, at www.brafree.org, the answer is yes.
In the November 4, 1978 issue of Lancet, John Douglass, MD, from the Southern California Permanente Medical Group, tactually noted the breast temperatures of 550 women after bra removal. Large, bra-encased breasts were hotter than smaller ones, but braless breasts, large, medium, or small, were cool. Observing that men with undescended testes have a high cancer incidence due to glandular tissue overheating, and testicular cancer increasing markedly after men began wearing hotter jockey-type underwear, he suggested that a similar mechanism was at work with breast cancer. If women keep their breasts hot, they develop more cancer.
In the early 1990s, medical anthropologists, Sydney Singer and Soma Grismaijer, studied 4,500 women in 5 cities across the U.S. about their habits in purchasing and wearing bras, and later published their findings in the book, Dressed to Kill. Though the study did not take into account other lifestyle factors, the results are too striking to be denied:
- If you wear a bra 24 hours a day, you have a 3 out of 4 chance of developing breast cancer.
- If you wear a bra less than 12 hours, you have a 1 out of 7 chance of developing breast cancer.
- If you wear a bra less than 12 hours a day, you have a 1 out of 15 chance of developing breast cancer.
- If you wear a bra rarely or never, you have a 1 out of 168 chance of getting breast cancer.
Suggestions:
- Avoid wearing a bra.
- Consider substituting a tank top, or camisole. Check the lingerie section of department stores for bra alternatives which are becoming more popular.
- If you do wear a bra, try to shorten the hours that you wear it.
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What role do personal products such as deodorants have in the risk of breast cancer?
Commercial deodorants and antiperspirants may block the protective detox mechanism of the armpit. Although breast cancer has never been linked directly to deodorants, parabens have been found in surgically removed breast tissue. Try health food brands and avoid aluminum, parabens, and propylene glycol (antifreeze) ingredients. Talc also been associated with ovarian cancer but has not yet been studied for breast cancer.
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What does lymphatic breast massage do?
The lymphatic system is part your immune system. The lymph (blood plasma and white blood cells) circulate through the body tissues transporting debris and toxins from tissue to the lymph nodes. The lymph nodes enable the body to rid itself of these toxins. Massage can partially act as a suction, stimulating lymph action. Stroking the breast opens and closes tiny capillaries that pull off unwanted material from the cells and deposits it into the lymph nodes.
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Where did your research come from and where can I go for more information?
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What can I consider breast cancer early warning signs and when should I contact my doctor?
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Friday, November 7th
Ozarks Women's Living Expo
Ozarks Empire Fairgrounds
3001 N Grant Ave
Springfield, MO 65803
www.womenslivingexpo.com
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Saturday, November 8th
Ozarks Women's Living Expo
Ozarks Empire Fairgrounds
3001 N Grant Ave
Springfield, MO 65803
www.womenslivingexpo.com
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Sunday, November 9th
Ozarks Women's Living Expo
Ozarks Empire Fairgrounds
3001 N Grant Ave
Springfield, MO 65803
www.womenslivingexpo.com
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