A dear friend recently underwent surgery to eradicate and prevent breast cancer. I wish her all the best as I pray for a speedy and full recovery.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
The National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM) is a collaboration of national public service organizations, professional medical associations, and government agencies working together to promote breast cancer awareness, share information on the disease, and provide greater access to services. (Read more.)
For more information about breast cancer and how you can make a difference, visit Susan G. Komen and click around the site.
It’s not enough to know about breast cancer – we all need to be proactive concerning it.
How?
By conducting a monthly BSE (Breast Self Exam).
John Hopkins Medical Center states:
“Forty percent of diagnosed breast cancers are detected by women who feel a lump, so establishing a regular breast self-exam is very important.”
It’s important that younger women, as well as older, practice BSE on a regular basis to become and remain aware of what’s normal and what’s not.
Beginning in their 20s, women should be told about the benefits and limitations of breast self-exam (BSE). Women should be aware of how their breasts normally look and feel and report any new breast changes to a health professional as soon as they are found. Finding a breast change does not necessarily mean there is a cancer.
A woman can notice changes by knowing how her breasts normally look and feel and feeling her breasts for changes (breast awareness), or by choosing to use a step-by-step approach (with a BSE) and using a specific schedule to examine her breasts. (Read more at The American Cancer Society.)
And, lest we forget, Breast Cancer is not a women only disease. Men get it, too. If your guy won’t or doesn’t know how to self examine, then you show him / do it for him. He won’t mind. Mine doesn’t. And, while you’re at it, teach him to perform a TSE. That’s his favorite part. 😉
Self awareness and self examination is oh so important to early detection and to living a period wise life. Know the changes your breasts go through each cycle. Learn what’s normal, know what’s not.
If you aren’t sure, ask your doctor or health care provider.
Early detection saves lives.