Breast Cancer; Facts and Figures

It would not be surprising, therefore, that any ailment or condition that endangers the look, health and functionality of this vital body part would be a real source of worry to every lady.

Breast cancer, despite all medical and technological advances, as been on the rise in the last 50 years or so. The figures that stare us in the face when we check the records are quite alarming. But, there is no running away from these figures, they are real.

It's alarming but it is true that there's more breast cancer now than ever before. It is true that between 1979 and 1986 the incidence of invasive breast cancer in the United States alone has increased 29 percent among white women and 41 percent among black women, and incidences of all breast cancers doubled. It's true that despite yearly mammograms and advanced medical and diagnostic technology the percentage of women dying from breast cancer has remained virtually unchanged over the past 50 years, and that every 12 minutes throughout the last half of the 20th Century another woman died of breast cancer.

It is also fact that more than two hundred thousand cases of breast cancer are diagnosed every year in the United States. In Canada about twenty thousand new cases, thirteen thousand in Australia and over forty one thousand in the UK. And it's true that breast cancer is the disease that women fear more than any other, that breast cancer is the biggest killer of all women aged 35 to 54, and that of the 2.5 million women currently diagnosed with breast cancer, half will be dead within ten years.

It really does not matter if you are 20 years old or 50 years old. You stand some risk of catching the monster. It is estimated that one in every nine women will get breast cancer at some period in her life

These are not pleasant tales. My purpose in painting these gory pictures, is not to scare anyone, but to make you see the importance of giving more attention to your breast. The more you know about breast cancer, the better.

Almost every woman is at risk of breast cancer, but records show that 80% of cases are found in woman over 50 years of age. There are several factors that can predispose one to breast cancer. Some are within your control and others are not. It therefore makes much sense to avoid the humanly controllable factors as much as possible. Most of these are the daily lifestyle choices we make. The problem is that these habits do not show the extent of damage they can cause to our body until we begin to get older, and by then the damage is done already.

Factors associated with breast cancer include:

- Taking an oral contraceptive pill

- Hormone replacement therapy

- Obesity and/or high fat diets

- Family history of breast cancer

It is worth stating here, however, that most breast cancers are hormonally related Other factors may also affecting the risk, include stress, carcinogens, excessive use of stimulants like alcohol, caffeine and cigarettes and exposure to pesticides and radiation.

Early detection of breast cancer is still the best guarantee of getting cured. Presently, six out of every seven patients diagnosed with breast cancer are cured at an early stage. However, if they are diagnosed when the cancer has become advanced, the cure rate falls to about one in seven. It is extremely important to catch breast cancer at an early stage if it is to be satisfactorily cured. This therefore makes knowing the symptoms very crucial.

Breast cancer, in its early stages hardly shows any sign at all. It does not cause any pain in most instances. Some of the symptoms associated with breast cancer include:

- Itching in the armpit or around the breast region

- Pink, red, or dark colored area (called erythematic) with texture similar to the skin of an orange

- Ridges and thickened areas of the skin of nipple or breast

- Appearance of a bruise that does not go away

- Nipple getting inverted

- Breast warm to the touch

- Pain in the breast which could vary from a constant ache to stabbing pains

- Change in texture as well as color of the skin around the nipple

- Change in the shape or size of a breast

- Dimpling of the breast skin

- Swelling or a lump in the armpit

- Discharge from the nipple

None of these symptoms is clear evidence of breast cancer, as most of the signs may also arise due to other conditions affecting the breast. Only a doctor can made a definite statement about the presence or otherwise of breast cancer after an exhaustive examination.

Know your breast, and how to self examine your breast and always report the slightest changes to a doctor. It's not worth taking chances with breast cancer. It's real and it's spreading like wild fire in the ever-polluted society we live in today. Do the little you can to keep your name off the breast cancer list, the sacrifice is worth it.

Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Breast Cancer

Hypnosis Complements Breast Cancer Treatment and Breast Surgery

If you are scheduled for breast surgery (biopsy, lumpectomy or mastectomy) or you are undergoing post-surgical breast cancer treatment, hypnosis is an excellent complementary therapy that can enhance the positive effects of various therapies.* Using hypnotherapy in combination with your medical breast cancer treatment will make you feel more empowered and in control of your care, and it will help you maximize your overall wellness.

The power of the subconscious mind can be a potent ally in healing from surgery and recovering from breast cancer, for it is the subconscious mind that controls automatic body processes, including immune function and pain perception. Additionally, the subconscious mind is the source of all emotions, which also makes hypnosis a logical choice for dealing with the emotional aspects of breast cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Hypnosis for breast cancer treatment can help with the following issues:

Pre-Surgical Preparation: Numerous studies in medical journals have shown that people who prepare for surgery using hypnosis generally have fewer complications, heal faster and have less post-operative pain. Hypnosis will help you feel calm, relaxed and positive before, during and after surgery. Usually, the hypnosis therapy is geared toward making positive suggestions to your subconscious regarding your surgery and its outcome, as well as teaching you how to effectively manage pre-surgery stress.

When we see pre-surgical clients in our hypnosis practice, we give them a CD to play before and immediately after surgery (and with headphones during surgery, if their surgeon permits). The CD contains soothing music, relaxing imagery and positive suggestions to reassure the client's subconscious mind that the surgery will go smoothly and that their body will heal quickly, with as little discomfort as possible.

The results of pre-surgical hypnosis can be quite amazing. Patients frequently report that they needed very little pain medication and that they were back on their feet very quickly after surgery. I recently spoke with a client with whom I had worked before her major abdominal surgery. After her surgery, her surgeon told her he would order a narcotic pain killer. She told him to hold off on the narcotics because she was not in much pain. In fact, she required only ibuprofen and she was up and walking around just two hours after her surgery! Needless to say, her doctor was amazed.

Any surgery can be stressful, but breast surgery that may indicate a need for follow-up breast cancer treatment can be extremely stressful for any woman. In our practice, hypnosis for breast cancer surgery focuses specifically on this extreme stress. The calmer you stay before the surgery, the more resources your body has to heal itself as quickly as possible.

Follow-Up Treatment If Cancer Is Detected: If you require follow-up radiation and/or chemotherapy as part of your breast cancer treatment, hypnosis can teach you how to feel more relaxed and manage your stress. A growing body of evidence suggests that chronic stress and the cascade of stress hormones it produces can interfere with the proper functioning of the immune system. An immune system which is as healthy as it can be (given the specific treatment) is critically important during breast cancer treatment.

When we work with breast cancer clients in our practice, we teach them relaxation, self-hypnosis and stress management techniques. We also teach our clients how to use mental imagery to encourage their immune system to work together with their medical therapies in order to maximize the benefits of their breast cancer treatment. For example, we may teach a client to visualize her immune system attacking and killing the cancer cells, or surrounding and transforming the cancer cells into something harmless. The visualization work for each client's breast cancer treatment is always tailored to her needs and the way her imagination works.

If your breast cancer treatment creates side effects, including nausea, hypnosis can help you minimize those side effects. And if your breast cancer treatment creates body image issues, hypnosis can also help you feel good about your body again. Each woman is different, both in her needs and in her physical and emotional reactions to the breast cancer treatment and its side effects. Accordingly, each woman's hypnosis sessions will need to be tailored specifically to her requirements and goals.

Whether you are scheduled to undergo breast surgery to determine if you need follow-up breast cancer treatment, or you are already undergoing breast cancer treatment, hypnosis can complement your medical treatment in multiple ways.

*Hypnosis is not a substitute for medical breast cancer treatment. Rather, it is an excellent complement to standard medical breast cancer treatment. Hypnosis works with doctors, not against them. Do not discontinue medical breast cancer treatment when you begin hypnotherapy.

Loretta Sernekos, Ph.D., is a Certified Hypnotherapist in private practice in Cherry Hill, NJ and Philadelphia, PA. You can visit her hypnosis practice website at http://sghypnosis.com for more information and audio podcasts. For additional hypnosis information and articles, both modern and antiquarian, visit http://hypnosisgateway.com.