Breast Cancer in Women - Know the Facts

Breast cancer should be a major concern for all women today since it is the single most common type of cancer in women. There is about a 15% chance of developing breast cancer by the age of 90 if you are a woman and have a full, healthy lifestyle. This percentage may not sound like a lot, but it is one of the highest as far as cancer risks go. You can lower this risk by having a breast cancer test frequently.

Have a Basic Mammogram Regularly

The basic mammogram is the most effective test available even though it can be very uncomfortable for some women. During the time of your test, keep thinking, “This may save my life.” It will help you get through it.

You do not want to wait for symptoms to develop before getting your mammogram, as symptoms don’t usually become clear until the cancer is already in its later stages of growth.

Usually, if the cancer has hit the later stages it is more difficult to treat and more likely has spread to other parts of the body. You may feel like a mammogram is too unpleasant, but terminal cancer is without a doubt worse than the test. Please make the breast cancer test part of your annual check-up.

Self-Examination for Breast Cancer

Also, as soon as you reach the puberty age, it is a good idea to carry out your own breast cancer test, which you can do on a regular basis in the privacy of your own home. A pamphlet describing how this should be done can be picked up at your local doctor’s office or health department. Most breast cancer occurs in women over 40, but there are several cases found in young teen girls each year.

Cancer does not have a certain age or time when it occurs. You just need to check yourself regularly for any lumps or other unusual occurrences. If any are found, go to your doctor immediately.

Breast Cancer Risks

Your chances of developing breast cancer are slightly higher if there is a history of such cancer in your family. So, if you don’t have anyone in your immediate family that has had breast cancer, this is very good news. But unfortunately, many families do have a history. With or without a family history, you still should have regular checkups.

Most people do not realize that there is a 1% occurrence of breast cancer in men. But there are still many more men that are never diagnosed with breast cancer, but they do have it.

Keep up with your self-examination and your regular mammogram since your chances of survival are much greater if the cancer is found early.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM)

Also, remember that October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM) and is observed all over the world thanks to National Breast Cancer Foundation. Breast cancer month has been extremely successful in making more women aware of the signs of breast cancer. More women than ever are now getting their annual mammogram, and this has contributed to a greater survival rate for cancer patients.

Many women have lost their lives to this devastating disease, and this is the main reason why efforts must be continued to teach all women young and old about breast cancer and the risk factors.

Be a true friend or family member and help educate your loved ones about breast cancer and early detection. You may save their lives.

Jean Pardue is a freelance content writer and can be contacted at speed-writer@hotmail.com.

She works with her husband, Bob Pardue, who is a stock female lifestyle and fashion photographer. http://www.parduephotos.com

Breast Cancer - Touchable And Unbelievable

The most common form of cancer in women - which affects about 10% of the world's female population - is still the second most common cause of cancer deaths in women. about 20% of all breast cancer cases ending in death.

This form of cancer is the one considered to have the most serious psychological effects on women. Some specialists say that it happens because this form cancer affects what most women consider to be their symbol of femininity: the breast. Depression is often diagnosed in women who have breast cancer, which makes the treatment even harder.

Risk factors

Many factors are considered to be the possible causes of breast cancer. Contrary to what many people may think, breast cancer also affects men, in smaller proportions - about 1 case in 1000.

Here are some factors considered to be involved in the development of breast cancer:

Age

One thing is for sure about breast cancer: the risks increase with age . Statistics show that for a woman who lives to the age of 90, the risk of getting breast cancer is about 12,5% (or 1 in 8) . However, it's not impossible for young women to have breast cancer and when it happens, the cancer tends to be more aggressive. This is inflammatory breast cancer, difficult to detect because it does not appear in mammography or ultrasound and is often mistaken for mastitis, a simple breast infection .

Genes

Familial breast cancer is rare (less than 5%), but it can happen and it was found to be linked to two different genes. Although this is not a high risk factor for breast cancer, women who have cases of breast cancer among their relatives should have tests more often.

Hormones

The International Agency for Research on Cancer found that women who take combined estrogen-progestogen contraceptives and combined estrogen-progestogen menopausal therapy were at increased risk.

Symptoms and diagnosis

Earlier found, better chances of survival. This is the statement that summarizes the cure for breast cancer and it only makes more important the medical advice that says that women should have a complete check up, including a mammogram and an ultrasound, once a year, especially once they reach their 30s or 40s. A self-examination of the breasts should be done monthly.

Any sign of nodules or lumps found by the woman while doing her self-exam must be taken into account. Most women think that these lumps have something to do with their periods and in many cases they do, but they can also signify the presence of a tumor and that's why the doctor must be told as soon as possible .

The symptoms vary from woman to woman. Some have lumps and some don't. Some women have a white or light-yellow secretion "leaking" from the nipple, some women feel that their breast is tender and swollen. There are those women who feel nothing and these are the most dangerous cases .

The self-exam and the mammogram once a year are the best ways to diagnose breast cancer. If something is found by self-examination, regardless of whether the woman had already had a mammogram that year, another should be done.

Treatment

Medicine has improved a lot in the past few years and the treatments for breast cancer have become more powerful and effective .

There are different options for treatment of breast cancer and doctors can choose the correct one by taking into account the overall health of the woman affected:

- Local or Regional Treatments are directed right to the breast and also to the lymph nodes around the breast.

- Systemic Treatments are directed to the whole body.

- Alternative and Holistic Treatments are important to the person because they include not only the body, but also the mind and spirit as well.

In spite of that, the best treatment is no treatment at all, in other words, prevention.

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Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Breast Cancer

Breast Cancer Statistics - How Breast Cancer Survival Rates Increased 50%

Breast cancer statistics show that over 1.2 million persons will be diagnosed with breast cancer worldwide this year, according to the World Health Organization. For breast cancer and prevention, it has long been known that regular physical activity has been shown to decrease the likelihood of having breast cancer. What has not been known or studied has been the effect of regular physical activity on the breast cancer survival rates or likelihood of death in women that already have breast cancer. That is, until now.

The breast cancer statistics and findings as reported by the American Medical Association’s Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in May 2005 were astounding! Certain participants in the study of women with Stage I, II or III breast cancer achieved a 50% reduction in the death rate from breast cancer.

Here are these breast cancer statistics: the journal reported that in the study 2,987 female registered nurses had been diagnosed with breast cancer during the years 1984-1998. What the study found was that the women who had physical activity equivalent to walking at a steady pace of 2.0-2.9 miles per hour for 3-5 hours a week had a death rate of only 50% of the death rate of women who had physical activity equivalent to walking less than one hour a week. The conclusion of the breast cancer statistics in the study was that physical activity after breast cancer has been diagnosed may reduce the risk of death from breast cancer. The study found that there was little evidence of any relation between increased physical activity and increased benefit.

It’s time to dust off those walking shoes!

As a physical activity, walking can be done almost anytime by anyone anywhere. All that’s needed is a good pair of walking shoes. Walking is fun and reduces stress. As for injuries, walking has the lowest injury rate of all the various kinds of exercise.

You can walk with a partner, friend, family member or dog, maybe even a neighbor's dog. Or you can walk with your favorite headset and music. If you are walking outdoors with a headset, keep one ear open to hear the sounds around you.

As for basic walking tips:

· As you begin regular walking, take it easy. Standard advice is to check with your physician before starting any exercise program. If it’s been years or decades since you walked regularly, perhaps you can begin with 5 minutes of walking and slowly increase your time and distance.

· Walking at a pace of 75–95 steps a minute will have you walking at a speed of about 2-3 miles per hour.

· Walk with your head up, looking out in front of you. Do not walk looking down right in front of you except to navigate any obstacles.

· Really take it easy the first 5 minutes of walking to warm up. Afterwards, gently stretch for 5–10 minutes while your muscles are warm.

· Practice good walking form. Your arms should swing naturally in the direction you’re walking, not from side to side across your body. Your foot should strike the ground on your heel, then a rolling motion forward toward the ball of your foot, then pushing off with your toes.

And here are some basic walking shoes tips:

· Buy your walking shoes from a sporting shoes store with large selections. That will give you plenty of choices. And buy your walking shoes later in the day when your feet will be larger.

· Buy cushioned, supportive walking shoes. To see if a shoe is supportive, do this test -- take a shoe and turn it upside down. Holding each end of the shoe, try to fold it. If you find the shoe bends in the middle, then that shoe is not a supportive shoe. A supportive shoe should bend where your foot normally bends, near your toes.

· You should allow the width of your index finger between the end of your shoe and the end of your longest toe, or about one-half inch.

· Buy two pairs of walking shoes, one for home and one for the car or workplace. And if one pair gets wet, you can use the other pair that day.

Walking is the closest thing to the perfect exercise. In today’s fast-paced society, regular walking can be a welcomed break from the stress of the day. Maybe you’ll get to know your neighborhood or neighbors better. There may be walking trails you’ve never seen but wanted to.

Wherever and however you choose to walk, not only can the experience be fun, you’ll know you’re being good to your body in a variety of ways. Besides the incredible breast cancer statistics and findings of the breast cancer study, walking helps with weight control and bone strength, elevates mood, helps build and maintain healthy muscles, joints and heart. With so many great health benefits, why not get started walking today!

Copyright 2005 InfoSearch Publishing

Olinda Rola is President of InfoSearch Publishing and webmaster of http://www.safemenopausesolutions.com - a website of natural solutions for a variety of health problems. For information about preventing breast cancer, visit Breast Cancer and Prevention to read more.

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.

Breast Cancer - Estrogen Dominance & The Imbalance Of Hormones

Even a woman with low estrogen levels can have estrogen dominance symptoms if she doesn't have any progesterone.

How do we become estrogen dominant? Our food chain is laced with toxic pesticides, herbicides and growth hormones - a sea of endocrine-disrupting chemicals that mimic estrogen in the body. A saliva test evaluation will either move a man or woman to take action to bring balance to their own hormones or cause them to sit back and reflect on their good hormone health. D. The theory of Estrogen Dominance describes a condition where a woman can have deficient, normal or excessive estrogen but has little or no progesterone to balance its effects in the body. Then there is estrogen found in ERT, HRT and Birth Control Pills.

Out of balance hormones can affect women from 14 to 94. Those over 50 can take an annual saliva test to keep track of their hormone levels. An imbalance of hormones in our bodies results in hormone-related health problems such as PMS, endometriosis, uterine fibroids, infertility, post-partum depression, weight gain, increased blood clotting, thyroid dysfunction, even breast and uterine cancer in women and in men breast cancer, prostate problems and prostate cancer. Estrogen dominance also occurs in men.

Men and women who experience hormone imbalance feel unwell - bringing balance to their hormones is often a key to their wellness. Estrogen Dominance can be detected by taking a saliva test. If we are overweight, our body's store of excess fat can be converted into estrogen. We often find men of fifty having higher saliva estrogen levels than women of fifty! A sign of estrogen dominance in men is the tendency for some to develop breasts. Women and men must become more informed about their own hormone health.

Lee, M. Estrogen Dominance is a term coined by the late John R. Insulin resistance also leads to estrogen dominance. Basically estrogen dominance reflects hormones that have gone out of balance. There are safe natural alternatives available to drug therapies.

As men age, estrogen gradually rises, while saliva levels of progesterone and testosterone gradually fall. Men can also take this simple at-home test to determine if their hormones are out of balance. This simple test can accurately reveal hormone levels. , author of a number of books on the topic of women's hormones.

Antiperspirants And Breast Cancer

The human body has a number of areas, that it uses to purge Toxins from the body, these are, behind the knees, behind the ears, the groin area, and the armpits.

These Toxin do not just disappear, Instead, the body deposits them in the Lymph Nodes below the arms, since it is unable to sweat them out. You can make up your own mind on whether there is someting in this article or not, I know that if I was a lady, I would keep clear of Antiperspirants. The best solution is to use deodorants, rather than antiperspirants, also please remember that the Eight Essential Sugars in Glyconutrients can also help to fight off Toxins. It cannot be ignored, that nearly all Breast Cancer Tumors occur in the upper outer quadrant of the breast area, this is where the Lymph Nodes are located.

The toxins are purged from the body in the form of perspiration and antiperspirant as the name clearly suggests prevents you from perspiring, thereby inhibiting the body from purging Toxins from the armpit area. This article is aimed mainly at ladies, but please be aware that there are a few antiperspirants on the market that are made from natural products, but basically they would still trap the Toxins in the same areas. Research shows that one of the leading causes of Breast Cancer could be the use of antiperspirants. Most underarm antiperspirants contain as the active ingredient, Aluminium Chlorohydrate, as you will probably remember there has been controversy about Aluminium, since the 1950's when it was a popular metal used for making cooking pots, Saucepans and Fry Pans and that it could be one of the contributing factors to Alzheimer's, now we have another problem that could also be related to Aluminium, Breast Cancer. I realise that Doctors everywhere, do a marvelous job, and they are appreciated, but they are reluctant to look at the bigger picture, also please remember that the fourth largest killer of people in the western world is prescription drugs.

Men are less likely (but not totally exempt) to develop breast cancer prompted by the use of antiperspirants, because the antiperspirant is more likely to be caught in the armpit hair, rather than directly applied to the skin, but ladies, who shave their armpits, increase the risk by causing imperceptable nicks in the skin, which allow the chemicals to enter easily into the body through the armpits. A concentration of Toxins then builds up in the areas such as the armpits, which can then lead to cell mutations, which is cancer. There is a lot of controversy about this article, the medical profession scoff at the idea, and so do big business, but then again there are huge numbers of people that scoff at the problems associated with Fluoride in drinking water.