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Entry bubble National Breast Cancer Awareness Month

By: Ginger | October 02, 2009 | Category: Health

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I have several friends whose mothers have had breast cancer. My friends witnessed their mothers go through surgeries and cancer treatment therapies, so they are familiar with the disease. Because a woman's risk of breast cancer is higher if her mother, sister, or daughter had breast cancer, my friends pay special attention to their own breast health.

Woman getting a mammogramEarly detection with regular mammograms and manual breast self-examinations, can increase survival rates. Women who do not have a family history of breast cancer should also have a mammogram and clinical breast examination by a health care provider every year. Treatments can be most successful and chances of survival are best when breast cancer is found at the earliest opportunity.

I have a little ritual I perform when I go to get my mammogram. I ask the technician, on a scale of 1 to 10, what kind of day she is having. If she responds with a 6 or lower, I joke with her that she needs to go have a strawberry margarita before putting me in the pincher (not the technical name for the thing, but you know what I'm talking about). If she responds with a 9 or 10, I joke with her that I am going to have to reschedule because she is a little too happy and might be a little overzealous in her job. It might sound dumb, but this little ice breaker helps me relax and it makes the experience... I won't say pleasant, how about, not so bad?

There are many resources out there that are useful, here are just a few that I was able to locate:

| Post a Comment | View Comments [3] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: breast_cancer   ginger   mammograms   national_breast_cancer_awareness_month  

Comments (3):

blue comment bubble Posted by yvette on October 02, 2009 at 03:13 PM EDT

i am shocked that alot of doctors i have had doesn't do the breast exam when you go in for an exam unless you remind them or request it. only on two occassion did the doctor initiate the breast exam. i think it should be mandatory with your doctor that they do a breast exam when you go for your annual paps.

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blue comment bubble Posted by Deborah on October 03, 2009 at 05:02 PM EDT

Start learning and educating people about Thermography. It is an FDA approved screening technique, just not the "preferred" one (mammography). I got a baseline mammogram during the same month that I had my first thermogram and now get yearly thermograms After just 2 years, my traditional gynecologist asks that I send him a copy. Its non-invasive and detect things much much earlier than a mammogram. Here is some info from a Baltimore M.D. who offers thermograpy:

http://www.cometawellnesscenter.com/thermo.htm#A_Review_of_Thermography

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blue comment bubble Posted by just me on October 05, 2009 at 06:20 AM EDT

in an age of defensive medicine, and people looking for someone to sue, i can understand a doctor not performing a breast exam unless requested, especially a male doctor. they do not need a lawsuit ruiining their career because someone felt fondled. They do not have to be found guilty to hurt their practice, just the allegations will damage their business, their livelihood.

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