The Importance of Early Detection in Breast Cancer
The first time I found a lump on one of my breasts, I was in my early twenties. Actually, I didn’t find the lump, my doctor did. It was during a routine annual exam. It was a little scary going for my first mammogram at such a young age.
Fortunately, everything turned out fine for me.
It turns out I have dense tissue in my breasts. This means I develop lumps fairly frequently. They’re usually nothing to be concerned about. But the only way to know for certain is to have a mammogram.
A mammogram is a breast exam used to screen you for breast cancer. They squeeze your breast between two cold, hard, flat surfaces. Then they take x-rays of your breasts at various angles. It’s sometimes painful but mostly uncomfortable.
How to Prepare for a Mammogram
There isn’t very much preparation for a mammogram. It is recommended that you avoid chocolate, coffee, or caffeine before the test. The caffeine can make your breasts more tender making it more uncomfortable during the exam. You should begin to avoid them about a week before your exam.
Hopefully, where you for your exam will be as cool as mine. They have coffee readily available and giant jars of Hershey kisses in the waiting rooms. To make up for all the chocolate you gave up
On the day of the exam, do not put on deodorant, lotion, perfume, or anything else on your breasts or under your arms. If you do, you should thoroughly wash it off before the exam. It could alter your test results or prevent the x-rays from being clear.
After checking in for your exam you will be asked to undress from the top up and put on a gown. You should wear a skirt or pants so you can at least have your bottoms on when they remove the gown during the exam.
The worst part of a mammogram is trying to hold still while they take the x-ray. If you move while they are taking the x-ray, it could come out blurry. Making it difficult for the doctor to make an accurate assessment.
Then you have to do it again. Which is a little more painful now that your breasts are already tender. After years of experience, I’ve mastered the art of holding my breath while they are taking the x-rays.
When Should You Have a Mammogram?
Your doctor will recommend a mammogram if there is something unusual or suspicious about your breasts. Like a lump, tenderness, pain, unusual changes or discharge from your nipples; or any other unusual changes to your breasts.
If you’re old (like me) it is recommended that you have a mammogram once a year. Typically if you are over the age of 40 or if there is a history of cancer in your family. Speak to your doctor if anything seems unusual about your breasts or to find out when you should have your first mammogram.
If you have any of the above mentioned symptoms, schedule an appointment with your doctor immediately. Early detection could mean the difference between life or death.
After they take the x-rays you will be sent to a waiting room. They recommend that you keep the gown on in case the doctor recommends more testing. Then you sit in a room with other women all a little nervous while waiting for their test results.
The doctor will call you into a room where you go over the x-rays together.
If everything looks good they send you on your way. You can breathe easy now knowing you’re okay.
If something looks suspicious, then further testing is recommended. They typically start with more x-ray taken from multiple angles and more advanced technology like 3D images.
If something warrants concern, the next step is to have a biopsy. Where they extract samples from the breast tissue to run more tests.
After your mammogram, you will most likely be offered a choice whether to stay and wait for your results or to leave. If you decide to stay you will wait to see the doctor and go over the results together. If you decide to leave they will call you with the results.
Keep in mind, if you are called back it is no longer considered prevention. Your health insurance may charge you differently for your follow up visit. I learned this the hard way by having to pay out of pocket. Apparently, had I stayed the entire appointment would have been covered under prevention saving me money.
I usually wait since I want to know the results as quickly as possible. One year when I was there for a routine visit, it was kind of busy and I didn’t feel like waiting. Since I was there for a routine visit and not because of any unusual changes I wasn’t too concerned.
As Murphy’s Law would have it, things looked suspicious.
I was surprised when I received a call to come back for more testing.
This time when I arrived at the facility, they sent me to the other side. This side is where the women go who failed the initial breast screening. I call it the scary side. It was not fun sitting in the waiting.
You can’t help but people watch while you’re there. Wondering who has cancer. It makes me happy to see women come out of the doctor’s office with expressions of relief and joy. I too felt relief on that day. It turned out to be nothing.
My sister Natalie wasn’t so lucky. She died of breast cancer. She had been struggling with her weight and was taking high blood pressure medication.
She was only 46 years old when she died. She found the lump between her regular checkups and annual mammograms. Only 7 months after having a routine mammogram. She wasn’t scheduled for another one for 5 months.
It turned out to be the most aggressive form of breast cancer. After careful consideration, she decided to have the most aggressive treatment. Her doctor scheduled a double mastectomy and both her breasts were removed only 2 weeks after she was diagnosed with cancer.
Six weeks later, she went back to have her stitches removed. Another cancerous lump had already formed on one of her scars. She went back to surgery to have the lump removed. Then she went through chemotherapy, radiation, and chemotherapy again. Despite the early detection, cancer spread rapidly into stage 4. Once in her lymph nodes, cancer spread everywhere including her lungs. She died exactly one year after having her breasts removed.
My sister Natalie didn’t win her battle with cancer but many do.
Her overall health wasn’t very good, to begin with. She was overweight, was taking high blood pressure medication (which completely killed her sex drive), and she smoked.
Your health and choices can significantly impact your treatment. Including your chance of survival and risk of contracting other deadly diseases and breast cancer.
There are many cancer survivors who are alive today because of early detection.
As well as their overall health and choices.
It’s scary to think about but extremely important. Early detection and immediate treatment is the best way to battle this deadly disease.
Check your own breasts every month. Only you know what your breasts feel like. What is normal for you and what is not. If you have any unusual symptoms or any of the above mentioned symptoms, it is critical that you call your doctor to have your breasts examined.
As quickly as possible.
On a side note, my sister was an organ donor. Because cancer had spread throughout her entire body, only her corneas could be donated. I learned shortly after her death that two people can now see because of her. An eighty year old woman in WNY and a 44 year old man in Tennessee.
Knowing her death at least allowed two people to use their eyes helped make the healing process and loss of her death a little bit easier.
Being overweight increases your risk of developing heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes, and cancer. Discover how you can lose weight fast and keep it off for life.
Have you ever looked in your medicine cabinet and thought “this is where eye creams come to die?”
I have. And it isn’t pretty.
I’m not sure when my obsession with ant-aging creams began. Even though people are always surprised by how young I look – for my age.
Is that even a compliment?
Over the years I have tried at least a dozen different eye creams. Everything from the most expensive brands to drug store over the counter creams.
Spending hundreds, possibly thousands of dollars hoping the answer lies somewhere within one of the many half empty bottles.
There is no way of knowing how many bottles I have gone through.
Or how much money I have spent. If you’re counting face wash, face moisturizers, face masks, anti-wrinkle pads and crazy roller things. You know that thing you roll on your face. That feels like tiny little pin pricks. It supposedly helps the moisturizer sink deeper into your skin.
It took me a while to realize that the answer does not lie in a jar. Or a bottle. Or a tube.
Don’t get me wrong, there are many great moisturizers and face products you can use. Every person is different and different products work differently for everyone.
I honestly don’t think it makes that much of a difference which brand you use. As long as you moisturize and stay hydrated.
The answers may not come from a jar. Or lie in the most expensive skin creams.
However, there are actionable steps you can take today that can make you look up to 10 years younger.
Since people claim that I do.
Look at least 10 years younger than my age that is. I figured I would share what I’m doing to stay youthful, vibrant, full of energy and young looking.
In the following chapters you will discover how you too, can look up to 10 years younger.
I recently read an article about weighing yourself. Correction, it was about why you shouldn’t weigh yourself.
Apparently, there are people who obsess over the scale.
I get it.
And if you’re obsessing over a scale, you probably have bigger problems than being overweight. Other issues that may be causing you to overeat.
Don’t blame it on the scale.
I weigh myself every morning. Just once a day. About the same time every morning. Before I eat or drink anything. Just to keep myself in check. “They” say, it doesn’t matter. It’s just water weight. It takes days to lose actual fat. Blah, blah blah. Whatever.
It works for me.
The reason it works for me is that I look at it positively either way. Whether it’s tipping high.
Or weighing in low.
If it’s low, I feel good. But it doesn’t mean I head for the bacon, eat a burger and fries for lunch, then eat candy bars and chips all day. I look at what I did right and try to do it again.
Wash. Rinse. Repeat?
Eat healthy. Exercise. Everything in moderation.
Rules I live by. We all have times when we gain weight. Most of us average folks, anyway. My weight has fluctuated many times throughout my life. People look at me and assume that I am naturally thin. If I had a dollar for every time someone said that to me, I would have a heck of a lot more money.
I don’t believe in “naturally thin.”
I believe in being healthy. There is a reason that I don’t have health issues. Even at my age. To prove that even I have struggled with weight over the years, I pulled out a book that a friend lent me back in my twenties. No, I never returned it.
My bad?
I’m pretty sure she told me to keep it. I must have put on a few pounds at the time and wanted to lose it. Since I am of the proactive nature and I keep myself in check. Before things get out of control, I read the book. It’s called Diets Still Don’t Work by Bob Schwartz. There are two main reasons I like the book: One I agree that diets don’t work. And two because a key element to success is “mindset.”
The mind is a powerful thing.
We cannot change the things that happen to us. Of course, we can make choices about what we do and where we go. That might increase our risk for danger. I certainly wouldn’t walk alone at night in a high crime part of town. But we cannot control everything. Death is inevitable. Challenges arise. The only thing we can control is how we react.
It’s not always easy.
We were born with emotions and we can’t change that. What we can change is how we take care of ourselves. It isn’t rocket science that when you are healthy and feel good, that everything in life is better. It helps us deal with whatever challenges get thrown our way. If you want to be proactive, take better control of your life and deal with challenges a little bit better…
Read a good book.
One that might actually help you. Like “Zipping it Up: How to lose 5 pounds fast and look great in that little black dress.” It is not a diet. And the absolute first thing I teach is “mindset.”
The down side? You gotta do the work. And you gotta want it. If you don’t, don’t waste your money. Buying the book won’t do you any good.
Unless you read it, devour it and implement it.
Just like a gym membership does you no good. Unless you go to the gym and exercise. Anyway, don’t take it from me.
Here’s what Jocelyn Jones says:
“Thank You Irene, this is a very helpful tool for all the ladies out there that need to lose weight fast for a special occasion or just because. The tips are simple to follow and implement. I HIGHLY Recommend this book! :)”
And this Amazon customer:
“I lost 8 lbs that was driving me crazy.” –LS
When you are ready to be proactive just zip on over here:
For a little more guidance check out the Zipping It Up meal planning guide. It is *exactly* that – a guide. The meal planner for folks who want to lose weight but hate meal planning. Here is the link: Your guide to success.
*Drinking lots of water
*Squeezing in exercise to burn extra calories
*Eating your vegetables
*Reducing carbs and sugar
These things are all essential to living a healthy lifestyle. But there is one thing that is vital to your success.
This one thing can work wonders for your weight loss success.
It is so potent that it can also work wonders for everything in your life.
Including changing your career, relationships, financial freedom, finally publishing your first book, or anything else you are trying to achieve in life.
Discover the one vital thing that can help you succeed in everything you do. Watch the video now:
