›› Information on Breast Cancer
Information on
breast cancer is widely available to women from their gynecologist,
primary health care providers, and from radiologists and technologists
when performing annual screening mammograms. Information on breast
cancer is also abundant on the internet and probably more accessible to
women as well. You can go to www.breastcancer.org or www.cancer.org for
accurate information on prevention and early detection, as well as
other sites dedicated to reducing the incidence of breast cancer in
women. The National Institute of Health reports that a woman has a 1 in
8 chance of getting breast cancer sometime in their life. More cases of
breast cancer occur in North America than in any other country.
Research is still under way to discover what factors contribute to the
development of breast cancer in an effort to decrease the rate of
incidence. Information on breast cancer also states that men as well as
women can be affected by this disease, though the incidence is not as
great in comparison.
Breast cancer can be very insidious. I once read that by the time a
small tumor is palpable, it has been present for approximately eight
years. This is why breast cancer awareness is so important. Early
detection by monthly self breast exams and annual check ups could save
a life. Information on breast cancer also discusses the genetic factor
linked to the disease. A woman has a mother, sister, or grandmother
with breast cancer, may be placed in a higher risk category, and still
have no greater chance of developing breast cancer than a women with no
known risk factors. In cases where greater risk factors do exist,
screening is recommended at more frequent intervals. Information on
breast cancer also discusses other risk factors, some that can not be
influenced, such as age and race, and other environmental causes that
have been linked to a higher incidence of breast cancer in the general
population. Cigarette smoking and diet and alcohol intake are
significantly related, as are other lifestyle factors, such exercise
and stress.
Women need to be educated about prevention, lifestyle related factors,
genetic or other risk factors that play a huge part in them possibly
getting or not getting breast cancer. Information on breast
cancer should be presented to everyone that healthcare providers come
into contact with, even if the woman declines, she should be encouraged
to take care of herself and perform regular monthly self breast
examinations. Information on breast cancer also states that there are
breast screening programs available to any woman who may not be able to
access healthcare because of various reasons. Many of them are not
aware of this fact and so therefore have not taken advantage of free
screening and educational programs available.
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A Healthy Dose of Good Advice
