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Do You Need a Biopsy?

Finding a lump in your breast can be scary. Although there are several different causes for lumpiness, your mind might jump right to the big C: breast cancer. Cancer is often the first thing your doctor will try to rule out if you find a lump. A physical examination can help assess breast cancer risk, and help determine whether or not the lump is cancerous. Cancerous lumps are often — but not always — hard, not movable, and don’t change during the menstrual cycle. Benign lumps may or may not be tender to the touch, movable, or change during the … Continue reading →

Are You at High Risk for Breast Cancer?

According to the National Cancer Institute, the average woman has a one in eight chance of developing breast cancer. That’s a scary number… and it gets worse if you’re at high risk. What puts a person at high risk for breast cancer? Having a strong family history of breast cancer — that means two or more close relatives with breast cancer. If any of those relatives were diagnosed before the age of fifty, your risk is even higher. A strong family history makes you between two and five times more likely to develop breast cancer than the average woman. Having … Continue reading →

Testing for Breast Cancer

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Testing for breast cancer falls into three phases: screening, diagnostic, and monitoring. Screening tests are for people who seem to be healthy. Yearly mammograms and self-exams fall into this category. Screening tests are intended to catch breast cancer early — when treatment often has the best chance of success. Diagnostic tests (like ultrasound scans and biopsies) are for people who are suspected of having breast cancer. Maybe you found a lump on a screening test; maybe you have other symptoms of breast cancer. Diagnostic tests determine whether or not cancer is present, and if it is present, whether it has … Continue reading →

Are You Well Informed About Breast Cancer?

According to a new survey from the National Breast Cancer Coalition, seventy-five percent of women think they’re well informed about breast cancer. However, much of what they believe is not quite the truth. More than half of women surveyed believe that a family history of breast cancer is the biggest risk factor for developing the disease. That fifty-six percent of women is wrong. Less than TEN percent of all breast cancer cases are hereditary. More than two-thirds of all breast cancer cases appear in women who have no known risk factors. So what is the single biggest risk factor for … Continue reading →

Why me?

When I was younger I used to pray to not be the flat chested girl I was in high school. All I wanted for Christmas was a chest! Well,God finally decided to grant me a wish and I got them. With my new chest came a realization that I really liked having them. They came in very handy and honestly I may have taken them for granted. I did not really do the monthly self-exams that you are supposed to do; the most attention I ever gave them was to see how they looked in different shirts. When I went … Continue reading →

Who Was Susan G. Komen?

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. And one name I hear associated with the fight against breast cancer over and over is Susan G. Komen. Susan G. Komen was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of thirty-three. Her three year battle with the disease included nine operations and three courses of chemotherapy. She passed away in 1980. Her sister, Nancy Brinker, founded the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation in 1982. Brinker felt that her sister might have had a better battle against the disease if more people understood cancer and how it is treated. Komen had also asked … Continue reading →

Author Interview – Laura Jensen Walker

I recently reviewed a poignant and touching book entitled “Reconstructing Natalie.” I’m delighted to bring you an interview with the author of that book, Laura Jensen Walker. Laura, your novel is the story of a young woman who undergoes a double mastectomy for breast cancer. You yourself are a breast cancer survivor. Was writing Natalie’s story difficult for you, or was it theraputic? Writing Natalie really wasn’t difficult because I’d already written a non-fiction book about my cancer experience a few years ago called ‘Thanks for the Mammogram! (Fighting Cancer with Faith, Hope & a Healthy Dose of Laughter)‘ so … Continue reading →

Reconstructing Natalie – Laura Jensen Walker

I didn’t feel well over the weekend and so I got a lot of reading done. Out of the six books I’ve read since last Friday night, “Reconstructing Natalie” was by far my favorite. Natalie is twenty-seven and unmarried, but she thinks that might be about to change – there’s a new man in her life and he seems to be perfect in every way. She’s got a good job working in her parents’ company, and she’s living practically rent-free in her parents’ guesthouse. She has good friends and she loves her life. But one day while trying on a … Continue reading →

Hormone Replacement Therapy: Risks and Precautions

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Considering hormone replacement therapy? Here are some things to think about. The FDA recommends that certain women do not use hormone replacement therapy: Women who might be pregnant Women with a personal history of breast or ovarian cancer Women with a personal history of certain forms of endometrial cancer Women with a personal history of pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis, heart attack, or stroke Women who have active liver disease. (Though women with liver disease may be able to use hormone replacement therapy in patch form.) If you fall into those categories, talk to your doctors about alternative, non-hormonal treatments … Continue reading →