Breast Cancer Prevention - How to Get Ready For Your Mammogram

A mammogram is one of the safest ways that is used to check if there is any problem with the breast of a woman. It is actually an x-ray of the breasts, as it involves in using a special and very low dose x-ray machine taking pictures of both breasts.

Effective Method of Preventing Cancer

Mammogram is an effective way of breast cancer prevention, as it is the most reliable procedure to detect early stages of breast cancer. However, there are some limitations of mammogram. Many cancers may not be detected by mammograms. Such breast cancers can be detected by breast self-exam. This article will guide you in getting ready for your mammogram.

What You Should Watch Out For?

Firstly, you should check the place where you are going to have your mammogram, so that you get to know about any special instructions, which you must follow before you arrive there. You should make the appointment for your mammogram for at least one week after the completion of your period. This is because your breast generally hurt less during this time. You should make sure that you tell your mammography facility, if you have ever got any type of breast implants.

Things to Remember Before Visiting Mammogram Facility

It is better that you wear a shirt preferably with shorts, skirt or pants. This helps you to undress from the waist up, thus leaving your pants, skirt or shorts on while you are getting your mammogram. It is highly advised that do not use any sort of deodorant, lotion, powder or lotion on your breasts or under your arms on the day you are having your mammogram.

Using these things may result in shadows on your mammogram, as they contain small aluminium particles. You can use cornstarch in place of talcum powder or deodorant, as it does not interfere with the x-ray image. You should not use any sort skin lotions on your breasts, as it can make them slippery. Hence, it will result in a movement during the process and a blurred image may be produced.

What Actually Happens During the Diagnosis Process?

After reaching the clinic, you should undress up to your waist. Try wearing clothes that can be easily removed and has loose fittings. Do not wear a bra on the day. Do not forget to take a hairbrush, so that you can tidy up at the time of redressing. After undressing, you will be asked to put on the hospital gown, opening to the front. The technician will help you in positioning yourself in front of the mammogram machine while standing. While taking the mammogram, your technician will rest each of your breasts on a metal plate, arranging maximum of the breast tissue between the top compression plate and the bottom plate. Your breasts will then be imaged and compressed for various lateral and vertical images.

It is recommended that women, especially those belonging to the upper age limit of 40 years or more, have a mammogram of their breasts done every year. This helps in early detection of breast cancer in one's breast and ensures proper treatment, which can even cure cancer.

To Your Health!

Abortion Clinic. Dr. James S. Pendergraft opened the Orlando Women's Center in March 1996 to provide a full range of health care for women, including abortion clinic, physical examinations, family planning, counseling, laboratory services and sexually transmitted disease screening and counseling.

Breast Cancer Information
Breast Cancer Information

Things You Can Do to Prevent Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of deaths from cancer in the United States. Every year around 11,000 women die and 49,000 new cases are diagnosed. However, there are things you can do to prevent breast cancer so that your risk is lowered.

Things You Can Do to Prevent Breast Cancer:

Diet: If you improve your diet, you can dramatically reduce the risk of getting breast cancer. Avoid foods like pastries, pizzas, fried foods. Instead start eating more fresh fruits and vegetables. In addition, cut down on alcohol, tea, coffee and nicotine.
Exercise: Make it a point to exercise at least for 30 minutes a day. This will reduce the chances of developing present by 30 to 40 percent. Having a healthy body will allow it to fight not just against cancer but other infections and diseases.
Pregnancy: Doctors advocate women having their first child by the age of 25. Although there is no concrete evidence but doctors say that women who have children early reduce their chances of getting breast cancer significantly compared to women who have their first child in their 30s.
Breastfeed your baby for at least 6 months: The risk of developing cancer reduces if you breastfeed your child for at least 6 months.

Remember, breast cancer can be treated and cured if detected early. Doctors lay stress on this constantly. Women should go for regular breast examination after the age of 30; or they can do it themselves at home. There are many websites that teach women how self-examination can be done. However, as the age-old adage goes, prevention is better than cure. That is why you should take heed and work towards preventing breast cancer. After all, it is easier and cheaper than breast cancer treatment!

About Author:
Pauline Go is an online leading expert in health care industry. She also offers top quality articles like:

Effects of Brain Cancer, Nadir and Chemotherapy

Breast Cancer Information

Traditional Breast Cancer Treatments and Alternative

A wide variety of alternative breast cancer treatments exist today. While "alternative" treatments are defined as practices that replace traditional treatments, most breast cancer patients use them in combination with conventional medicine. Generally, alternative treatments are not acknowledged by the medical community as standard medical practices and therefore, many patients do not inform their doctors when using these therapies. Examples of alternative treatments include acupuncture, massage, megavitamins, herbal supplements, nutrition, and magnetic therapy, to name a few.

Practiced for thousands of years, acupuncture involves the stimulation of specific points on the body using a hair-thin needle, or other method, to restore the body's internal balance and energy flow. Acupuncture may be used for pain relief and to control side effects from chemotherapy.

Massage involves manual manipulation of muscles and soft tissue. It is believed that massage enhances the function of those muscles and tissues involved, while promoting relaxation. It is often used together with other therapies. Available scientific evidence does not support claims that massage slows or reverses the growth or spread of cancer.

Megavitamin treatments usually involve very high doses of vitamins A, C and E. While the body requires these and other vitamins for optimal health, too much of a single vitamin may be harmful and even interfere with other treatments. A healthy diet, one that offers lots of fruits and vegetables, eliminates the need for vitamin supplements. More is not always better.

Good nutrition is always important, but for anyone fighting breast cancer, or any cancer, it's crucial. Though there are many, one alternative nutrition treatment is the macrobiotic diet. This diet is strictly vegetarian and includes whole grains, vegetables, beans, seaweed and soups. This diet is promoted for both cancer prevention and treatment, though there is no proof that is has any affect on either. In general, a healthy diet-one that includes fruits, vegetables and protein-provides the reserves of nutrients needed to maintain a strong immune system and cope with the adverse side of effects of treatments.

Herbal supplements are plant extracts and have long been used for a variety of health purposes. While they may be labeled as "natural," it doesn't mean that they are safe or even good for the body. The fact is that herbal supplements can act like a drug and may be harmful when taken in large amounts. There are few regulations in place to control the quality and safety of these products. In 2007, the FDA did initiate new regulations to help improve this, but many are not effective until 2010. Cancer experts often recommend that patients avoid dietary supplements altogether.

These are just a few of the many alternative breast cancer treatments available. When facing a life threatening illness, such as breast cancer, a feeling of desperation may be experienced while searching for treatments. As a result, the patient may develop an "I'll try anything" mentality. While it's important to keep an open mind about new treatment options, it's more important to approach alternative treatments with caution. Be upfront and honest with everyone involved in treating your disease before starting any alternative therapies. Many of these may be safe, but there may also be risks involved when combining alternative and traditional medicine. Ultimately, the decision for any treatment is up to the patient. Choosing one treatment over another should be based on knowledge, not fear. Remember, knowledge is power.

For more information on alternative breast cancer treatment go to http://www.understanding-breast-cancer-treatment.com

Mesotheliomacancerfact

The Benefits and Risks of Genetic Testing For Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is the second most widespread form of cancer and the second foremost cause of cancer deaths for American women. Every year, over 210,000 women in the United States find out that they suffer breast cancer.

Everybody possesses two genes called BRCA1 and BRCA2. As normal, these genes assist to putting off cancer tumors from developing. Nevertheless at times a person inherits an abnormal form of BRCA1 or BRCA2 from his or her family.

The BRCA gene test is a kind of genetic test that's probable simply intended for specific diseases that run in families, and it's presented simply to women who are at especially high risk of breast cancer and ovarian cancer rooted in individual or family history. The BRCA gene test isn't habitually executed on women at standard risk of these cancers.

Genetic testing for inherited vulnerability for breast and ovarian cancer is the first genetic test to be marketed openly to consumers. Public health agencies might be called upon to respond issues regarding this testing from the wide-ranging public and healthcare providers in their communities. This truth sheet holds information regarding the genetic test for inherited vulnerability for breast and ovarian cancer, the clinical perspective in which it is presently employed, and a number of the possible ethical and social matters.

Genetic testing to assess breast and ovarian cancer risk might bring out numerous emotional and psychological responses.

Genetic testing could influence relationships with family members. Consider in relation to who in your family might would like to understand your test results, and who you'd like to convey. If you are considering regarding being examined, you ought to make a decision what the benefits and disadvantages of testing are for you. What is appropriate for one person is not constantly proper for another.

Intensive genetic therapy is needed before undergoing genetic tests. In this educational counseling meeting, the healthcare provider could completely make clear the advantages and risks of genetic testing and reply any issues you might have.

When somebody with cancer identification and a family record of the disease has been tested and discovered to have an altered BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene, the family is supposed to have a known mutation. If a relationship between the growth of breast cancer and a breast cancer gene is completed then all family members willing to take part in genetic testing are inquired to provide a sample of blood. For lots of people, identifying their test outcomes is essential, since this information could assist to direct future health care choices for themselves and their families.

Talk to your doctor or other health care professional educated in genetics regarding your family account. He or she could assist you be acquainted with if you possess a considerable family history of breast and/or ovarian cancer.

If you want to get some excellent resources on Breast Cancer, please visit my site on All about Breast Cancer or Genetics Testing for Breast Cancer

Breast Cancer Information
Breast Cancer Information

Early Screening Methods of Breast Cancer and Preparation Tips

Breast cancer is a horrible disease which affects millions of women and men every year. Nearly everyone in their lives knows someone affected by breast cancer. Did you know it affects almost ten percent of women above the age of forty years? While we are conducting massive research into it, the causes of this killer cancer are still largely unknown.

While we don't know much of what causes it, there are ways for you to get properly screened before the cancer takes root. This would include self examinations, mammography viewer, or PACS workstations. Here are some methods and steps to get you screened for breast cancer.

Screening Mammograms

Screening mammograms are designed for women with no real, significant symptoms. These range from a lump to a black or bloody nipple discharge. Women experiencing any of these symptoms should schedule a diagnostic mammogram, which must be performed by a physician.

Diagnostic Mammograms

Diagnostic mammograms are done under the direct supervision of a radiologist. This type of mammography involves the verification, localization and characterization of breast abnormalities and uses a multitude of tools to evaluate these abnormalities.

Digital Mammograms

Digital mammography, such as PACS workstations and the mammography web viewer, is the latest technology achievement in the early detection of breast cancer. New digital capabilities allow tools like the mammography workstation and mammography viewer technologists to immediately view images on a mammography web viewer. These PACS workstations reduce the amount of wasted time spent in the imaging suite as well as the need for retakes.

Preparation for mammography using a mammography viewer or PACS workstations requires just a few simple steps from the patient. They mostly all involve communication with the radiologist performing the mammogram.

To help minimize discomfort during a mammography under a mammography workstation, schedule your mammogram to take place one week after your period. Your breasts tend to be less tender during this time.
If at all possible, bring previous mammogram results with you. A list of where and when you had previous mammograms is also acceptable.
On the day of your examination, do not wear any type of talcum powder, deodorant, lotion or perfume under your arms or on your breasts. These substances can cause blemishes on your mammogram making the images harder to read. Aluminum flecks in some powders and deodorants can mimic micro-calcifications on the x-ray image. You don't often have this problem with PACS workstations but they still ask that you don't.
Try to wear a two piece outfit. This way you only have to remove your top and bra for the mammography viewer examination. Other clothes such as a blouse which buttons in the front is also acceptable since it can be easily removed.
Try not to ear any jewelry. If you do have jewelry on, be sure it can be easily and quickly removable. This is especially true with PACS workstations procedures requiring you to lie face down.

If you have questions concerning the mammography viewer test procedure, discuss these issues with your doctor beforehand.

Wayne Hemrick writes about the advent of future technology. PACS and the DICOM standard, patient information can be shared electronically and near-instantaneously by digital imaging users using a host of modality, computer hardware and imaging software vendors. In this article Wayne talks about pacs workstations and the mammography workstation.

Breast Cancer Information
Breast Cancer Information

Breast Cancer Survival Rate - Stage 4 Breast Cancer

The breast cancer survival rate for Stage 4 breast cancer is much lower than for breast cancer detected at earlier stages.

Stage 4 breast cancer, or advanced breast cancer, has metastasized to other tissue including bone tissue, lung tissue, or the liver. When breast cancer has overwhelmed the bodys natural defenses and spread this far by the time the cancer is first diagnosed, the 5-year survival rate drops to 16%-20% in the United States (American Cancer Society).

Up to 5% of white women in the U.S., and up to 9% of black women have advanced breast cancer spread to distant tissue at the time of first diagnosis (SEER). This difference is usually attributed to poverty and lack of health insurance.

In general, women who have advanced breast cancer at the time of diagnosis live approximately 18 months after diagnosis (median survival rate). Those who are still alive five years after their diagnosis of advanced breast cancer can live an additional 3.5 years (median survival rate) according to the American Cancer Society.

Since this is the most deadly category of breast cancer, it is important to work closely with all the health care providers. New treatments are being developed all the time, and second, or even third opinions may give the patient more information about newly discovered successful solutions.

Early detection is clearly the most important factor in breast cancer survival rates. Breast cancer detected at Stage 1 while it is still localized to the breast has a survival rate of 98%-100%, while metastasized breast cancer first detected at Stage 4 drops down to 16%-20%.

Early detection procedures must include monthly self-examinations done at the same time each month. From age 20-40, healthy women should have clinical breast exams performed by their health care providers every three years. After age 40, the breast exams should be annually and should include a mammogram or similar procedure.

North American white women have the highest rates of breast cancer in the world, but the 5-year survival rate for all stages (Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3, and Stage 4) combined is 88% for the U.S. A recent study found European countries have lower 5-year breast cancer survival rates, with England at 77.8% and Ireland at 76.2% (Lancet Oncology).

The difference in these survival rates is usually attributed to life-saving early detection.

For more information on research showing increased breast cancer survival rates, see http://www.green-tea-health-news.com/breast-cancer-survival-rate.html

Sharon Jones has over 40 years training and experience in science, mainstream health care, and alternative health care. Her website is http://www.green-tea-health-news.com

Breast Cancer Information
Breast Cancer Information

Antiperspirants And Breast Cancer

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.

Research shows that one of the leading causes of Breast Cancer could be the use of antiperspirants. 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. 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.

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. A concentration of Toxins then builds up in the areas such as the armpits, which can then lead to cell mutations, which is cancer.

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. 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.

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. 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.

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. 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. 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.

"Article by Alfred Jones of http://www.SugarsR4U.com and http://www.RUsweetEnuf.com Learn about Glyconutrients, The Essential Sugars for Life or Himalayan Goji Juice a Boost Immune System Vitamin".

Breast Cancer Information
Breast Cancer Information

Plastics and Breast Cancer

Xenoestrogens are a modern phenomenon from the plastics we use so often. Useful products like plastic containers (yes, even polystyrene has recently been discovered to be a problem), zip lock bags and many other petroleum based products out gas a bit of the petroleum they are made from. The fumes and airborne particles get into our bodies and cause us to produce more estrogen, thus increasing our chances of breast cancer and other estrogen related problems. Other reports indicate that the increase in estrogen may decrease the male sex drive by throwing off the testosterone/estrogen balance. Now there's a motivation to avoid petroleum products!

A few things you can avoid to reduce your exposure to these xenoestrogens are: household candles, plastic bags and containers, new carpet and upholstery, pesticides, perfumes, air fresheners, soaps and lotions with fragrances, that new car smell, etc. Do you see the pattern? It's basically anything that makes you breathe in deep and say, "ooh that smells so good!" Products that are applied directly to your skin cause more bodily damage than those ingested, as the skin absorbes them directly into your blood stream without washing them through your liver.

We don't need to get worried about everything in our environment, we just need to be aware so we can keep our exposure to the xenoestrogens to a minimum. I try to reuse glass containers like spaghetti and peanut butter jars rather than plastic cups or containers. I have been washing and saving the glass jars other people use from SoBe and ice tea drinks and using those for water bottles. The glass is thick and does not break easily. We use glass and ceramic bowls and put stainless lids over them for food storage in the fridge. We try not to use skin products with fragrances or parabens. I don't burn my pretty candles, just the ones from the health stores. We open the doors and windows to keep the house smelling fresh rather than use plug-ins and don't use scented cleaners. I also try to avoid fleece clothing and blankets. However, I have yet to find a good substitute for zip lock baggies for my kids lunches.

Using fewer petroleum products will help help our health, be better for the earth and may make a tiny dent in our oil consumption (at least it won't hurt!).

Written by Kathy Loidolt, author of Shopper's Guide to Healthy Living.
This beginner's guide to eating and living healthy takes only four hours to read, contains five phases, tear-out shopping lists, great recipes, product favorite shopping ideas and forbidden ingredients lists. Order yours today, it just may save your live! Available at http://www.ShoppersGuidetoHealthyLiving.com Click on this website to be added free to the Healthy Hint of the Week distribution list.

Breast Cancer Information
Breast Cancer Information

Team Up Your Foods to Fight Breast Cancer

If you think that eating broccoli is enough to help you fight breast cancer, you'd better think again.

Lead researcher, Dr. Paul Talalay, of Johns Hopkins University, was the first to isolate a broccoli-related compound called sulforaphane glucosinolate in 1992. His study showed that this broccoli compound had potent activity against breast cancer cells. Later research confirmed his findings, and provided the key mechanism of action behind broccoli: it boosts key enzymes in the body that fight against tumor development.

With all of this research proving broccoli's benefit for breast cancer, why am I suggesting that eating this cruciferous vegetable is not necessarily going to help you?

The answer presents itself when you understand the value of a team. Now, you may already have a healing team-a medical doctor, yoga instructor, nutritionist, spiritual guide and so on-but does your health approach include teaming up what you eat? As it turns out, broccoli alone isn't very effective in fighting cancer! A nutritionist I recently ran into said, "There is no such thing as a super food, only a super diet." I agree.

Based on the philosophy that a varied diet provides the best chances for optimal health, I suggest to all my patients that eating a variety of colorful plants every day will provide them with the most powerful cancer fighting tools. As it turns out, smaller amounts of plant chemicals and nutrients found in a mixed bag of foods work together to provide huge changes at the cellular level. Simply put, you get more nutrition bang for your buck when you combine nutrients that will work together to create something larger than themselves. This is known in professional health circles as nutritional synergy.

Researchers at the University College of Medical Sciences in India have shown to what extent certain combinations of food can act together to protect the body from cancer-causing agents. In a recent study, mice were exposed to carcinogens that provoked breast cancer in 100% of them. The mice were then divided into groups with each group being administered increasing levels of plant compounds. Among the mice that received only one of these food compounds, 50% developed a tumor. Among those who consumed two of these food compounds, only a third developed cancer. If three components were combined, the proportion of tumor-ridden mice went down to one in five and to only one in ten among those that consumed all four substances.
The take home message is simple: If you regularly down orange juice for breakfast and eat lots of broccoli without varying your diet to include all the colorful plants, you are not providing your body with maximum cancer-fighting potential!

Let's take a look at another study. Earlier research revealed that isolate soy isoflavones have tumor-promoting effects in late-stage breast cancer, but in recent lab studies, flaxseed has been shown to weaken this effect. After another lab study analyzing the breakdown products from the lignans in flaxseed in combination with the whole food form of soy, flaxseed researcher Dr. Lillian Thompson, from the University of Toronto, concluded that for postmenopausal women with low estrogen levels, the combination of soy and flaxseed may be more beneficial than soy alone in controlling breast cancer growth. In this case, the two are better than one!

Finally, let's get back to the broccoli issue. Pairing broccoli with tomatoes has been found to fight prostate cancer. Combining these two powerhouse foods, Dr. Erdman and associates, found that prostate tumors grew much less in rats that were fed tomato and broccoli powders than in rats who ate diets containing either just one of those powders or cancer-fighting substances that had been isolated from tomatoes or broccoli. Yes, I know you don't have a prostate....but there is a valuable lesson to be derived from this study: Isolated nutrients aren't nearly as powerful as the whole food! This is why I caution against choosing dietary supplements that contain isolated nutrients like vitamin C or E or extracted plant chemicals, like lycopene or beta carotene and favor whole foods dietary supplements instead. Inside whole foods supplements are the full array of vitamins, minerals and plant chemicals that work hand-in-hand to create powerful healing benefits.For more information on the whole food supplements I recommend, please order my free breast cancer wellness report on dietary supplements to fight breast cancer. And remember, fruits and veggies probably get lonely too. So why not team them up?!

Dr. Kim Dalzell is a doctor of holistic nutrition and registered dietitian who has helped thousands of cancer patients with her nature-based healing approach to cancer control. She is a sought after speaker, author of Challenge Cancer and Win!, and industry spokesperson. To learn more about how you can control cancer with nutrition, please visit:
http://www.cancerbusters.org

Breast Cancer Information
Breast Cancer Information

Breast Cancer and Osteoporosis

There is nothing more frightening than knowing that you have something inside your body destroying your organs and your health. Breast Cancer is women biggest fear, today there are treatments that work and even cure cancer. Removing the breast is no longer a necessary step for treatment. If found early enough you have a great chance of beating this ugly disease, doctors do not know what exactly causes breast cancer. Breast Cancer is when abnormal cells grow out of control in one or both breasts. A mass forms and can spread to other areas of the body; the mass is called a malignant tumor. Most people do not know this but breast cancer also affects men, one in every hundred cases of breast cancer effects men.

The risk factors for breast cancer are aging this disease is much more common in older women, family history, hormones after menopause it raises your risk of getting the disease. Women who inherit genes called BRCA1 and BRCA2 are more likely to get it. Having too much body fat, drinking to much alcohol can raise your estrogen higher and put you at risk. Being inactive is not good either, if you find a usual lump or your breast has changed looking like dimples on them similar to an orange go see your doctor right away. The symptoms of Breast Cancer is a change in the way the breast feel, a thickening of the breast or underarm, a painless lump or a change in the size or shape of your breasts. A change in the nipple, it might turn in or look scaly. Clear or bloody fluid that comes out of the nipple.

It is very important to have regular check-ups and mammograms. Mammograms are an x-ray of the breast to detect anything usual about the breast. If a lump is found your doctor will want to do a biopsy, that is when your doctor takes some cells from your breast and do test on them. Surgery is necessary with cancer you may have radiation therapy to destroy cancer cells and get chemotherapy or hormone therapy. Your doctor will decide what is best for you between treatments. Try to stay healthy eating nutritious foods, lots of vegetables and fruits. Be active exercise for at least 30 minutes 5 days a week. If you drink alcohol try drinking in moderation and even after menopause even one drink can raise your risk. Breast Cancer effects:

Four out of 1,000 women in their 30s. 15 out of 1,000 women in their 40s. 26 out of 1,000 women in their 50s. 37 out of 1,000 women in their 60s

There are three stages of Breast Cancer

Stage 0 is when there is no evidence of cancer and cancer cells, such as DCIS and LCIS. Stage 1 is when the cells invade the tissue of the breast. Stage 2 is divided into subcategories IIA and IIB. IIA is when the cancer is in the breast and lymph node, underarms and the tumor is about 2 centimeters. IIB is when the cancer is in the lymph node and the tumor is more then 2 centimeters, but no bigger than five. Stage 3 is divided into subcategories IIA, IIB and IIC. IIA is when no breast cancer is found in the breast, the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes and can have settle to the breastbone of the body. IIB is when the cancer has spread to the chest wall and the tumor is bigger then 5 centimeters and it can also be in the lymph nodes to. IIC the cancer has settle to the chest wall and the skin of the breast.

Just because you might have, a big tumor does not mean it is as serious as a little tumor. A little tumor may give you more of a fight than a bigger one, depending on one's body. Many do not know this, but bone health is very important when it comes to breast cancer. It is very crucial that you take care of your bones through out your life especially if you have breast cancer. Breast Cancer has been known to cause bone loss in some cases, it is important for women to take care of their bones since we are more likely to develop osteoporosis then men. See you doctor for supplements on building strong bones and keeping them strong especially during your treatment.

Get enough calcium. People older than 50 should get 1,200 milligrams of calcium each day. Make foods that are high in calcium part of your diet: dairy products such as

low-fat milk, yogurt, and cheese calcium-fortified dark green leafy vegetables such as broccoli, spinach, collard greens, and bok choy tofu almonds vitamin-fortified cereal calcium supplements

Get enough vitamin D. Vitamin D helps your body absorb calcium. People older than 50 should get 400 international units (IU) of vitamin D per day. People older than 70 need 600 IU of vitamin D daily. Your body makes vitamin D when you are in sunlight, but if you are indoors most of the time or lives in areas where sunlight is limited, add foods rich in vitamin D to your diet:

vitamin D-fortified milk herring, salmon, and tuna vitamin-fortified cereal

Do weight-bearing exercise. Exercise makes your bones and muscles stronger and helps slow bone loss. Do 30 minutes of weight-bearing exercise 3-4 times a week for maximum bone health benefits: walking jogging stair climbing playing tennis, racquetball, or squash dancing lifting weights

Limit your alcohol and quit smoking these both can increase weakening of your bones.

Lorna Darden

For more health topics
http://www.wirelessdiva.wordpress.com

Breast Cancer Information
Breast Cancer Information

Fruits, Vegetables, and Breast Cancer

You'd almost think that in their search for the latest breast cancer treatment, scientists recently discovered that fruit, vegetables, and fiber weren't good for women who have had breast cancer. But a closer reading of the findings of the breast cancer clinical trials sponsored by the Women's Healthy Eating and Living study shows that the scientists discovered no such thing.

The Journal of the American Medical Association reported last year that a seven-year study of 3,107 women who had had breast cancer (all of them under the age of 70, all of them having had tumors larger than 1 cm) found no cancer-protective benefit of increasing consumption of fruits and vegetables beyond 5 servings a day.

Very nearly half of the women in the Women's Healthy Eating and Living trial who had had breast cancer were just encouraged to eat 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day. The rest of the women who had had breast cancer were coached to eat twelve servings of fruits and veggies every day, and to reduce their consumption of saturated fat.

The coaching worked. At the end of four years, the women who had received nutritional counseling were found to be consuming:

• 65 per cent more vegetables
• 25 per cent more fruit
• 30 per cent more fiber and
• 13 per cent less saturated fat.

But what was the effect on health?

• Women who ate more fruits and vegetables consumed an average of 1538 calories a day and weighed an average of 163 pounds.
• Women who ate fewer fruits and vegetables consumed an average of 1559 calories a day and weighed an average of 162 pounds.
• 256 out of 1537 women on the high fruit-and-vegetable diet had a recurrence of breast cancer.
• 262 out of 1551 on the Five-A-Day plan had a recurrence of breast cancer.

All other things held equal, women who got the very most servings of fruits and vegetables (more than 9 a day) and the very most fiber (more than 25 g a day) had measurably but not significantly lower rates of breast cancer return.

The lowest levels of saturated fat consumption were, as you might expect, linked to lower rates of breast cancer. However, it was impossible to determine whether additional fat really increased risk of cancer or not (a little more than the minimum fat seemed to, a little more seemed to reduce risk although not as low as the lowest-fat group, and still more raised risk again).

And among women who consumed the most calories, more than 1980 calories a day, eating more fruits and vegetables actually was associated with higher rates of recurrent cancer, although the differences were not statistically significant (there was a measurable probability that there was no real relationship between eating fruits and veggies and staying cancer-free in women who ate the most fruits and vegetables and the most calories).

So does this mean that fruits, vegetables, fiber, and lower fat aren't beneficial for women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer?

Not at all. This study just finds that Five-A-Day may be enough, and more will not necessarily help.

Read Could Curcumin Prevent Cancer?

Robert Rister is the author or co-author of nine books on natural health including the critically acclaimed Complete German Commission E Monographs and Healing without Medication.

Breast Cancer Information
Breast Cancer Information

Medical Treatments For Breast Cancer

Surgery. Treatment varies according to the type and stage of cancer, but surgery remains the first choice for most tumors. The majority of operations now are less disfiguring than the radical mastectomy that was standard until the 1970s. Operations for breast cancer are Extended radical mastectomy involves removal of the breast, underarm lymph nodes, and underlying chest muscles. This procedure, rarely performed today, is reserved for women with large tumors that are attached to or have invaded the chest muscle and its connective tissues. If the mammary lymph nodes deep in the chest are involved, they will also be removed. Modified radical mastectomy is the removal of the breast, underarm lymph nodes, and sometimes part of the chest muscle. The amount of tissue removed from the underarm depends on the spread of the tumor. This remains the most common operation for women with invasive breast cancer. Total, or simple, mastectomy is the removal of the entire breast, including its extensions to the armpit and some times near the collarbone. Because the lymph nodes are left intact, radiation therapy usually follows the operation.

Subcutaneous mastectomy involves removing the breast tissue but leaving the skin and nipple intact. A prosthesis is then slipped under the skin to restore normal appearance. This procedure is rarely performed, because it may miss cancer cells and the cosmetic results are often poor. Lumpectomy or partial mastectomy involves removal of the cancerous lump and a surrounding margin of normal tissue. Some of the armpit lymph nodes are also taken out and examined for spread, and the operation is followed by radiation therapy. Preventative, or prophylactic, mastectomy is the removal of a breast to prevent the development of cancer. This operation is done only if a woman has a very high risk of breast cancer and is so worried by the prospect that she cannot live a normal life. Breast reconstruction by a plastic surgeon can sometimes be performed immediately following a mastectomy, but more often it is done after the original incision has healed. If the opposite breast is larger, it may be reduced in size to match the reconstructed one, either at the same time as the reconstruction or in a later operation. In the past, a prosthetic implant filled with silicone gel was the first choice for reconstruction. Because questions have arisen about the long term safety of silicone, many women are now opting for implants filled with a saline solution, or a more extensive procedure in which fatty tissue from the woman's own buttocks or elsewhere is used to reconstruct a breast.

Radiation Therapy . The purpose of this treatment is to destroy any cancer cells that may have escaped surgical removal. Radiation is routinely administered after a simple mastectomy and a lumpectomy, or if numerous lymph nodes have been affected. It is also prescribed for recurring or inoperable cancer, and to alleviate the pain of advanced cancer. Typically, radiation treatments are begun two or three weeks after the surgery, or after the scar has healed and the woman has regained the use of her arm. Immediate side effects include blistering of the skin and fatigue. Later, the skin exposed to the radiation may darken, thicken, and lack sensitivity if any nerve endings have been damaged. Long term complications may include impaired lung function due to scar tissue, an increased risk of heart disease, and easy fracturing of the ribs. Chemotherapy. Studies indicate that adjuvant chemotherapy greatly increases long term survival, even for women with localized stage I cancer.

Chemotherapy may begin before surgery; however, it is usually started a few weeks afterwards. This treatment is also prescribed for recurrent or inoperable cancers. Chemotherapy appears to be most effective in preventing a recurrence among younger women who have not gone through menopause. The side effects loss of hair, nausea, reduced immunity to infections, mouth sores, fatigue, and bleeding problems are temporary, but still very trying. For this reason, chemotherapy may not be recommended for an older woman, especially if her cancer is localized. Hormone Therapy. Cancer specialists now believe that almost all breast cancer patients can benefit from hormone therapy, even if their tumors are not the type stimulated by estrogen or proges terone. Thmoxifen (Nolvadex), a drug that blocks estrogen, is the treatment of choice. It has fewer side effects than anticancer drugs, although it may cause hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms in younger women. Other, more radical approaches to hormone manipulation include ovarian ablation, a procedure in which the ovaries are either surgically removed or destroyed by chemicals or radiation, and perhaps the removal of other hormone producing glands.

Experimental Treatments

Women with advanced breast cancer may be candidates for experimental therapies such as hyperthermia, in which very high fevers are induced to kill cancer cells, photodynamic therapy, which uses a light sensitive anticancer drug; and bone marrow transplantation, in which the woman's bone marrow is destroyed by drugs and then replaced with healthy marrow to bolster the body's ability to fight the cancer.

Discover where to get free home remedies for health care. With these natural remedies you can cure your common ailments.

Breast Cancer Information
Breast Cancer Information

Are There Really Breast Cancer Cures to Extend Your Lifespan?

Cancer, regardless of the location, is a devastating piece of news that you can receive. Like all other kinds of cancer, breast cancer can be deadly. But if you stop it early enough, there are breast cancer cures that can drastically extend your lifespan.

Chemotherapy and hormone treatment have dramatically reduced the death rate from early breast cancer. There have been numerous studies that have found that chemotherapy and hormone treatment extend the lives of patients by at least 15 years. What is even more assuring is that the treatment gets stronger over time, proving the therapy is actually eradicating the cancer from the body.

Studies and analysis has shown that catching breast cancer early enough cuts her risk of dying by almost 50 percent. Undergoing six months of chemotherapy and taking hormone treatment for five years will allow patients to completely rid their body of the breast cancer.

The key is to catch the cancer in its beginning stages. For most women, it is now a standard practice to treat early breast cancer with surgery and radiation, followed by chemotherapy. This helps reduce the risk of a re-occurrence happening. If your tumors are sensitive to the hormone estrogen, another breast cancer cure is to take an estrogen-blocking drug tamoxifen for five years.

A concern that many have had for quite some time is whether these treatments are actually breast cancer cures or simply delaying the inevitable. However, the continuous studies and constant data that comes in shows that these treatments are indeed curing people.

Breast cancer therapies continue to improve year after year with further research. Technology is constantly evolving and more breast cancer cures are being developed. Despite this, there is still a long way to go to help prevent breast cancer, develop targeted treatments, and find better ways to predict an individual's prognosis.

One thing is for certain; identifying the cancer as early as possible contributes greatly to extending your life. This is precisely why it is vital you are aware of the numerous signs and symptoms that are prevalent with breast cancer. The last thing you want is to identify a lump or another symptom and put off seeing a doctor because you are scared of the results.

So are there really breast cancer cures or are these treatments simply delaying the inevitable?. Constant research and data has proven that chemotherapy, hormone treatment, or tamoxifen can all increase your lifespan and potentially get rid of the cancer altogether. Learn more about proven breast cancer cures at http://www.Breast-Cancer.com.

Breast Cancer Information
Breast Cancer Information

The Impact of Breast Cancer On Sex Life

Cancer affects sex life greatly. The passion that was once in your marriage is gone. Sex is no longer in your to-do-list. If this is the case your romantic relationship is headed for the rocks. It might be due to the natural effects of the disease or due to the treatment or better still due to the emotions triggered by cancer. Your feelings are so much affected you no longer love your body. Menopause is a stage in life where sexual emotions are on draining up. The sex moods fade away. The impact of breast cancer on your sex life can be through chemotherapy. This is because the hormonal therapy lead to early menopause. The symptoms are not sex friendly. The vagina becomes dry and some hot flashes are detected.

One impact of breast cancer on sex life is early menopause which leads to hot flushes. At night when most sex encounters take place is the same time hot flushes appear. They might not have direct physical effect on sex life but the discomfort robs you off the mood to have sex. To reduce the discomfort, it is advisable to sleep in loose cotton night dresses or if you like it you can sleep naked in between cotton sheets. You can as well leave the window open at night. The low level of estrogen is responsible for the disturbing symptoms. The hormonal therapy done for cancer treatment changes the general level of all the hormones in the body. This leads to reduced sex drive. Please make a point of explaining to your partner how you feel in case they feel rejected and unwanted. Clear the misunderstanding to hold on to the relationship.

Hormone replacement therapy is done to increase the levels of estrogen in the body. It is most common with aging women who want to push menopause further away. The results are known to be good since it increases the sexual vigor and eventually improves the woman's sex life. The impact of breast cancer on sex life is real since as a cancer patient you cannot be injected with estrogen hormone. This is because estrogen hormone is known to encourage the growth of cancer cells. As a breast cancer patient, do not go for this treatment unless you have estrogen-receptor negative type of cancer.

The impact of breast cancer on sex life can be due to infertility it causes on the patients. The inability to reproduce weighs heavily on a woman dogged by breast cancer. She feels a lesser woman. This will directly kill the sex drive since for women she needs enough reason to have sex. Emotions are a major ingredient of sex. The realization that you have cancer creates a lot of worries, anxieties and all these do not make interferes with the arousal process. Another impact is lack of communication. If you treat your illness as no subject it will affect your sex life. Talk about it openly and look for solution instead of being confronted with the same problem daily. If the impacts have started showing dangerous Symptoms, take action by use of anti-sickness drugs and effective pain killers in prior preparation for the moment you want to make love.

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Breast Cancer Information
Breast Cancer Information

Choosing the Best Medication For Breast Cancer

Once you've been identified with breast cancer, your doctor may set down a certain drug medication. You might have chemotherapy and you might get medication for years following you've ended treatment. Each person is dissimilar; therefore your medication will be adapted to your necessaries.

The medication tamoxifen, best recognized as a medication for breast cancer, considerably lessens symptoms of the overexcited stage of bipolar disorder more rapidly than numerous typical medications for the mental sickness, a new-fangled survey displays. Researchers at the National Institutes of Health's National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) who performed the survey described too how tamoxifen blockades an enzyme named protein kinase C (PKC) that controls behaviors in brain cells. The enzyme is believed to be over-active throughout the overexcited stage of bipolar complaint.

Hot sparkles might not be serious, excluding they can be if they bring about you to hop your breast cancer medication. In a survey engaging 208 women who had pre- or postmenopausal breast cancer, over 60% revealed they at times overlooked or deliberately didn't get their oral breast cancer medication.

It is very important that women with breast cancer do not reject themselves the possibility of the maximum likely benefit from their medication. It is significant that women are as well notified as possible concerning both the advantages and side effects of their medication and thus understand what to demand. Transparent communication could assist to make sure that doctors are better notified regarding how women are dealing with their medication in order to assist lessen any negative effect that treatments may have.

The breast cancer medication could be applied in three distinctive ways. These are as revealed: Adjuvant therapy; Neo adjuvant therapy; and also Treatment of metastatic disease. The type of treatment that is employed and when is it begun relies on the condition of the sufferer. When the doctor identifies the breast cancer afterward he would maintain the best treatment choices to you and would provide you the benefits and shortcomings of each therapy type. Prior to taking any judgment you ought to always discuss with your doctor and a small number of other physicians to make a decision which would be the best for you. As per examinees it is noticed that mixture of the breast cancer medication outcomes in augment in the survival rate and reduces the possibilities of reappearance of the disease.

Ensure to get your breast cancer medication as your doctor recommended.

If you want to get some excellent resources on Breast Cancer, please visit my site on All about Breast Cancer or Breast Cancer Medication

Breast Cancer Information
Breast Cancer Information

How Can You Go About Getting the Proper Breast Cancer Diagnosis?

Breast cancer is something that no one wants to face in life, but getting the proper diagnosis early is best. The earlier you catch it, the better chance you have of stopping it before it gets too bad. Here are a few things you can do to go about getting the proper breast cancer diagnosis.

The first thing to look for is any symptoms at all. If you feel you have any of the symptoms that are related to breast cancer, it is vital you schedule a doctor's exam. During the exam, expect to be asked questions about personal and family health history that may be related to your cause.

The doctor will check the general signs of health at first, and then will perform a breast exam. They may perform just one breast exam, or they may look at a few different tests. There are three tests they may look at; palpation, mammography, or ultrasonography.

A palpation allows the doctor to learn a lot about a lump. Everything from the size, texture and how easy it moves can be identified by palpation, which is when the doctor feels the lump and the tissue around it. Benign lumps will feel different than cancerous ones.

Mammography is simply X-rays of the breast that can give the doctor important information about the breast. If something looks suspicious or does not look right, additional X-rays will be performed.

Lastly, ultrasonography uses high-frequency sound waves that can often show whether a lump is solid or filled with fluid. Typically, doctors will perform a mammography with an ultrasonography.

After receiving one of these tests or a few of them, the results will determine whether the doctor feels further tests are needed. However, often the doctor will have to remove fluid or tissue from the breast to make a proper breast cancer diagnosis.

An aspiration or needle biopsy is when the doctor uses a needle to remove fluid or a small amount of tissue from the breast. If the lump is filled with a fluid-filled cyst, it is not cancerous. But if it has a solid mass, it may or may not be cancerous. If tissue is removed, it is sent to a lab to be checked for cancer cells.

There is a lot that goes into making a breast cancer diagnosis. This is a very serious matter and doctors work hard to make sure they make the proper diagnosis. If the results do show you have breast cancer, the doctor will sit down with you and put together the proper treatment. Learn more about breast cancer diagnosis and cancer in general at http://www.Cancer-Tumor.com.

Breast Cancer Information
Breast Cancer Information

The Diet and Lifestyle For Breast Cancer

Approximately 200,000 American women will be detected with breast cancer this year. At present, the life span weird are one in seven. However latest examination in nutritional medicine has showed that converting your diet could decrease your danger by up to 80%.

At the same time as diet and lifestyle have been related with the danger of getting breast cancer, not much is recognized regarding the effect of diet and lifestyle on breast cancer survival. Comprehending the effects of diet and lifestyle on breast cancer survival is significant to survivors of breast cancer who wish for making options to expand the time-span and condition of their lives. Very little is recognized regarding the effects of diet and lifestyle subsequent to diagnosis on breast cancer survival. Nevertheless, the outcomes of studies observing these effects are hopeful even though still beginning.

Surveys of survival from breast cancer have observed diet and lifestyle both prior to and subsequent to diagnosis. The inspection of diet and lifestyle prior to diagnosis could give report concerning the possible result of treatment and probably the biology of cancer shape. Nevertheless inspection of diet and lifestyle subsequent to diagnosis has the different benefit that it appraises conducts that could be altered once a woman discovers she suffer cancer.

An assertion that a dairy-free diet may put off breast cancer has been argued by a foremost charitable trust. The assertion is concluded in a new-fangled book, "Your Life in Your Hands" by Professor June Plant. She states that excluding dairy products from the diet could treat and prevent breast cancer. She is chief scientist at the British Geological Survey who contracted breast cancer in 1987. Professor Plant had five recurrences of the disease, which, by 1993, had spread to her lymph system. She eventually defeated the disease by combining traditional medicine with easy lifestyle changes, including the implementation of a dairy-free diet.

Expectations that a diet low in fat and chock-full of fruits and vegetables might put off the arrival of breast cancer were rushed Tuesday by a large, seven-year trial in over 3,000 women. The government review noticed no advantage from a mega-veggies-and-fruit diet over the U.S. suggested servings of five fruits and vegetables a day, more than for the most part Americans obtain. None of the breast cancer survivors lost weight on either diet as noticed by examiners. That led a number of professionals to propose that weight loss and exercise must be the next border for cancer prevention examination.

If you want to get some excellent resources on Breast Cancer, please visit my site on All about Breast Cancer or Breast Cancer Diet

Breast Cancer Information
Breast Cancer Information

Acupuncture Helps in Decreasing Abnormal Breast Symptoms

More and more women had been giving up on contemporary medicine to recover from abnormal breast symptoms. Women are now turning on ancient Chinese practices that have been proven over time and by science. One practice is called acupuncture, which gives women the chance to stay away from breast ailments. This practice or medication is proven to improve one's breast health.

It believed that when relieving an ailment, nerves are involvement as emotions contribute an important part on the occurrence of breast diseases. Women are commonly moody; changing stress levels from time to time therefore the body fluids which is also known as Qi becomes thick, they clog and turn to nodules. These nodules then increase the chance of women to develop health disorders such as breast cancer. Since most women get stressed almost everyday of their lives since they are also more emotional compared to men, a large percent of females develop breast cancer over time.

Cancer cells develop and attack the normal tissues in our body; it also spreads through blood flow or lymph fluid producing another cancer in other parts of the body. Statistics show that over 80 percent of women suffering from breast cancer are over 50 years old; women are more prone to abnormal breast symptoms when they get older.

To be aware of the causes and symptoms of breast cancer, one should also take note of his or her family history; if anyone suffered from breast cancer in the family, most likely you can have it too due to genetics. If you have an early start of menstruation and delay in menopause, also women who have never experienced breast feeding are more prone to having breast cancers. Other research concludes that some women who engaged in hormone substitution therapy can also develop breast cancer.

Do not fret if you feel a lump on your breast since not all lumps can be considered as cancerous, however it would be advisable to go to your doctor for proper check-up. Make sure that you have a monthly check up of your breast to ensure its health and condition; when you are getting old, you should be more conscious with your health because you are prone to more diseases and cancers. Check also for cysts and tumors that might develop in your breast. Be aware of the changes in your breast so that you know when to go for a check up; lump in breast or armpit; changes in the nipple area, change in size, etc.

In order to increase your chances of survival for breast cancer, make sure that you treat it on its early stage. Acupuncture is useful in treating symptoms that causes pain from beast cancer. Some people engage in acupuncture after chemotherapy since it helps in decreasing the side effects. This involves the sticking of needles into the skin you are targeting to lessen pain on your body. The location of the needles are called acupoints, most patients do this to maintain the flow of energy in the body.

Tim is a writer for Acupuncturist Portal, a free resource for anyone interested in the ancient Chinese alternative medicine practice: Acupuncture. Acupuncturist Portal also contains a US national directory of qualified acupuncturists for people who are ready to give acupuncture a try.

Breast Cancer Information
Breast Cancer Information

How is the Stage of a Breast Cancer Based?

Cancer stage is established on the size of the tumor, whether the cancer is invasive or non-invasive, whether lymph nodes are engaged, and whether the cancer has extended away from the breast.

A staging system is a standardized method for the cancer attention team to sum up information in relation to how far a cancer has extended. The most general system utilized to illustrate the stages of breast cancer is the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) TNM system.

The stage of a breast cancer could be established either on the effects of physical exam, biopsy, and imaging trials (named the clinical stage), or on the outcomes of these trials plus the outcomes of surgery (named the pathologic stage). The staging explained here is the pathologic stage, which comprises the discoveries subsequent to surgery, when the pathologist has observed the breast accumulation and close by lymph nodes. Pathologic staging is probable to be more exact than clinical staging, since it lets the doctor to find a direct impression of the extent of the cancer.

Staging is the procedure physicians employ to measure the size and position of a patient's cancer. Detecting the cancer stage is one of the most essential things in choosing treatment alternatives. Some tests might be made to assist stage breast cancer including clinical breast exams, biopsy, and particular imaging trials for instance a chest x-ray, mammogram, bone scan, CT scan, and also MRI scan. Blood trials are utilized to assess a woman's in general health and identify whether the cancer has extended to particular organs frequently follow imaging examinations.

Your stage of breast cancer relates to how extensive the cancer is, on a level from stage 0 to stage IV. The tests and scans you have when identifying your cancer offer a number of information concerning the stage. The stage is significant since it assists your breast cancer specialist to make a decision on the best cure for you. Doctors deal with breast cancer in line with its grade as well. They typically make judgments in relation to treatment for breast cancer consistent with the TNM stage and the grade of the cancer.

If you possess any inquiries in relation to the stage of your cancer and what it may mean in your case, be convinced to inquire your doctor.

If you want to get some excellent resources on Breast Cancer, please visit my site on All about Breast Cancer or Breast Cancer Stage

Breast Cancer Information
Breast Cancer Information

Help Raise Awareness For Breast Cancer Month

Cancer is one of the most feared illnesses around, and I believe there is no better way to help raise awareness than by sending out free e-cards.

The best thing about using free e-cards is that it doesn't cost you a penny, and you can send an unlimited amount of them.

Also if you use free e-cards, you could personalise it so that it contains the message of your choice about cancer or anything else. You could send your free e-crad to any one you want as long as you have their email address.

Also, very importantly, free e-cards are very eco friendly, for a normal card loads of trees have to be felled to make them. Another good thing is that, free e-cards can be sent around the world, and they'll arrive prity much instantly for no extra cost. So you could be in the U.S.A, and then could send a free e-card to New Zealand, and it would arrive within seconds.

What started as National Breast Cancer Awareness Week in October of 1985 has since become a well-known and important tradition in the United States. The impact of breast cancer on our society is evident, with more than 175,000 women diagnosed annually.

The purpose of the holiday, however, is not so much to mourn the losses to breast cancer though that is an aspect of the observance, but to inform people of the risks and the available methods of screening and treatment. Since it was first made popular, mammography has helped countless women escape drastic measures, invasive surgeries, and other operations performed on breast cancer patients that have advanced stages of the disease.

A mammogram is literally an x-ray of the breast that can show abnormal formations and help diagnose breast cancer before it spreads to other parts of the body or becomes life-threatening.

Women with a history of breast cancer in their families are encouraged to undergo an annual mammogram to offset the risks. Unfortunately, the rate of women diagnosed with breast cancer is still rising, which is why National Breast Cancer Awareness Month is a crucial factor in distributing information about the disease itself, prevention and early detection methods, and raising mindfulness and funds to research for a much-needed cure.
Show some care and commemorate this month by joining the fight to save the lives of women everywhere.

For information about breast cancer ask your doctor or contact the National Breast Cancer Institute and various other organizations concerned with the disease.

Though deaths as a result of breast cancer have decreased significantly especially since 1990, over forty thousand women are expected to die this year of the disease in the United States alone.

I like to send hundreds and hundreds of free e-cards each year, I really like to promote charities with them as well, so if I am sending a free e-card to celebrate a birthday, I will slip in a message about a chosen charity.

Millions of other people like to also send out free e-cards annually, and quite frankly I am not surprised, they are great.

Andrew Gibson is MD of Greeting-Cards.com. It has thousands of free ecards to choose from for birthdays and all occasions. Many people now send free e-cards to celebrate birthdays and select them from thousands of free e-cards

Breast Cancer Information
Breast Cancer Information

Pilates Moves in the Back Row

Fancy some pilates moves or to be a pilates performer? Pilates for beginners is gentle exercise for everyone and great for women having had breast cancer. I signed up for pilates workouts at my local night school to begin with. All these ladies, different shapes and sizes, different ages and expectations, all there for different reasons. There would not have been a single night where I didn't end up giggling with one of them as we huffed and puffed our way through the routine without much elegance!

The history of pilates workouts started with a German man called Joseph Pilates. In world war one, Joseph was an orderly in a hospital, helping disabled patients. He assisted them with apparatus that was attached to beds, for exercise and movement. He noticed that patients recovered quicker and were stronger when resistance was being used. Joseph invented exercises that toned muscle groups and encouraged better breathing, helping people to become more balanced and flexible from exercises which do not put strain on the body.

Age and experience are not excuses to not do pilates workouts - believe me, I have tried both! And although pilates can be done on machines, pilate moves can be done at home without gear. When I went to beginner pilates classes, I just wore a t shirt and comfortable sweat pants. Not a tiny leotard in sight! Doing a local search you will find classes for pilates for beginners, where they will gently guide you through pilates positions. By attending beginner pilates, you can be sure that you will notice some of the benefits of pilates, becoming stronger, less tired, gaining peace of mind, being fitter, more flexible, less stressed, more toned with better posture, balance and flexibility.

Being fitter and healthier can help your body fight against possible breast cancer. Your body is stronger to protect yourself, and able to de stress easier, gaining mental clarity. Women doing pilates are often more in tune with their body and like to be proactive with breast self exam. For women who have had breast cancer, yoga and pilates workouts can offer a gentle way to ease back into exercise.

Pilates positions can be adapted and your instructor is able to guide you with sensitivity, to do personalised exercises to strengthen you, physically, mentally and emotionally. Its a great way to reintroduce yourself to exercise.

So if you fancy yourself to be a pilates performer with cool pilates moves, or in my case, not so cool moves, or you would rather focus on beginner pilates classes, this can be a wonderful addition to your life. Pick up the phone and check it out. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain!

Suzanne Early
http://www.early-detection-for-breast-cancer.com/health-diet-fitness.html

Suzie likes to share down to earth, easy to understand information on breast cancer basics, with warmth and sensitivity. Having a friend with breast cancer and a career in Adult Education, Suzie understands how important it is to share and learn about this women's issue, in the hope that other women will be encouraged and empower themselves, becoming proactive in their breast health. Early detection is key!

http://www.early-detection-for-breast-cancer.com/ebook-shop.html

Breast Cancer Information
Breast Cancer Information

The Breast Cancer Threat to Women

When it comes to cancer, any type is something to be concerned about. For women, the most common occurrence is breast cancer regardless of race, body type, geographic location or social status. It is simply a universal threat.

How big of an issue is breast cancer? It is the second most common form of cancer in the world. It accounts for approximately 1 percent of all deaths in the world regardless of cause whether they be car crashes, war or disease. The latest statistics show roughly half a million people dying each year from breast cancer.

What is breast cancer? As with any cancer, it is the growth of abnormal cell structures. As the name suggests, it appears in the breasts of women as well as men. The first impression is typically as a small tumor. As time passes, the tumor will spread to surrounding tissue. Eventually, the cancerous cells will reach a point where they can spread throughout the body. With breast cancer, this typically occurs when they spread to the lymph nodes found in the underarm area. Once introduced, they are spread throughout the body via the lymphatic system.

Given this description of breast cancer, it probably comes as no surprise that the vast majority of breast cancer cases are not discovered by doctors. Instead, upwards of 80 percent of cases are identified by the patient as they do self examinations feeling for lumps. This is true even though most women undergo an annual mammogram.

When performing a self-diagnosis, the finding of a lump is not the end of the world. In fact, the majority of breast lumps are not cancerous. Instead, they are often found to be cysts or fibrotic changes to the breast. That being said, don't take a chance. If you do find a lump, make sure to get it checked out by your doctor.

Treatment for breast cancer is highly dependent on when it is discovered. Small tumors are often removed with localized surgery and the treated with radiation and hormonal therapy. Advanced cases are treated through aggressive surgical removal of the breasts and lymph nodes around the underarm area. In cases where death occurs, it is usually due to the late discovery of the cancer wherein the cancerous cells have already spread throughout the body.

Tiffany Hart writes for DivaBras.com - where you can find plus size bras and lingerie.

Breast Cancer Information
Breast Cancer Information

Discover the Chances of Surviving Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is the fourth most prevalent cancer in the United States behind others such as prostate, lung and skin cancer. It primarily develops in women aged fifty or older although men can develop the disease as well. Some factors that can contribute to the development of breast cancer may include, fat intake, weight, age, and amount of exercise.

These are facts that should be well known. But, what are the actual chances of surviving breast cancer?First off, the chances of survival are significantly impacted by whether or not the cancer was diagnosed properly or early enough and when it is diagnosed, what stage it is in. Higher rates of survival bear this out. Another thing that impacts one's chances is the fact that treatment options are many, varied and the number of options keeps increasing. Also treatments as a whole have been improving as we learn more about this disease. Doctors also see the need for their patients to get regular mammograms done, which also increases the chances of early detection and faster acting treatments because any tumor found will not have become malignant.

Another thing that increases one's chances of survival is the fact that doctors are continually monitoring and modifying treatments to better serve the needs of the individual patient. In addition to these treatments, there is also a push toward more natural, less invasive treatments as well. Some radiation treatment as well as chemotherapy drugs after surgery has been seen to help improve survival rates also.

The key to remember here is that there is at this time no one thing that will increase your chances of surviving breast cancer, just as there is no one thing you can do to reduce the odds of development in the first place. It is a combination of many different factors. However, the one key ingredient is you. How you choose to come at and cope with breast cancer will go a long way in determining your survival rate.

Laura Guthrie is a former cancer patient who successfully recovered. She now shares her best of the best information to give back.

She's put together a website simply to give back to people just like you with tons of free information, you can get free instant access at http://www.savemefromcancer.com

We hope you got lots of value from this article, good luck in your journey.

Breast Cancer Information
Breast Cancer Information

Preventing Breast Cancer Made Easy

There are several ways we can go about breast cancer prevention. One is to ensure we get enough rest, to give our body the time it needs to grow and regenerate. Another way is to have a healthy diet plan, rich in oats, fiber and vegetables. But the most important method of breast cancer prevention is exercise.

It is commonly known that exercise does not have to be a two mile run or hours spent at the gym, however when it comes to exercise we are very good at finding excuses no to, even though we know it will benefit us. Common ones include: "It's too early, it's too late, I'm tired, my feet hurt, my whole body hurts, I'm hungry," but really if we stop and think, we are short-changing our bodies and in doing so, potentially shortening our lives.

The recommended minimum amount of exercise is 30 minutes a day. Exercise can be anything from walking, to swimming, to yoga to weight lifting. The main thrust here is to do it with consistency. What you are trying to do is develop a habit that will aid in keeping you health, strong and cancer free.

It is interesting to note that the benefits of exercise are not impacted by your weight. Exercise, no matter what form it takes is an integral part of a healthy lifestyle as a stronger body will lead to a stronger immune system. When started at an early age, the benefits are enormous. And if your exercise routine is kept up as you progress through your forties and fifties, you will have a much lesser risk of developing breast cancer than those that don't exercise. In short, you can use pills but the best breast cancer prevention is the one that comes from your own efforts.

I hope you've gotten a lot of value from this article, as now you know some vital information about breast cancer and how to try to prevent it.

Laura Guthrie is a former cancer patient who successfully recovered. She now shares her best of the best information to give back.

She's put together a website simply to give back to people just like you with tons of free information, you can get free instant access at http://www.savemefromcancer.com

We hope you got lots of value from this article, good luck in your journey.

Breast Cancer Information
Breast Cancer Information

Breast Cancer and Its Alternative Treatments

Breast cancer is the most prevalent type of cancer in women across the world. In the UK, it is estimated that one in nine women will be affected by breast cancer at some point in their lives, a phenomenal figure which highlights the scale of the problem. However, although it is more often associated with women, it can also affect men of all ages.

Breast cancer is caused when malignant tissue forms inside the breast. The cells that are affected by this become damaged, causing them to divide and grow until a lump is formed. It is this formation of a lump that is usually the first physical sign that someone has developed breast cancer.

The most common form of breast cancer is known as invasive ductal carcinoma, named as such because it forms in the ducts of the breast. A less common form of breast cancer is invasive lobulal carcinoma, which is formed in the lobules of the breast.

The Causes

We are unsure about the exact causes of breast cancer, but what we do know is that there are a number of certain risk areas that have been discovered which can lead to its formation.

One of these is the age of the woman, as 80 per cent of breast cancer is found in post menopausal women. However, also at greater risk are women who have children later in life or have not had any children at all, people who are overweight, people who smoke or drink a lot of alcohol and women who experience a late menopause. There is also an increasing likelihood of getting breast cancer if someone else in the family has been diagnosed with the condition.

The Symptoms

As with all cancers, early diagnoses is important. We should all be aware of the general feel of our breasts so that we are more likely to become aware of any changes in texture or feel. Although this is most commonly found in the form of a lump, we have to remember that any pain, unusual discharges or anything unusual should be checked out as soon as possible. Thickened areas of skin and an itchiness in the armpit are also known to be common early indicators.

Standard Treatments

The most common type of treatment for breast cancer is surgery. However, treatment can vary depending on the stage of the cancer, the age of the sufferer and their fitness levels.

Surgery can consist of either a lumpectomy or a mastectomy, both of which can be very invasive and leave the sufferer with emotional as well as physical scars. If the cancer is at a later stage then chemotherapy and radiotherapy are also possible options, but these are often very unpleasant treatments and can have a whole range of adverse side effects, as well as having a relatively low success rate.

Alternative Treatments

Due to the harsh nature of surgery and other standard treatments, many of us now opt for alternative therapies for the treatment of breast cancer. We may be initially dismissive about such therapies, but actually we are learning a lot most about these natural treatments all the time, and we are discovering some real benefits and results from using them.

One such treatment focuses on the power of massage, which is already proving to have very positive results on patients. It involves the massage of the breast and the lymph, which is an entirely natural process that helps to drain the lymph. Massages can last for up to an hour, and results have been encouraging. As breast cancer is linked to a blockage in the lymph system, massage and ultra sound therapy is used by alternative clinics in enhancing the movement of toxins through the lymphatic system. The treatment also involves massaging the rest of the body, because stiff muscles and blocked nerves can prevent blood from flowing properly which can slow down the treatment process.

Massage can also be used alongside bio-photonic light therapy to achieve even better results. This involves using a bio-photonic machine to restore the amount of energy in a cell through using UV rays, as the energy levels in the cells go down when they are affected by free radicals. This completely non-invasive treatment has been seen to increase the effectiveness of other treatments as well as producing good results on its own.

Dietary supplements such as Vitamin B12 (B17) and flaxseed oil are all widely regarded as very helpful supplements during the course of treatment, but one of the most powerful natural remedies is surprisingly simple, and comes in the form of Vitamin D3.

It is widely considered that not enough of us get the right amount of exposure to sunlight, which is the best source of Vitamin D. Vitamin D contains calcitriol, which has been known to prevent cancer cells from developing, and it also helps to prevent anti-angiogenesis, a process by which blood vessels grow around the tumor.

All of these alternative therapies can be used on their own, but for the best results they are used in combination, and it is only now that we are learning just how powerful they can be as opposed to traditional treatments.

Robert writes for the Mariposas Clinic Spain which is a wellness center and cancer clinic based on the Costa del Sol Spain and provide a 2 week wellness course as well as alternative, natural and holistic treatments for cancer and other serious illnesses. Please visit the site for further information on the different forms of cancer and their alternative treatments.

Breast Cancer Information
Breast Cancer Information

Watching My Mother Die of Breast Cancer

"Mom, the doctor just gave me the latest test results." I sat down on her hospital bed, and held her hand while three tubes, pinned to the wall above her head extracted a vile brown mixture from her body. "Your breast cancer has returned!" She rested her head back down on the pillow, emotionless - not wanting to hurt her son - the messenger.

Watching someone die is a very unpleasant experience. Being tethered to your dying Mother for four weeks by a 20 foot wire connected to buzzers gives new meaning to "umbilical cord."

Several days after delivering the news, the doctor told me that there was not much more he could do for her, and he released her by ambulance to her garden apartment in New Jersey, where I set up home for the next four weeks. She lost the strength to speak or move while tethered to the tubes in her body, so I installed a buzzer by her bed that connected to a wire that ran along the floor, through the living room and then out to the terrace,where it snaked up the leg of my chair,and connected to a flashing red light that sounded an alert like an alarm clock. There was only one setting: LOUD. At first, the buzzer sent me flying into her room, until I realized that she was just doing it to keep me on my toes. She couldn't speak, so she gestured to the water glass, tissues, or bed pan.

Television, radio, or any loud noise was out of the question. My wife couldn't make it down from our apartment in New York City until the weekend. In need of friends and companions, I invited a case of red wine and a box of cigars to join me in my daily death vigil.

It was only a few short years before, that I had sat on the edge of another hospital bed and comforted my 46 year old sister Patricia, who was dying of cancer. An hour after I left the hospital, the doctor called me to say that she had passed away. (God, I trust that you have forgiven me for all the things I said to You that night.)

On a cool, crisp and sunny day in September 1999, I was on my way to the Pierre Hotel in Manhattan, to interview Nancy Brinker*, the founder/president of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, named for her sister who died of breast cancer at the age of 36.

Nancy is right out of Central Casting. Tall, attractive, intelligent, determined and very charming. She was in town to kick off the "Race for the Cure", one of the most successful fund raising events in the country. We sat at a desk in her suite, and while my tape recorder rolled, I asked her several mundane and routine questions. I felt that I was missing a wonderful opportunity. As she got up to leave for a luncheon in her honor, hosted by Hillary Rodham Clinton at the Waldorf Astoria, I caught her at the door, and requested one more question: "If you had one wish for something to take place in the first 10 years of the new millenium, what would it be?"

"Wow, that's interesting." We returned to the desk and the tape recorder. "I wish that we find the CAUSE of cancer!"

There are over 100 types of cancer, so we still have our work cut out for us. However, Breast Cancer is a particulary hideous disease, with it's hidden secrets - taunting us to defeat it.

My mother was a product of the Great Depression, and had some ingrained habits that still prevailed - like hiding money. When my wife and I visited my Mother for Thanksgiving and St. Patrick's Day, I would leave a note with clues to find $20 bills that I had hidden all around the house. It was only when I got home that I would call her and tell her where the note was that held all the clues. When my wife first found out about this game she said, "Michael, that's so cruel!" My mother absolutely loved it! Sometimes she would call me the next day to say that she had stayed up most of the night, because there was still one $20 bill she couldn't find.

My mother was rapidly deteriorating. It wasn't a pleasant site to see a woman who was so active and alive. Driving, taking trips to Branson, Mo. for her new found love of Country music.

I had to undertake a very unpleasant task. I called a cousin whom my Mother adored, and asked Rita if she would help me. I explained to her that I feared that my Mother may have money hidden around the house, and could she please ask her for me.

With hand signals, she led us to the hope chest in the corner. Inside was a note that had a series of clues, that led to envelopes, keys to boxes, and riddles. After a day and a half of following clues that led to loose boards, picture frames, and false bottoms, we had uncoverd over $33,000.00 in cash. I didn't have the nerve, so I asked Rita to please ask my Mother if we had found all of it. She came out of the bedroom with tears running down her face, "Your Mother said to tell you that it's for her funeral."

During those four weeks that I sat on the terrace, jumping at the buzzer as cigar ashes flew in my face, I reminisced of times gone by; I remember her yelling at police detectives telling them that her saintly son couldn't possibly have done that; yelling at Mickey Mantle to look up and say hello to her son (he did), getting me into the best possible schools; (she had a way with authority figures);paying for Mrs. Murphy's broken window; and a very strict code on how to treat girls.(The Nuns in my Catholic High School were pretty good at this too!) My mother was also a very big fan of Susan B. Anthony. I never knew who this person was. I assumed she was a movie star.

Breast Cancer is a hideous disease, I was thinking as I drove my Mother's car to the County Seat to file her death certificate. I popped in her favorite cassette of Garth Brooks and sang along. It started to rain very heavily. I gratefully pulled the car off to the side of the road, as I was crying too hard to safely drive any further. (God, I trust you forgive me for the things I said to You that night)

So, how do you react to someone's illness?

Your little girl comes screaming into the house, blood running down her knee, tears streaming down her face. How many seconds does it take for you to jump off the couch? Your pet dog or cat comes yelping and limping into the room - a thorn in it's paw. How long does it take you to jump off the couch? A loved one comes into the room - she tells you she has breast cancer...I trust I did as well as I could.

I can't even fathom or pretend to know what mental anguish a woman has to bear when she's been told she has breast cancer.

We have a little over 2 years for Nancy Brinker's wish to come through. Perhaps we can all look under our mattresses and find a dollar or two and send it to our favorite breast cancer charity. And may God be with every woman and family going through this ordeal.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. In 2007 in the US, an estimated 200,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer.

*When Nancy Brinker's sister, Suzy, died of breast cancer at the age of 36 in 1980, Nancy promised herself that she would fulfill her sister's plea to help others battling the disease. In 1982, she established the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, today recognized as a global leader in the fight against breast cancer through its support of innovative research and community-based outreach programs. Currently, the Komen Foundation boasts more than 75,000 volunteers working in 15,000 communities. http://www.komen.org

(This article first ran October 2006 - http://www.HealthNewsDigest.com)

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Breast Cancer Information
Breast Cancer Information

Signs of Breast Cancer That You Need to Keep in Mind

We have been hearing about many cancer cases and one of the most prominent cancers that we hear of today is the breast cancer. With the increasing rate of the breast cancer cases it is important that we understand and know the signs and symptoms. The following are few symptoms which can help you make out the symptoms of breast cancer:

a. Lump
Lump can be one of the symptoms of breast cancer but not necessary that this is always the cancerous lump. Though, lump is the most common sign of breast cancer in both men and women. Thickening in the breast is also another indication and at times the lump may be painless but it may be sore from time to time.

b. Discharge from the nipple
Bloody discharge from the nipple is also one of the signs of breast cancer but this again does not mean that the person is suffering from breast cancer, though this cannot be taken lightly.

c. Change in size of your breast
Another symptom is the change in the breast size; this can be from one of the clear signs of breast cancer.

d. Indentation of nipple
Retraction or indentation is not the common thing that you would notice, this is also one of the signs where you should not wait for anything, you need to rush to your doctor and get your physical test done.

e. Indentation of skin over the breast
you should also check whether the skin over the breast is indented. Indentation or flattening of the skin over breast is also the symptom of breast cancer.

f. Redness of skin over the breast
Redness or pitting of skin over the breast is again the sign of breast cancer. The shape and texture looks similar to the skin of an orange.

More Information Visit Breast Cancer and Breast Cancer Treatment

Breast Cancer Information
Breast Cancer Information