Significance of Breast Cancer Awareness for Females

You must have heard about breast cancer awareness especially in the month of October. It is celebrated as the month of awareness in all developed countries to promote the importance of being aware and its role in early detection.

Why Be Breast Aware?

Most of women don't understand the importance of being aware as a result the number of cancer related deaths increase. Breast cancer awareness is not a prevention to breast cancer, but it is a way to know breasts in detail so that any unusual change can be noticed soon after it takes place.

Women need to stay in touch with their breast constantly so that they become familiar with usual and unusual changes. In the case of enlightened awareness it becomes easy for women to notice unusual changes comparatively.

Self breast check is strongly recommended for improved awareness as it keeps women in close contact with breasts and it becomes natural for them to feel changes. This check is advised to be started at the age of 20 as development of breasts is almost complete at this age and as women are always at higher risk than men so special care is mandatory for them to maintain good health of breast.

Self breast check should be performed even after menopause because most of the cases are diagnosed in women at this stage so they need to monitor their breast monthly. Most women assume that at this age the risk is decreased, but it is a misconception and risk increases due to certain reasons.

If a woman was not in habit of self check before menopause she can start it as and when she comes to know about its importance as there is no age limit to learn and perform it. Just one thing is essential to perform it regularly and that is willingness of women to be aware because where there is a will there is a way.

No training is required for it just by doing it for couple of months every woman can do it efficiently, by doing this check a woman can stay alert about breast health and unusual changes can be noticed as and when they take place. Any day of the month can be selected that can be memorized easily, it is better to choose the day after periods to have true picture of breast condition. Your simple step can change your life. So, think about it.

James is a blogger and writer. He usually writes about breast cancer, breast awareness and breast examination. You can contact him directly at james@breastlight.com.

Original article

Awareness Leads to the Path of Well-Being

As you know breast cancer has become one of the most widespread diseases across the globe, it's high time to raise awareness and improve your lifestyle to reduce its risk. It's an unfortunate dilemma that there is no cure found for this disease but there are certain risk factors that can be managed to control and reduce the breast cancer risk. Since there are a large number of factors associated with breast cancer, you need to know what factors are controllable and uncontrollable.

Factors that cannot be controlled

· Gender: Your gender is one of the greatest cancer risk factors. Women are at higher risk of getting this disease compared to men. Although, men do have the risk of getting breast cancer but these cancer cases in men are very few. If you are a woman, you need to be aware throughout your life. An improved awareness can be helpful in detecting any possible abnormalities, which might be signs of breast cancer.

· Age: Research has shown your chances of getting cancer of breast increase with the increase in age. Research has also shown that older women have twice the risk of getting breast cancer as compared to women in their 40s. More than 80% of breast cancers are found in women above 50. This means that you need to improve your awareness as you grow older. Being an older woman, you need to perform self-examination on a regular basis to become a breast aware woman.

Factors that can be controlled

Now let's talk about factors that can be controlled to reduce the cancer risk. There are many factors that can be controlled and managed to evict the chances of getting this dreadful disease. The most important factor is the lifestyle factors. When you talk about your lifestyle, there are a number of factors like eating habits, physical activities, alcohol consumption etc. One of the main factors 'diet plan' is mentioned below:

· A healthy diet plan: It is a fact that a healthy diet plan is essential to maintain a healthy lifestyle. A healthy diet plan consists of healthy food choices like fresh fruits, green vegetables and whole grains. These food items contain vital nutrients and vitamins that cover the nutritional deficiencies of your body. Not only this, a healthy diet plan keeps you healthy and fit. You will not put extra weight on your body, if you strictly follow a healthy diet plan along with a healthy exercise plan.

James is a blogger and writer. He usually writes about breast cancer, breast awareness and breast examination. You can contact him directly at james@breastlight.com.

Original article

Set Your Mind at Ease With Improved Awareness

As you know awareness leads to a better understanding of your breasts especially when you carry out self-breast examination. You can only improve your breast awareness if you regularly check your breasts throughout your life. Do you know the importance of self-examination? Many women do know but they do not know what changes to look for while carrying out this examination. Below are step by step instructions to perform self-examination of your breasts along with changes you need to observe during this examination:

Self-examination of breasts

An easy and effective method of performing self-examination of your breasts is while lying on a bed. At night you have plenty of time to check your breasts and know their normal feel and look.

· Undress from the waist up and lie down on a bed.

· Place a pillow under your right shoulder and position your right arm under your head.

· Make a pad of three middle fingers of your left hand and move it over your breast.

· Make circular motions and check how your breast feels normally.

· Apply three different pressure levels i.e. light, medium and firm pressure on your breast using your pad.

· Do not cause pain in your breast while applying these pressure levels. Move the pad gently over all parts of breast.

· Repeat all above steps for your other breast and rest of chest area. Make sure you note down all of your observations during this exam on a notepad.

Remember that you need to bide your time and observe the normal feel and look of breasts in detail. It is important to share your observation with your GP so you can get a proper diagnosis or treatment if required.

Know the changes you need to look for during self-examinationof breasts

It is equally important to know what changes to observe during this examination so you can effectively carry out it. Changes you need to look for are mentioned below:

· Change in the size or shape of your breasts. It is normal to have one breast larger than the other one.

· Change in the position and shape of the nipples.

· Nipple discharge

· Inverted nipples

· Puckering or dimpling of the breast skin

· Swelling under your armpit or around the collarbone

· Persistent pain in any part of the breast

· Rash on or around the nipple area

. Lumping or thickening in any part of the breast

You should consider these changes during examination.

James is a blogger and writer. He usually writes about breast cancer, breast awareness and breast examination. You can contact him directly at james@breastlight.com.

Original article

Awareness: Remember

I believe it all started with chivalry. When the brave knight would ride into battle wearing the colors of his family, or the flag bearer leading the troops, his banner proudly held high for all to see, and no mistake to be made who they were fighting for.

Perhaps the Lady offering her Knight her colors at the beginning of a joust to show all present that he was her champion.

If you rode in the cavalry in the 19th century you might hear "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" being sung as men rode to war, (or more than likely from John Wayne's movie). Holding that one piece of home, a small reminder that someone cared. Someone was waiting for his return. Perhaps it started then.

In the 1970's "Tie a Yellow Ribbon 'Round the Ole Oak Tree" was popular. It sang of guy getting out of prison. Wondering against all odds, would his love still be waiting for him? If there was no yellow ribbon tied around the tree, he would "stay on the bus, forget about us". Ahhhh, but when his bus arrived there were 100 yellow ribbons tied around the old oak tree.

Taking that to heart Penney Laingen, whose husband was being held hostage in Iraq tied yellow ribbons around the trees in her front yard. Friends and family followed suit and to this day we all know that someone is waiting for someone to come home when we see those yellow ribbons.

I don't know about you but I know and relate to that feeling. One of the hardest things I ever had to do at the young age of 18 was take my new husband to the airport. We had to say goodbye, he left for Viet Nam. We waited 13 months and he returned. (Just as a side bar, we are celebrating our 44th anniversary this month, Oct. 2011.)

Take a look around the football stadium or basketball court. Our colors broadcast our champions. Win or lose they are our team, the other color is our rival those with whom we do battle.

Ribbons are no different. They boast our cause. They bring focus to our fight. They unite us as a team. Today there are days, weeks, months and colors encouraging us to remember. Remember those who won their battles and those who lost.

Regardless of when and who was responsible for the Awareness ribbons of today they still stand for strength, love and hope. Ribbons today let us collectively hold to the truth that we believe, care and still champion our causes by bringing Awareness to the public forefront. October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and time for your pink ribbons, but it is also a great month to remember those causes which are worth fighting for.

Marky's Market will take a percentage of all earrings in the last 12 months, ending October 31, 2011 and donate to Kane County, Utah's, Domestic Violence and Sexual Abuse Coalition. http://www.markysmarket.com/results.cfm?category=38

Original article

Breast Cancer Awareness - Is It Working? Is There Any Real Point to Breast Cancer Awareness?

Breast cancer awareness programmes are everywhere!

Whilst governments and professional institutions run the 'official' programmes, in any one country there may also be many 'non-official' initiatives that are run by private individuals and groups. In fact it seems that really anybody who wants to get involved can do so - whether they are qualified or not.

So what are the aims and objectives of these cancer awareness programmes? What is it that these programmes are actually trying to make us more aware of? Is it about the disease and it's treatment? Is it to make sure that women know that they should present to the doctor immediately they find any problem in their breast or are they simply trying to increase the number of women attending screening with Mammography - regardless of whether or not the motive for this might be purely financial?

Well in reality, the only time a woman really wants to learn about breast cancer is when they,or someone close to them, actually develops it. But at that moment in time they don't need awareness - they just need solutions.

When a woman or man gets the disease they only need 3 things:

really good information about breast cancer and its treatmenta place to get their treatment anda supporting network of people around them to share their cancer journey

One Middle Eastern country increased their attendance for breast screening from less than 20% to over 60% recently. How did they do this? It was quite simple actually; they told women that they would not have their national health card/entitlement renewed until they had their annual mammogram. But is it correct to essentially force women to have screening - even if it is in their best interests?

Actually that particular country, did have a breast cancer awareness programme before the change in the law so at the very least this tells us that their breast cancer awareness programme did not work. When it comes to screening uptake - i.e. the number of women attending for Mammography - then it is easy to measure the effectiveness of any awareness programme.

But if the objective of the programme is just general awareness and education, then it is fair to say that it would be very difficult, nigh on impossible probably, to accurately measure how successful any breast cancer awareness programme is.

But surely, isn't everyone aware of breast cancer and breast cancer screening? Are there really any places left in the world where women do not have sufficient awareness about this problem?

Well the answer may not be what you would expect. There are still, sadly, many countries where there are simply an insufficient number of hospitals and specialised staff to treat the existing cases that arise. Certain countries in the Middle East and Africa for example, have totally inadequate resources in terms of breast surgeons, oncologists, radiologists, hospitals and so on, who are 'breast specialised.'

So what does happen to the women who develop breast cancer in these poor and often very remote areas? Well, as hard as it may be to believe, the sad truth is that many of these cases simply go untreated. These poor women go home and die and no amount of awareness is going to change their situation.

Of the patients who do manage to get treatment, the treatment can be very poor - surgery but no adjuvant treatments (chemotherapy or radiotherapy), the wrong chemotherapy, surgery but no pathological examination or analysis of the specimen, which is simply thrown away; all these are real examples of the kind of things that go on in certain places.

In countries where there are no hospitals, no sanitation, no immunisation and not even enough food, is there even any need for breast cancer awareness - probably not? So are we saying that breast cancer awareness programmes are a feature of countries that have sufficiently developed cancer services, hospitals and specialists - in other words, wealthy countries?

If we are, then surely we are talking about countries where women have access to education, the Internet and formalised medical services - so do they really even awareness programmes? Surely they must already know that there is a disease called breast cancer and that if they get a problem then they should go and see a doctor? Aren't they already doing this? Is there ANY evidence at all that women in these countries actually need awareness programmes? Is there any evidence that without breast cancer awareness in these countries that women would not get treated?

The problem is that breast cancer awareness programmes cost money - potentially lots of it. So if they are not actually doing any good - should we not be spending this money where it is more needed? And if awareness initiatives ARE really efficient and do a good job of educating the public about breast cancer, then surely once the public IS educated - there is no further use for the programme that did the education in the first place?

So there remain some really important but unanswered questions about breast cancer awareness:

How much do these programmes actually cost?Are these programmes effective?If awareness programmes are effective - then when will they have been seen to have done their job and be stopped?Is there any point in having an awareness programme in a country where there are inadequate medical services - could that money not be better spent elsewhere?What are the aims of the awareness programme? This needs to be clearly defined.

Ultimately, the best way to help yourself is to be proactive; learn about breast cancer, understand what treatments are available and know what to do if you find a lump. You can find this information here by following this link - http://www.breastcancerworldnews.com/

Dr. Richard Reyes is a breast cancer surgeon and writes for Breast Cancer World News

Original article

Custom Printed Pink Promos for Breast Cancer Awareness

It is reportedly believed that one in every eight woman in the United States will get affected by an invasive type of breast cancer in the course of her life. This is a reality that many people have to deal with and it is vital that any effort towards cancer awareness is given the much needed support. Breast cancer awareness promotional products have been used effectively to raise awareness about the ailment and custom printed pink promos are one of the items that have been effectively used for this purpose.

The pink ribbon is the most conspicuous badge for breast cancer awareness and in all countries, the National Breast Cancer Awareness Month is observed in the month of October. In America, many cancer awareness organizations are given a considerable amount of money by the corporate world for sponsorship. Getting involved in this drive to create awareness about breast cancer is a an effort that helps to raise money for research and other activities is a noble act that can also help bring visibility to any company that shows its sympathies to the idea.

Any company that chooses to distribute custom printed pink promos as giveaways for cancer awareness is creating a very big difference in the lives of many people who get affected with this problem. Custom printed pink promos will raise awareness while at the same time helping your business keep its brand visible in many events that are held for the purpose of this awareness.

While showing your support at the fundraisers, at the medical centers, health campaigns and related events, your logo and your company name and message will be prominently displayed on the pink promos that you distribute and this will help you stay in the eyes of prospects.

Custom printed pink promos are perfect giveaways for trade shows, for breast cancer awareness educational programs, business handouts and much more. By giving the printed pink promos away, you showcase your logo and ensure that you are always remembered thus creating an opportunity for your business to grow. There is no better way to advertise your company while at the same time you lend your support to a worthy cause. Breast cancer awareness campaigns are very important and it is important that the public is made aware of the implications of breast cancer as a disease.

Awareness and early detection has saved many lives. With custom printed pink promos, you also play a part in saving these lives while also promoting your company. There is only one way to deal with the menace of cancer. To battle the disease, there has to be awareness, scientific research and funding. Joining hands with organizations that are actively involved in all these activities will always produce positive results. These organizations welcome any combined efforts to raise awareness and are quite open to the idea of the corporate world assisting them with funds while promoting their businesses. Custom printed pink promo items are thus multifunctional in that they help businesses build their brands while at the same time advancing the fight against cancer.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month is a great time for businesses to show their support for victims and organizations. A great way to do so is with Breast Cancer Awareness Promotional Products which can be custom designed at DiscountMugs.com. With a wide variety of pink promos like pens, key chains, Coffee Mugs, shirts, and more, you can have them printed for your organization or event. Shop DiscuontMugs to get yours today.

Original article