Wellness: Breast Cancer Awareness

Butterflies, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and if you haven’t already, CHECK YOURSELF!! Like with most illnesses, the earlier you discover and treat it the better your chances are of survival. I have a strong family history of early age breast cancer and because of that I’ve been getting annual mammograms since I turned 30. Here are a few things I’ve learned from getting my annual Well Woman Exams: 

1) 1 in 8 women in the States will develop breast cancer. Annual exams help detect breast cancer and increase your likelihood of survival.

2) Similar to other diseases/mutations, breast cancer can be hereditary. Getting genetic testing done is the best way to determine if you are at a higher risk of developing breast cancer. Women with an inherited BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation are more likely to develop breast cancer and you should plan to start getting your annual mammograms ten years earlier than the age of the person in your family when they were diagnosed.

3) Insurance companies don’t start covering the cost of mammograms until the age of 40 but if you have a family history of breast cancer, your health care provider should be able to get the insurance to cover it.

4) Pain in the breast is not usually a major concern to doctors when it comes to detecting breast cancer; lumps, discharge and any other abnormalities of the breast are usually the first signs and should be checked out as soon as possible.

Resources

BreastCancer.org

Cancer.org

CDC.gov

FreeMammograms.org

P.S. Share your Breast Cancer survivor stories below!

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