Breast Self Examination (BSE) Technique

Breast Self Examination (BSE) should be done every month to help detect breast cancer.

When to do BSE:
If you still menstruate (have your period), the best time is two or three days after your period ends. These are the days when your breasts are least likely to be tender or swollen.
If you no longer menstruate, pick the same day of every month. It will be easy to remember.
If you take hormones, check with your doctor about the best time for your BSE.

How to do BSE:
Stand in front of a mirror that lets you see your breasts clearly. Look at both breasts. You are looking for anything unusual. This includes puckered, dimpled or scaly skin, or any discharge (clear or colored fluid) from nipples.

Now, look carefully to see if there is any change in the shape of your breasts. First, clasp your hands behind your head and press your hands forward.
Next, press your hands on your hips - firmly - and continue to look for changes in the shape of your breasts. Bend slightly toward the mirror as you hunch your shoulders and pull your elbows forward.

Choose your pattern:
Use one of the following three patterns to examine your breasts. The one you choose is not important. What is important is that you don´t miss any areas.

Begin in the underarm area and move your fingers down until they are below the breast. Move your fingers in toward the center and go slowly back up. Cover the whole area, going up and down or begin at the outer edge of your breast, moving your fingers slowly around the entire breast. When you come back to where you started, make a smaller circle and do it again. Continue, working toward the nipple. Check your underarm and upper chest areas too.
or start at the outer edge of the breast and move your fingers toward the nipple and back. Do the whole breast, covering one wedge-shaped section at a time. Check your underarm and upper chest areas too.
With any pattern, be sure to check the area under your nipples too.

Begin examining your breasts for lumps and thickness, using one of the three different patterns.
Raise one arm, putting your hand behind your head. With the opposite hand, use the pads of your fingers (the flat part) to check the breast, the area between the breast and underarm, the underarm itself and the area above the breast, up to the collarbone and over to your shoulder. Check each area firmly, carefully and completely.

Some women prefer to do this in the shower. It´s a good idea, because fingers glide easily over soapy skin, making it easier to feel for changes underneath.
Repeat step 4 lying down. Lie flat on your back, with your right hand behind your head and a pillow or folded towel under your right shoulder. With your left hand, examine the right breast and area around it very carefully. Then switch hands and repeat the procedure for the left breast. You can use any of the patterns listed.

Symptoms of Breast Cancer

Most people associate breast cancer with a lump, but the symptoms of breast cancer can include a thickening within the breast or the overlying skin, redness of the skin, a change in the shape of the breast, discharge from the nipple, or a change in the shape of the nipple or its retraction. (Eight out of 10 breast lumps are benign; that is, they are not cancerous.)

Alcohol Cancer Related

Chronic heavy drinking has been linked to an increased risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, liver, pancreas and rectum. Consuming as little as three ounces of hard liquor every day for several years can cause damage.

Understanding Blood Counts

Counting and examining blood cells are very important in the diagnosis of blood cell diseases. Blood has several different types of cells in it: Red blood cells pick up oxygen as blood passes through the lungs and release it to the cells in the body. White blood cells help fight bacteria and viruses. Platelets are the cells that form a plug in response to a cut or wound. The platelets aggregate and plug up the site of bleeding.

Normal blood counts fall within the range that has been established by testing healthy men and women of all ages. The approximate normal ranges of blood cell counts for healthy adults are as follows:

Red blood cell (RBC) count: 4.5 to 6.0 million red cells per microliter of blood in men, 4.0 to 5.0 million red cells per microliter of blood in women

White blood cell (WBC) count: 4.5 to 11 thousand white cells per microliter of blood

Platelet count: 150 to 450 thousand platelets per microliter of blood

Hematocrit is the percent of the blood that is composed of red cells:
42% to 50% is normal in men
36% to 45% is normal in women

Hemoglobin is the compound in the red blood cell that carries oxygen:
14 to 17 grams per 100 milliliters of blood is normal for men
12 to 15 grams per 100 milliliters of blood is normal for women

White cell differential count, sometimes referred to as a "diff," measures the proportion of the total white cell count that is composed of one of the five principal white cell types. The observer can also tell if the white cells in the blood are normal in appearance. The five types of normal white cells that are counted are neutrophils, lymphocytes, monocytes, eosinophils, and basophils. Blood contains about 60% neutrophils, 30% lymphocytes, 5% monocytes, 4% eosinophils and <1% basophils.

Tea for Cancer Prevention

Research shows one kind of tea can be up to 100 times more potent at blocking growth of cancer cells than another. While all tea (green, oolong or black) contains antioxidant compounds called catechins that protect against cancer (especially of the lung, breast, colon, stomach and skin) by neutralizing free radicals, green tea contains about 7 times more catechins than black tea. Green tea also has unique catechins that block an enzyme involved in breast, prostate and colon cancers. Green tea is 10 to 100 times stronger than black tea in blocking the growth of cancer cells. Catechins also prevent heart disease and stroke, primarily by defending against the harmful effects of artery-clogging LDL cholesterol.

October Means Mammograms

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Many hospitals and clinics offer free mammograms. Please have one today! It could save your life.

More Cervical Cancer Facts

Cervical cancer is a slow-growing, highly predictable cancer of the cervix, where the narrow, outer end of the uterus opens into the vagina. Caught early, it is easily cured. Each year in the United States, approximately 12,800 women are diagnosed with the disease and 45,000 more with carcinoma in situ, an early-stage cervical cancer. Many thousands more are treated for a pre-cancerous condition known as dysplasia.

Cervical Cancer Symptoms

For more information about cancer, cervical cancer symptoms include painless vaginal bleeding, an unusual vaginal discharge, and painful intercourse. But often, the only way you will know is by having a Pap smear, a simple, accurate, inexpensive screening test used to identify the presence of abnormal cells in the cervix.

Prevention of Colorectal Cancer

Colorectal cancer is very curable when found early and there are several things you can do to lower your risks:
Eat at least 25 to 30 grams of fiber a day.
Eat lots of fruits and vegetables.
Have a digital rectal examination every year after age 40.
Have a stool blood test every year after age 50.
Have a flexible sigmoidoscopy at age 50, and then, after two normal examinations a year apart, every three to five years.
If you are over 50 and notice blood in your stools, see your doctor immediately.

Breast Cancer Facts

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among American women. One in nine women will develop breast cancer during her lifetime. (Men may also develop breast cancer, but just one in every 100 cases of breast cancer is in a man.) Over 180,000 cases of breast cancer are diagnosed each year in the United States and that number is increasing.

Early Detection of Cancer

The earlier cancer is detected, the greater the chance it can be treated before it spreads to other areas of the body.
That´s why self-examinations (such as checks of the breasts, testicles and skin) are important to build into your routine.
And it´s why regular medical screenings (such as mammograms, fecal occult blood tests, Pap smears and prostate exams) are crucial even if you feel perfectly healthy.

Preventing Cervical Cancer

The cervical cancer risk factors can be lowered by limiting the number of sexual partners, using condoms, avoiding sexually transmitted diseases, and getting regular Pap smears. Catching the disease early is simple and inexpensive, and in its early stages, cervical cancer can be completely cured. If you are at least 15 years old, if you are sexually active, and if you are not having Pap smears every year, do yourself this favor by making an appointment today for this important screening test.

Prostate Cancer Risk Factors

Some prostate cancer risk factors include that it runs in families and is associated with a high fat diet. Prostate cancer is most common in Europe and in America, where African American men are at 30 percent higher risk. Increasing age is a factor, with men over 55 at greater risk. Other prostate cancer risk factors are multiple sex partners and venereal disease.

Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA)

An elevated PSA blood test does not always mean a prostate cancer risk. A temporary PSA elevation is found in prostate infection, benign enlargement, prostate surgery and urinary retention.

Alcohol Consumption and Cancer

Heavy and chronic drinking increases the risk for cancer, with an estimated 2-4% of all cancer cases thought to be caused either directly or indirectly by alcohol. The strongest link between alcohol and cancer involves cancers of the upper digestive tract, including the esophagus, the mouth, the pharynx, and the larynx. Less consistent data link alcohol consumption and cancers of the liver, breast and colon.

Breast Cancer Risk Factors

Breast Cancer Risk Factors:

Increasing age: As women grow older, their risk increases. Breast cancer is rare before the age of 30 and is most common in women older than 65. In fact, the biggest known risk factor is age.

History of previous breast cancer: A woman with a history of cancer in one breast has a higher chance of developing cancer in the other breast.

Family history of breast cancer: Close female relatives—a mother or sister, for example, increase a person's risk. Still, only about five to 10 percent of women who get breast cancer have a family history of the disease.

Absence of pregnancy: Both pregnancy and breast-feeding are associated with lowered risk and the earlier the pregnancy, the lower one's risk. Women who have a full pregnancy before the age of 18 have just one-third the breast cancer risk of women who give birth after age 30 or who have never had a child.

Breast Cancer and The Pill

Although birth control pills have been only weakly linked to breast cancer in some studies, new research shows that the hormone-heavy pills used 25 years ago may have significantly increased breast cancer risk among women with a family history of the disease.

Colorectal Cancer Risk Factors

The cause of cancer of the colon and rectum isn´t known, but it´s believed that the disease is associated with a diet high in fat and low in fiber (roughage). Not surprisingly, some colorectal cancer risk factors include that it is more common in Western countries, where the diet tends to be highly refined, with less roughage. People over age 50 are more susceptible, and African-American men have a slightly higher risk. Anyone with a personal or family history of colorectal cancer, polyps in the colon, or ulcerative colitis is at particularly high risk and exposure to asbestos has been identified as a risk factor.