I came across a newsletter I wrote for Just Us Women Productions titled, “Summer News” dated July 2008. The first thing I said was wow. I hadn’t realized I’d been writing for social media for so long. I also noticed I had a little less gray hair. Heck I didn’t see any gray hair in the photograph. And my smile was off the chain. You judge for yourself…
As I browsed through the articles in the newsletter I came across one I wrote called Breast Self-Care. It took me back, and the information is still valid so I decided to re-purpose it. I’ve since come to learn a number of things about breast health that I didn’t know when I wrote this article. I learned about breast thermography as an alternative to mammograms, and more recently that annual mammograms might not be necessary. Enough said, here’s the article…I hope you learn something new and enjoy it.
Breast Self-Care
Two months ago I went to the doctor for my routine mammogram. When my results came back I was called for an immediate follow-up visit. As a result, I decided to share my experience [with other women]. Clinicians are interesting. They post signs in the office that remind you they will call you if your results are abnormal. In the meantime, you should assume no news is good news. When they called me, they didn’t say there was a problem. They said, “We need to do some further testing on your right breast.” Normally my mind races with all the terrible possibilities, but this time I left it in God’s hands, and as a friend of mine always says, “I kept it moving.”
To make a long story short, after four more x-rays I met with the doctor. She told me she saw calcification [on my right breast]. I asked, what is calcification, and she explained that calcification is calcium deposits. She concluded by telling me that I need to return in six months for a follow-up [I did that for about 12 months].
Being who I am, I went to my health books and the internet to learn more. It seems calcification can be normal, or not. Now I am not claiming anything or self-diagnosing. My company is built on being proactive about health care. This situation propelled me to look at breast health with the same priority I give other aspects of my physical health. I’ve dealt with fibrocystic breasts for a number of years [which was the catalyst for me cutting caffeine out of my diet]. A sister midwife told me a few years ago to do regular self-breast massage. I replied okay and never followed-up [I have since learned to do better].
In my research I found an excellent resource, a website called BreastHealthProject.com. The Breast Health Project envisions a world without breast cancer. It provides preventive oriented, integrative solutions for getting to know your breasts and helping them to stay healthy. For the last month I have used techniques learned from the Breast Health Project to practice self-breast massage [see I learned].
Breast massage allows you to move the lymphatic fluid [lymphatic fluid helps rid the body of toxins, waste, and other unwanted material]. Once I signed up at Breast Health Project I received regular emails with proactive measures for keeping my breasts healthy.
As a result [of my journey] I have shared a few resources that are proactive in nature as it pertains to eradicating breast cancer. Thank you for allowing me to share. I hope this information helps you to make more informed choices for a healthy and empowering lifestyle.