Top Ten Breast Cancer Myths and Facts

Do you know fact from myth when it comes to your breast health? These are the top ten questions I am asked in my job.  One of the things I love best about my job is helping to alleviate the confusion around breast health and breast cancer, as well as empowering women and men with the knowledge to help them make their choices. Take this quiz and test your breast health knowledge. After you finish the quiz, you will see all the correct answers and explanations too!

Please comment and let me know how you did and what was new to you. Feel free to share this quiz with your friends and family.

If you are viewing this on your mobile phone, click the link "Survey" below for the quiz as the one embedded in the blog doesn't show up on  your phone. The link below will work.

Survey

Breast Cancer Myths and Facts

A mammogram saves lives - Amy Robach's story.

The last couple of weeks have been consumed with talk about screening mammography and its benefits or, some may argue, the lack there of. There have been numerous opposing stories in the media and the debate rages on. I came across this article from a few months ago and thinks it speaks perfectly to what I tell women every day when I speak to them. Mammograms can save lives.

This article was the perfect example for this discussion that I felt compelled to "Digg" it. This article is about Amy Robach who televised her screening mammogram in hopes to save a life by covering mammograms, and allowing women unfamiliar with the process, a glimpse into what happens during a mammogram. Amy hoped that she would help to save a life, she didn't realize that life would be her own. Read Amy's story here

The Who/When/Why of New Screening Mammography Guidelines - Part 1 of 3

You may or may not have heard that new screening mammography guidelines for women in BC were released on February 4th. These changes came as a result from recent studies that identified limitations and benefits of screening mammography that women should consider. This will be my first post in a series of three talking about the guidelines and mammography.  For some time now there has been a lot of confusion around the who/when/why of screening mammography. Mammography saves lives and currently only about 52% of the eligible population participates in the program. I hope, as we eliminate confusion surrounding the issue, that more women go for their mammograms. In this post I'll explain what the new guidelines mean to the women of BC. The full press release can be found here.

WHO AND WHEN? - The chart below helps to breakdown the guidelines in a way that is easy to follow (I hope).

Essentially, the revisions to the guidelines make screening mammography available to women from age 40-74 every two years. I am thrilled that screening remains available to women in their 40's. The exception to this is for women of higher than average risk, as you can see in the chart, they will be screened annually. The benefit of this is personalized screening designed to fit each woman based on her situation.

You'll note that beneath the average risk women who are between 40-49, as well as for 75+, there is a recommendation (but not a requirement) to discuss the benefits and limitations of screening mammography with your health care provider. This is important and here's why:

WHY? (Benefits) - We know that mammograms help find cancer in its earliest stages when there are more treatment options, often less invasive treatment options and better survival rates. Mammograms are currently our most effective tool for early detection of breast cancer. Routine mammograms can detect a breast cancer approximately 2-3 years earlier than it would be palpable by a woman (meaning when she could feel it herself).

Limitations:
Mammograms are not perfect but they are the best tool we have for detecting breast cancer early - detecting 4 out of 5 cancers. A mammogram does sometimes miss cancers that are very small or in hard to view areas. Mammograms can also be less sensitive in younger women with higher breast density. Following some exams, further testing is required which can be very stressful. Most findings during a mammogram are NOT cancer. Talking to your doctor prior to having a mammogram will help you to fully understand the procedure, possible results and follow up.

Full explanation of benefits and limitations can be found on the ScreeningBC website

In my next post I'll talk about the recommendation for self breast exams and clinical breast exams and in my final of this series of three, I will tell you a bit about my experience with mammography. I hope this post helped you understand the new guidelines. I'd love to hear your comments, questions or concerns any time. Wishing you all breast health!

It's Not You, It's Me

I hope that as I interact with people in person or through this blog that "who I am" is evident. If you think I am open and honest and share a lot of myself in the first five minutes we meet don't worry - it's not you, it's me.

The reason behind this blog is sharing my story and my knowledge to perhaps make a difference in the lives of others. I have never been a formal type of speaker and I am grateful that I have found a way to share my experience in a way that positively impacts others. That said, it is personal and therefore, it must always come from me, as me. I wouldn't feel natural if I had to be very formal and lecturing when I spoke in public, nor would it feel honest in my writing. I would describe my personality - social media and otherwise - as social, passionate and personal. I am driven by personal experience and even if I tried I could not keep the emotional component out of what I do.

An organization that has adopted a similar personality to mine would be Rethink. Here is the link to their blog. They seem to have a few people writing for them and I think that the majority of their posts fit with a comparable personality to what I hope to achieve.

A large part of my role in my work is to speak to groups of people and share breast health information with them. Some of the greatest feedback I have received is that my presentation style was "not lecturing or embarrassing, it was motivating and empowering". I try my best to be my authentic self. Plain and simply, it is important to me that people have the information (knowledge is power after all) and use that information to make the best life choices they can for themselves. When it comes to helping people feel comfortable and empowered, how I show up/who I am/my style when I'm presenting is just as important as what I am saying.

I am not a doctor or a researcher, I will probably never win a Nobel Peace Prize or save the world. I am me. I have experienced losing someone I love and now have a little bit of knowledge and the ability to share that with others. I have witnessed what that can do for people and it lifts me up. I don't plan to stop anytime soon.