Exercise And Breast Cancer

One Sunday afternoon, I stopped by a children’s clothing store to distribute a few postcards for my new book. Upon leaving the parking lot, my six year old son caught a glimpse of "those sticker ribbons with two lines". In my half-engaged attention, I acknowledged his observation that there were "more than three" on this one particular car. From his persistence to gain my feedback, I began to focus a bit more on our conversation. I informed him that I was not exactly clear of what he meant by the description of this two-lined ribbon. “You know, the red one, the boob problem, and the…”. Ground zero! I realized that he was speaking of the Awareness Ribbons that so emphatically adorn vehicles these days. I started to chuckle at his innocence in remembering my recent 15-minute explanation of breast cancer as “the boob problem”. However, after briefly giggling at his simplistic notion, I struck a more serious note to remember that the disease is far from funny and can leave heartache and devastation in its vicious path. In fact, according to Dr. Susan Love, breast cancer affects 110 women every day.

One of my first encounters as a Personal Trainer was with a recovering breast cancer client that came to me while working in a swim and racquet club. If you have ever met a breast cancer victor you will notice that their eyes reflect a beautiful understanding and acceptance of life. Even the way she approached me was filled with grace. Wanting to strengthen her body after the illness, she inquired about a weight training routine. She had a beaming, yet subtle smile with each simple question that she asked of me. To look at her would never disclose of her recent pain. Her hair was a short trendy style, her skin tan from frequent sunshine and her legs still presented the years of tennis that kept her fit. I was honored to take the position as her trainer and we worked together on a program toward rebuilding her body for not only the purpose of strength and endurance, but to attain a touch of inner peace as well.

Recovery from breast cancer is not so different a program than simply exercising to avoid such a catastrophic event in a woman’s life. If you have followed fitness for any amount of time, visited your doctor or taken a class in school, the informative path to righteous living is well paved with getting the blood flowing and the heart pounding. In turn, you increase your chances of avoiding disease (heart-related, cancer, diabetes). Likewise, if you have successfully battled breast cancer and yearn for a method of counterattack to lessen the unpleasant after affects, the all-knowing finger will be pointing in the same direction…the local gym. Even as early as the 1980’s, research was proving that aerobic exercise improved fatigue levels and nausea in post cancer patients. Fast forward to present and the benefits have multiplied over the years. Subsequent studies indicate that weight training, aerobic exercise, and fitness emphasizing mind and body (i.e., yoga) all have a substantial impact of up to 25-50% improvement on pain, fatigue, overall optimism, the general fitness level of the individual and how much a person can improve their quality of daily life, complete with its energy-draining tasks.

It is clear that exercise plays a tremendous role in helping breast cancer survivors feel better. But what are the details of program design? First and foremost, you want to stay clear of stress on the surgical or stitched area. Next, and just as important, begin with the usual 10-15 minute warm-up, no matter if you are doing weight training sets, a cardio routine or a number of yoga poses. It is after this warm-up that variety begins. For resistance/weight training exercises, you will want to start the initial phase of your program with a lowered weight volume but with up to double the repetitions. Elastic tubing and bands are also a good start for the first phase. Though you may not be directly working the muscle tissue in your surgical area, many muscles work together in stabilizing another muscle’s contraction. The lesser weight will insure that your wound is not overexerted to soon. The standard 2-3 sets are appropriate with 15-20 repetitions. Another area of exercise is that of cardiovascular training. Cardio machines such as the treadmill or elliptical machines are good examples that can be used for 3-4 days per week. In your initial phase of a recovery fitness routine, you may want to follow an interval program where you begin the session with a higher-intensity minute followed by a low-intensity minute, totaling up to thirty minutes. As your condition improves, you can reduce your low intensity minute to 30 seconds and eventually eliminate it all together.

Finally, mind and body exercises such as yoga go a step further in fitness. Not only are you strengthening your body, you are also tapping into inner peace with each slow and controlled breath and a static meditative posture. Ideal for achieving relaxation, this type of training can be utilized for as little as 5-15 minute a day and still present positive results.

While breast cancer awareness has reached far heights as even that of former president, Bill Clinton, who signed the Breast and Cervical Cancer Prevention and Treatment Act of 2000, it does not stop the fact that the disease continues to take more and more lives all the time. While a cure is currently elusive, preventative measures are not. Engaging in a fitness program that includes healthy eating, routine exercise and positive mental development will only help you in your quest for creating a life that will not only enable you to enjoy the present moment, but also increase the chances of a healthy and prolonged life.

About The Author

Sherri L Dodd is the creator and author of the newly-released book, Mom Looks Great - The Fitness Program for Moms. She is an ACE-certified Personal Trainer and Lifestyle & Weight Management Consultant with over fifteen years of exercise experience. Aside from teaching kickboxing, she has lectured to groups on her fitness plan and is a freelance writer on the topics of fitness and general nutrition as well as the humorous side of motherhood.

momlooksgreat.com

Bras and Breast Cancer

We have to face the startling fact that, where there are no bras, there is little or no breast cancer.

A carefully monitored retroactive study found the following: Women who wore a bra 24 hours a day had a 3 out of 4 chance of developing breast cancer. Women who wore a bra more than 12 hour a day but not to bed had a 1 out of 7 risk. Women who wore a bra less than 12 hours a day had a 1 out of 152 risk. Women who wore bras rarely or never had a 1 out of 168 chance of getting breast cancer. (Sydney Ross Singer and Soma Grismaijer, Dressed to Kill, Garden City Park, New York, Avery Publishing Group, 1995, pp. 110-126).

The problem with bras, or any restrictive clothing for that matter, is that they block the circulation of the lymph system. At the end of the day, take off your clothes and look in the mirror. If your bra, camisole, or any other clothing has left a line on your body, it is blocking off the circulation of your lymph system.

The lymph system is an important part of the body's purification system. If the tissue of the breasts is constricted due to a close fitting garment, the toxins in the lymph system of this area are not allowed to drain properly. As a result of the inadequate drainage, each day more and more toxins build up in the area.

In the same study connecting bras and breast cancer, women wearing bras that were dangerously tight or restrictive were asked if their bras were comfortable. Many said they were!

Throughout history, women have become accustomed to a variety of clothing that was detrimental to ourhealth. We would never dream of returning to the corset or bound feet. It is time for the bra to become history, as well

About The Author

Marie Zenack is a teacher of fertility awareness and a facilitator of women's rites of passage.

http://www.menstrual-cycle-period.com/

Breast Cancer – Problem Faced By Women

There was a time when Breast Cancer was termed to be as a dreaded disease. But things have changed now. If detected earlier, this could be easily treated. Removal of your breast during the treatment of breast cancer can be one of the painful things you would have to go through. It may not be the same case for all patients. With the increasing knowledge about the cures and treatment breast cancer can be treated very easily.

Breast cancer occurs when cell in our breasts known as tumor grow out of control causing damage to the nearby tissues and spreads throughout. These tumors which are cancerous are known as malignant tumors and cause lot of damage to your body. As it takes lot of time for a tumor to grow, it may not be easy to detect the tumor during self exam. But these can be detected with mammograms.

Breast cancers best treatment - early detection. Once, cancer is detected it becomes easier for the doctors and yourself to fight it out. By the age of 20 all women should start doing Breast Self Examination (BSE) it is one of most easiest and earliest ways of detecting cancer. These check ups should be done few days after your periods. You should do this check up at least once a month. A clinical breast exam should be done at least once a year.

Some of the signs to look for, while doing BSE

-A lump found in and around the nipple or underarm
-Change in size or shape
-Nipple discharge or nipple turning inward
-Redness of skin or warmth
-Formation of dimple or change in skin texture

Some of the causes of having breast cancer

Gender: Being a woman is one of the common reasons for suffering from breast cancer. Event though men suffer from this disease too, just being a woman puts you in lot of danger.

Age: As you grow older your chances of having breast cancer increases.

Family history: If somebody in the family has suffered from breast cancer your chances of having breast cancer increases.

Being overweight or obese: If you are an overweight women your chances of breast cancer increases after menopause.

Lack of exercise: Being lethargic and lack of any physical activity leads you towards increasing weight and chances of breast cancer

Alcohol: Drinking alcohol becomes very risky as it increases your chances of breast cancer

Methods to Prevent Breast Cancer

-Turn into a vegetarian
-Have plenty of organic food and vegetables
-Avoid red meat and any processed foods
-Avoid alcohol and colas
-You can have something sweet by having Stevia, an herb which is a substitute to any other toxic artificial sweetener
-Having whole grains is very good such as Oatmeal, Kamut and Psyllium, which are a good source of fiber and enters directly into your bloodstream
-Your diet must include wheat, bran and Cabbage as they are very nutritious food which helps to prevent breast cancer
-Garlic, Ginger, carrots, celery, cilantro, parsley and parsnip has some of the highest cancer fighting nutrients. Include them in your daily diet.

About The Author

Sharon Hopkins handles many websites relating to natural home remedies such as http://www.home-remedies-for-you.com which has lot of information on home based natural cures and remedies. Breast Cancer can be easily treated if it has been detected early.

Breast Cancer: Steps To Aid In Early Detection

I learned some interesting facts about breast cancer that I feel every woman should know. The sources I used for this article included the American Cancer Society, The National Cancer Institute, and the Avon Foundation’s Breast Cancer Crusade.

Early breast cancer isn’t usually detected by pain. In fact, when breast cancer first develops, there may be no symptoms at all. That is why regular exams are important. If you have anything that makes you suspect breast cancer, contact your doctor immediately. Don't wait around to see what happens. Let the professional decide. Some symptoms that may indicate breast cancer include, but are not limited to, the following:

Nipple discharge or tenderness

Lumps in breast and/or underarm area

Visual changes which include: size of breast including swelling; inverted nipple; and pitting. Pitting means the skin looks like the skin of an orange. Scaling of the breast skin could also be a symptom.

Early detection of breast cancer is important. There is a 97% five-year survival rate when breast cancer is detected early since this can help prevent it from spreading. Below are some guidelines to early detection. I hope they help save someone's life.

Get a Mammogram

A mammogram is a specialized x-ray of the breast to help detect cancers which cannot be detected by feel. Some women are confused as to how often they should get a mammogram. Here is what the professionals say about mammograms.

At age 40 begin getting annual mammograms by a licensed technician. A mammogram will take about twenty minutes. When getting a mammogram avoid wearing deodorant, powders, or cream under your arms. Sometimes they can interfere with the results. Make sure to contact the center if they do not inform you of the results within thirty days. It is very important that results are compared from one year to the next. Hence, be sure you know where your mammogram film is being held.

Clinical Breast Exam

This is an exam by a health care professional. Women in their 20s and 30s should have a clinical breast exam at least every three years and women 40 or older should have an exam each year.

Self-Examination

Starting at age 20 women should begin doing a self-exam. Ask your doctor if you are not exactly sure how to do this or if you are not sure you are doing it correctly. Here are a few guides to follow: Lie down and place one arm behind your head. Using your three middle finger pads press firmly across your breast in overlapping dime-size circular motions. Use three different levels of pressure: light, medium, and firm. This allows you to feel the tissue close to your skin, to feel a little deeper, and to feel the tissue closest to your chest and ribs.

Move across your breast in an up and down pattern, starting from the underarm and moving across the breast to the middle of the chest bone, repeating the pressure.

Stand in front of a mirror with your hands pressing down on your hips and look at your breasts for any changes in size, shape, contour, or dimpling. Also, do this with your arms slightly raised. Make sure you check under your breasts as well.

I hope that this information proves helpful to you. I am not a health care provider and by no means a professional on breast cancer. I am simply sharing with every woman possible the importance of detecting breast cancer early and some simple guidelines that might save a life.

My sources for the above information are:

American Cancer Society The National Cancer Institute Breast Health Resource Guide by the Avon Foundation's Breast Cancer Crusade

About The Author

Donna Rivera-Loudon

Donna has an MBA in information technology and is currently a Tupperware Director and CEO of her own company. She may be contacted at webmaster@todaysmodernwoman.com or at DonnaLoudon@my.tupperware.com.

Visit A Website for the Modern Woman for more http://www.todaysmodernwoman.com

Ways Of Detecting The Early Stages Of Breast Cancer

As many doctors will tell you where most diseases or health issues are concerned, the methods for fighting them is by prevention, being aware and early detection. Therefore if are aware that there is a history in your family of heart problems and cancer then you an advantage over others. Because you know of the risks involved concerning the family history of the disease or health issue involved you can educate yourself on having a healthier lifestyle and what factors in the environment could be contributing to you becoming a higher risk. Certainly with the issue regarding breast cancer this is no different, in fact awareness and knowledge are the strongest you will have in not only detecting the disease early but also beating it.

If you were able to detect breast cancer early enough, you will find that it can often be treated more effectively. In fact the five year survival rate for women who are treated for the early stages of breast cancer is an astounding 96%.

However in its early stage breast cancer does not usually cause the patient any pain and this is why it can be easy for us to recognize it. In fact when breast cancer is in the first developmental stages there are often no symptoms which make it easily identifiable, and it is only as the cancer grows that the changes will begin which should be watch for and be aware of.

So how do you go about detecting the signs and symptoms (changes):-

One of the first signs you may notice is a new or persistent lump or a thickening in or near the breast or possibly in the underarm area.

The size or shape of your breast may change over time.

You will discover that there is discharge from either of the nipples that had not occurred before.

There will be a change in colour or feel of your breast, areola or nipples, which may consist of dimpling, puckering or a scaliness of the skin.

By carrying out regular self breast examination you should be able to detect any one of this signs or symptoms and if you find something that you feel is abnormal then arrange an appointment to see your doctor. There is nothing wrong in being cautious where this disease is concerned. Just remember that most abnormalities that you find are not cancerous and are more likely to be cysts or a growth of fatty tissue and this can be quickly and painlessly dealt with. I’m sure that not only your doctor but you and your family will be pleased that you are erring on the side of caution, rather than ignoring something that can become more serious later on.

About The Author
Kerris Samson, who now lives in Spain and has become a work from home mum. Is now spending a large amount of her time researching breast cancer and other cancers and alternative treatment methods. For further information please visit http://www.cancerreport.info.

Ovarian Cancer Treatment

Ovarian cancer, a condition characterized by an overgrowth of malignant cells in one or both of the ovaries, is one of the deadliest and under-recognized cancers affecting women. Every year, there are more than 25,000 women that suffer from this deadly disease. Half of them are most likely to die within a period of five years.

Early Detection: Improves Ovarian Cancer Treatment

The sad thing about ovarian cancer is that during the early stage, there are usually no signs and symptoms that tell you about this disorder. Symptoms start to show up when the cancer is already widespread, making ovarian cancer treatment too difficult.

However, there are women who are lucky enough to detect the symptoms early on; hence, diagnosis is hastened up and ovarian cancer treatment is given immediately. Tests such as pelvic and rectal screening, ultrasound, x-ray and laparoscopy may help a doctor detect tumors in the ovaries.

At present, almost 75 percent of women diagnosed with ovarian cancer are not treated immediately due to late detection of the cancer. Experts say that when detection of the cancer is made early and when ovarian cancer treatment is given immediately, women diagnosed with the disease have 90% survival rate since the cancer can be easily treated in its early stage.

Diagnosis and Ovarian Cancer Treatment

When symptoms finally show up and the doctor suspects that a patient may have ovarian cancer, laparoscopy is conducted to confirm diagnosis. It is a direct visual examination of the abdominal cavity, the ovaries, the exterior of the fallopian tubes and the uterus using an instrument that is inserted just underneath the navel.

Upon confirmation of ovarian cancer, the doctor explores the extent of the cancer and submits the patient for surgery. The surgeon removes the growth or much of the malignant tissue. In most cases, the whole ovary or both of the ovaries and the fallopian tubes are removed as they the malignant cancer cells have already affected these areas. This kind of surgery is called salpingooophorectomy. If the malignant cells affect the uterus, hysterectomy is conducted (surgical removal of the uterus).

Surgery is usually ensued by radiotherapy, which is the use of high energy radiation to destroy malignant cancer cells in the body and shrink remaining tumors, which may later on become malignant. This procedure may be done using an external machine or a radioactive material put inside the body near the malignant cells.

The patient also undergoes chemotherapy, whereby the patient is given anti-cancer drugs to help hasten up ovarian cancer treatment. Drugs may be administered orally (through the mouth), intravenously (through the veins) or through the muscles (by means of injection of a needle.

Most anticancer drugs given to the patient have chemical compounds that are toxic to the malignant cells; thus, growth of the cancer cells is reduced or stopped. These anticancer drugs are called cytotoxic drugs. Other anticancer drugs used are synthetic forms of sex hormones such as androgen drugs and progesterone drugs.

In most instances, different kinds of anticancer drugs are prescribed in combination in order to speed up ovarian cancer treatment. However, not all ovarian cancer patients are given with the same anticancer drugs. The drugs given to a patient depends on the extent or stage of development of the ovarian cancer and her general health condition.

About The Author
Jeanette Pollock is a freelance author and website owner of http://www.ovariancancerdomain.com. Visit Jeanette's site to learn more about ovarian cancer treatment.

Are You In High Risk Of Getting Breast Cancer?

No one knows the exact causes of breast cancer. Doctors can seldom explain why one woman gets breast cancer and another does not.

Doctors do know that bumping, bruising, or touching the breast does not cause breast cancer. And breast cancer is not contagious. No one can "catch" this disease from another person.

However, research has shown that women with certain risk factors are more likely than others to develop breast cancer. A risk factor is anything that increases a person's chance of developing a disease. Studies have found the following risk factors for breast cancer:

1. The chance of getting breast cancer goes up as a woman gets older.

2. A woman who has had breast cancer in one breast has an increased risk of getting this disease in her other breast.

3. A woman's risk of breast cancer is higher if her mother, sister, or daughter had breast cancer, especially at a young age (before age 40).

4. The older a woman is when she has her first child, the greater her chance of breast cancer. Women who began menstruation (had their first menstrual period) at an early age (before age 12), went through menopause late (after age 55), or never had children also are at an increased risk.

5. Breast cancer occurs more often in white women than Latina, Asian, or African American women.

6. Women who had radiation therapy to the chest (including breasts) before age 30 are at an increased risk of breast cancer. This includes women treated with radiation for Hodgkin's lymphoma. Studies show that the younger a woman was when she received radiation treatment, the higher her risk of breast cancer later in life.

7. Older women who have mostly dense not fatty) tissue on a mammogram(x-ray of the breast) are at increased risk of breast cancer.

8. After menopause, women who are obese have an increased risk of developing breast cancer. Being obese means that the woman has an abnormally high proportion of body fat. Because the body makes some of its estrogen (a hormone) in fatty tissue, obese women are more likely than thin women to have higher levels of estrogen in their bodies. High levels of estrogen may be the reason that obese women have an increased risk of breast cancer. Also, some studies show that gaining weight after menopause increases the risk of breast cancer.

9. Women who are physically inactive throughout life appear to have an increased risk of breast cancer. Being physically active may help to reduce risk by preventing weight gain and obesity.

It is helpful to be aware of risk factors. But it's also important to keep in mind that most of the women who have these risk factors do not get breast cancer.

A woman who thinks she may be at risk of breast cancer should discuss this concern with her health care provider. The health care provider may suggest ways to reduce the risk and can plan an appropriate schedule for checkups.

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About The Author
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