As women (and even men), it’s important to always be aware of the health of our bodies, including breast health. Because it’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I always champion being knowledgeable about your chances of having breast cancer and why you should care.
1. Know your chances.
No one person is immune from the chance of dealing with breast cancer, especially if you’ve had family members that have dealt with it. There’s one specific way that you can know the probability of you getting breast cancer and that’s to go through the process of genetic testing. The purpose of genetic testing, if you have the BRACA gene, is to pinpoint the exact gene you might have and your chances of getting cancer.
2. Be Proactive
There’s nothing wrong with being proactive when it comes to making sure that you’re healthy. Having a proper diet and exercising regularly can decrease your bodies chances of feeding cancer cells and help to decrease your likelihood of getting breast cancer. Taking vitamins like a multi-vitamin and vitamin D will also help give your body something to help fight off cancer cells. Although these things can’t prevent you from getting cancer, they can definitely help.
3. Talk to your family
Talk to your family and ask them if there’s a history of cancer. This will help you in determining the timeframe of when you should have the BRACA genetic testing done. Knowing your family’s history can also help in determining your chances of breast cancer as well.
4. Have regular exams
There are a few ways you can go about having regular exams done. You can do regular self-exams right after your menstrual cycle. This is because this is when your hormone levels are at the right stage to detect if there are any growths in your breasts. You can also schedule an appointment to see an OBGYN who will do yearly breast and pelvic exams as well as give you more information about what to look for as you continue to live your life.
Hopefully these tips will help you to maintain overall health but, most importantly, good breast health.
Happy Pink Week!