Breast Cancer Awareness
I love being a woman. I love getting ready. I love how emotional we get and even those emotional roller coasters. October is breast cancer awareness month and as a woman I want to make other women aware of breast cancer. Most imaging places offer free mammograms which is awesome to advocate early detection. I believe that there shouldn’t be an excuse not to get checked. Don’t be scared or afraid it’s going to hurt, a screening is a good thing!
Besides working full time as a photographer I am an ultrasound tech. I know, I take pictures inside and out! So many times I’ve heard I didn’t want to get checked because I’m scared or I thought it was too expensive. I want to encourage you and if you have women around you to get your mammogram. A recommended age is 45. It takes less than 30 minutes.
Breast cancer is aggressive and silent. It can spread quick. So catching it at an early stage is key! It highly increases changes of survival. Breast cancer is genetic, so if you’d had it in your family be active about checking yourself monthly and if you find a bump, have your doctor write you an order. If you’re under 30 you’re likely to get an ultrasound. If not, 3D mammograms with ultrasound go great in hand. This doesn’t only apply for women, but males too! If you’re a guy and you find a bump, get checked!
I remember when my mom had an area they wanted to take further pictures of. I was so anxious about the results. I thought of the worse. It turned out to be benign but being scared or timid about it won’t give results. So again, I encourage you to raise awareness about getting yearly check ups!
Here are some possible signs:
Changes to the skin’s texture such as inflammation, skin thickening.
Nipple discharge that can range in color from clear to milky to yellow, green, or red.
Dimpling
Lymph node changes (most lymph nodes are in the axilla and upper outer quadrants of the breast)
Breast or nipple pain
nipple retraction or inversion
Redness
Swelling
Most of the time those symptoms will be of something benign, but you will have that piece of mind. I don’t write these words to scare you but for you to have the upper hand. Share this blog with your loved ones so they become aware!
Get checked!