Ways of Increasing Breast Cancer Awareness

Women could easily outsmart breast cancer by increasing their awareness of the disease. Here are varied ways of doing this.

Maintaining a Health Diary

Maintaining a health diary is an easy & effectual means of increasing one’s awareness of one’s general & in particular breast health. Jotting down days would assist one is seeing one’s general health depiction with greater ease. An ideal means of doing so is using mini-pocket calendars that could be carried along while vacationing & touring so that accuracy of these records could be maintained. Carrying along health diary during your doctor’s appointment would help you in answering all queries correctly.

Breast Self Examination

Noting the day when one performed a BSE (breast self exam) is imperative. In case a woman is going through pre-menopause phase then picking a day which is a couple of days prior to the end date of her menses. In case she is going through peri-menopause or post-menopause then selecting a day on a 30-day basis for conducting breast self exams and jotting down any alterations. Several alterations in the breasts are associated with hormone cycles hence augment in estrogen-progesterone amounts would also proportionally reflect on the breasts. However with plummeting hormonal levels the breasts would also revert to normalized form.

Monthly Periods

Keeping track of your monthly periods so that one has greater awareness of which stage of the menstrual cycle one is in. Also marking the days when one’s menses is on. Tenderness and swelling in breasts could develop during menses. In case a woman is going through menopause and feels bloated, pains or spotting then noting down these instances is imperative.

Screening

Jot down the days of when one lately got screened in the health diary and marking the days when one underwent mammography, Pap smear tests, examinations of the pelvis, ultrasound scans and blood analysis reports.

Surgery & Laboratory Outcomes

Listing whatever surgery one has undergone, with the form & day of every method. In case one knows which form of anesthesizing medium was employed and any reactions to it then also including that info. In case laboratory testing was conducted associated with the methods then noting down the outcomes.

Vaccinations or Shots

It is vital to jot the days of when one was administered flu jabs or DTaP vaccines in one’s health diary for quick references whenever needed. Also making notes of all jabs one has been administered.

Present Signs &/or Worries

In case one is symptomatic like ache, swell-up, blood loss, ocular disturbance, puking or feels nauseous, fever then mentioning them in one’s health diary. In case one’s anxieties are lesser specific then jot down illustrative analogies.

Drugs & Vitamins

A listing of all medicines which one takes inclusive of prescription, supplement, vitamin and OTC medications should be kept and carried along during physician appointment so that any medication interaction could be avoided in case one is visiting more than a few physicians. In case a person has to undergo any operative methods then a number of vitamin, supplement and medicines would be ceased in advance since they might have blood thinning effects.

Health Credentials Information

In case one is visiting a physician for the first time then the following credentials info will be useful to carry along during the scheduled time.

• Precedent medical/operative past.
• Allergy types – pollens, dust, drugs or others.
• Detrimental reaction – medicines, therapies or others.
• Usage of medications &/or alcohols.
• Smoker past.
• Sexual activities – preferences, birth control or condoms usage, celibacy or active).
• Kin health past.
• Exercising – the extent and frequency.
• Dietetic intake and nourishment.

Heightened Awareness & Improved Health

One could be one’s best buddy by keeping tabs of one’s health. Maintaining lucid, precise records of one’s bodily cycles assists one in comparing variations when they surface. Speaking to the healthcare panel would be more simplified when one has terse health records for referrals at the time of consultations. Maintaining health journals for staying on top & increasing health consciousness is of utmost importance.