Posts Tagged ‘fear’

Coping with the Fear of Cancer Recurrence

Breast cancer survivor Stefanie LaRue and cervical cancer survivor Christine Baze discuss how they have learned to cope with the fear of their cancers recurring. Visit www.womenshealthcareforum.com to learn more about the cancers these women fought against, and how you can prevent them.

As women, we all fear breast cancer

Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer found in women, and this year alone 192,000 new cases will be diagnosed in the U.S. It eventually strikes one out of every eight American women. Breast cancer also causes more deaths than any other form of cancer in women under age 55.

As women, we all fear breast cancer. It is the one disease that sends chills down our spines and puts a knot in our stomachs. I am not about to go over all the reasons why women get breast cancer or who is or isn’t a high risk factor. I will leave that subject to those who are far more qualified than I, however, there is one factor that affects your breast health and that is the fit of your bra.

Right now, as you read this, 80% of all the women in America are wearing the wrong size bra. Most of them are uncomfortable and most of them are too small. Your breast is all about circulation and the flow of lymph. If you want healthy breasts, follow a regular care program, including a monthly self exam, routine visits with your doctor, and a mammogram when recommended for your age and family history, Most importantly, wear a bra that fits you.

A tight, binding, constricting, and ill fitting bra is bad for you and can cause major discomfort as well as retarding the circulation in and around your breast. So what can you do to change that? Find a bra that fits you perfectly.

This process is very simple but requires the help of an “expert”. When I was growing up in Brooklyn, New York, my mother use to call them the “brassier ladies”. They were mostly European born and had worked in corset shops in Europe as fitters or seamstresses. This noble group of women worked in neighborhood lingerie shops. You never bought a bra without their expertise.

They had such a trained eye that the minute any woman walked in the door they knew what size she was. They would take one look and say, “34C”. It was like radar, they just knew from afar, and when they measured you, they were almost always right.

Today there is a more modern version of these women called lingerie fitters. They are in local shops (if your town is lucky to have one), or work in major department stores in the lingerie department. So your first step to finding the right bra is to go see one of these gals. They will take your measurements, first under your rib cage and all around your back and then across your breast. One tells what your bra size is (34, 36, 38 etc.) and the other tells your cup size (A, B, C, D etc.) Now that you know this they will usually recommend a style for your body type based on your needs. During your session, tell this person all about your basic wardrobe. Are you looking for a bra to wear under a tee shirt or a knit, one for sports or the gym, or a special occasion look? Or do you need to establish a basic bra wardrobe?

Believe me, one hour spent with one of these experts will not only save you money in the long run (by avoiding having a drawer full of ill-fitting bras you can no longer wear), but you will be saved the daily agonies of wearing bras that hurt, are too tight, dig into your shoulders or are just plain torture!

Once you have established your size and needs, then follow these simple suggestions for a long and comfy relationship with your bras.

HOW TO PUT ON A BRA

Bend forward, put the bra on, and fasten.

Look at the fit and make sure that the cup holds all of your breast. If you are spilling out, it is too small. If you have “overhang” it is too small.

Next, take your right hand and smooth the skin of the left breast into the cup. Do the same on the other side.

Stand up straight and see how the straps fit and feel. They should be comfortable without feeling like a vice. Adjust as needed until perfect.

Now, look straight ahead into a mirror and make certain that each nipple is in the CENTER of each cup.

Adjust the back of the bra so it lies smoothly between your shoulder blades.

Take a deep breathe, how does it feel?

A word about brand names. Not every manufacturer cuts the same way, that is true of bras as well as clothes. You might be a size 34C in one brand but a 34D in another. And there may be some brands you can’t wear at all.

BRA DO’s & DON’TS –

Do get measured again every time you lose or gain weight, after a pregnancy, or if you are on hormone replacement therapy.

Don’t ever buy a bar without trying it on and stay away from the sale rack.

Unless there is a brand and style there that you wear, pulling one off the rack because it is marked down is no bargain. Chances are it will have a long and happy life in your lingerie drawer.

Do buy an under wire style if you are full breasted and need firmer support.

Do buy a minimizer if you want to have a large breast appear smaller.

Do try one of the new soft cup bras that offer construction for a smaller breast. (Soft cup means sans under wire.)

Do throw away any and all bras that hurt you or are uncomfortable, no matter how much you paid for them.

Important points to remember

Ask a salesperson to measure you but let your eye and your body be the ultimate test. A bra shouldn’t ride up, dig into your back, or slip off your shoulders.

When trying on a bra in a store, take several, in various sizes, into the fitting room. The difference between a 34 and 36 might be one hook.

For the best fit, your bra should be fastened with the middle hook.

Reevaluate your bra wardrobe at the beginning of every season.

If you find a bra that you love, by all means buy more than one.

Never put a bra in the dryer.

Stop Living in Fear of Cancer

When the FDA uses the phrase “may reduce the risk of certain cancers,” it is nearly impossible to imagine they are talking about anything other than a new costly prescription pill. Then following said claim usually includes a fine print warning or commercials with the “speed talker” warning us of the numerous side effects which may occur while taking the prescription.

Proponets of mainstream medicine in the U.S. seem content to leave things as they are, shuffling the countless off to the surgical ward, concerned more with slicing and dicing than actually improving your quality of life. Major pharmaceutical companies refuse to acknowledge anything natural because only chemicals can be patented. Drug companies then try to replicate
the components but it just isn’t quite working out. So, what are we left with? What are our choices?

Currently, conventional medicine is basically telling us the way to treat cancer is to cut, poison and burn. Diagnosed with breast cancer, just cut it off. Chemotherapy is poison, it makes people very sick and this most popular drug for breast cancer causes uterine cancer. Use radiation to burn then, but medical studies show that the results between people with cancer who were treated with radiation and those who were not treated showed no difference.

Don’t be naive, cancer equals big money and we have been beyond “awareness” for many years now. In fact, the drug companies have already made 12.5 billion on diabetes so far in 2008 and this is not intended to come across as unsympathetic for those who currently have cancer and those who have lost friends and loved ones to this disease. Au contraire, it especially breaks my heart when I think how hard it must be on a young boy or girl who has a form of cancer and the toll it brings on their families.

My question is why the medical profession and big pharma will not give consideration to treating cancer naturally or at least incorporate natural supplements and not just close the door. Sadly it seems the love of the almighty dollar has distorted things just a bit.

Do not be surprised when in the not to distant future we will be unable to purchase vitamins in the U.S., such as vitamin c for example, without a prescribtion. CODEX is already controlling a lot of this internationally and it’s just a matter of time until those dollar signs trigger a new era in the U.S. which is already a signatory but it is not enforced…yet.

Sure we are all familar with the saying “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” and this is so very true, especially concerning cancer. It is much easier to prevent a disease than to cure it and cancer is no exception. All the processed food out there full of preservatives is not only void of nutrients but in many cases is harmful. Companies advertise we can our daily dose of certain vitamins and minerals with their product so we think it’s healthy. Certain fast foods should least have warnings on the wrapper/box that read “this may cause bad things.” Organic foods are great option for a nutricious lifestyle if one can afford it.

We need to focus on what we can do to prevent cancer. Just as it is wise to use preventative measures in other areas of our life, this isn’t any different. This is not meant to bring doom and gloom but don’t fall into the trap of “this will never happen to me.”

Without going into a big dissertation about cancer but very simply, cancer starts at the cellular level. Our immune system plays a vital role in preventing cancer by destroying invading pathogen’s. With this in mind it makes sense to make sure our cells have the nutrients needed, be oxygenated and our immune system is balanced so that the antibodies hit the right target to wipe out the invader.

There are a number of natural supplements available that help make sure this happens, to make any weak links strong. Like most things, there are the good, the bad and the ugly in the natural supplement arena. This article is not intended to tell you what or what not to buy, but to let you know there are options that work which you will never hear about from mainstream medicine. Do some investigation but keep in mind that mainstream, conventional medicine is quick to use the term “quackery” that which does not fit neatly in their protocol.

Andy Burnham interview: Breast cancer devastated my wife’s family .. her double mastectomy lifted the fear

Andy Burnham interview: Breast cancer devastated my wife’s family .. her double mastectomy lifted the fear
No one would have guessed there were any worries lurking beneath the smooth and calm exterior.

Read more on Daily Mirror

Is the US now a Culture of Fear?

Crime rates have dropped dramatically for 20+ years, yet americans still think it’s increasing.
We think the drug problem is the greatest danger to youth, despite the fact teenage drug use has dropped by over 2/3′s in the last 20 years.
Cell phones are giving us cancer, organic foods are better for us, identity theft is a real problem, breast implants are leaking, avian flu is going to wipe us out, video games are turning our kids into killers, schools aren’t safe, MySpace is full of sexual predators, flu shots make us sick, sun exposure causes skin cancer, hackers want to break into our computers, etc… ad nauseam.

Who is to blame for this? Education for not teaching us the basic skills of baloney checking? The Media for over sensationalizing issues that aren’t important? Or is it our fault for refusing to use our brains and find the facts, instead preferring to zombie out in front of the tv (or on YA) watching/doing things that we feel comfortable with?