Is the Sick Economy Hurting Your Breasts? You Tell Us

By Anne Krueger

Istockphoto/Health
You’ve probably been reading about how a sick economy affects your health in numerous depressing ways, and how consumers are reacting by skimping on medications and skipping doctor visits. Unfortunately, your breasts may be pinched by a recession too. Here, a few ways that Lucy and Ethel may suffer.
Skipped mammosOne of the best ways to prevent breast cancer is with a mammogram. You know you should follow the American Cancer Society recommendation to get one every year after the age of 40. But a recent survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation shows that 31% of Americans skipped a health screening test this year—perhaps due to ballooning medical bills. Missing a mammogram puts your breasts—and overall health—at risk. Please let us know if you’ve skipped a breast health exam for financial reasons. Read More

New drug for menopause being tested

An experimental menopause treatment was shown to reduced hot flashes, trouble sleeping and other symptoms, while reducing breast tenderness and possibly protecting against breast cancer breast cancer. full story

The Survivor Files: Amazing Women Share Their Breast Cancer Journeys

By Anne Krueger

There are at least two million women living with breast cancer in the United States, and every one of them has a story to tell. Those who share their journeys on the Internet let us walk, for a moment, in the shoes of a survivor. I’m amazed at the grace these women exhibit under pressure, and I wonder, Where does that grace come from at a time like this?

For Kelly Corrigan, who describes her overall cancer experience as “extremely positive,” it came from the emotional connections she discovered over the course of eight cycles of chemotherapy, a lumpectomy, and two months of radiation for stage III HER2-positive breast cancer—the fast-growing kind. Read More

Taking Care of Your Girls: Lessons in Teen Boob Health

By Anne Krueger

As sophisticated as teenage girls are becoming (and I should know, I have two of them), it turns out they don’t know much about a topic close to their hearts: breasts. When Breastcancer.org—together with Lankenau Hospital in Philadelphia—surveyed more than 3,000 girls, they discovered that:

• More than 30% of girls perceived a normal change in their breasts to be a sign of breast cancer

• More than 20% thought breast cancer was caused by infection, tanning, drug use, stress, or breast injury—all of which are breast cancer myths Read More