Health & Wellness! We Want Our Queens, Healthy & Well! The importance of Breast Cancer Awareness!

BREAST CANCER AWARENESS & EARLY DETECTION

Breast Cancer Warriors

Breast Cancer Awareness and Early Detection Month is a yearly campaign that intends to educate people about the importance of early screening, tests, and more. This campaign starts on October 1 and ends on October 31 every year. NBCAM was founded in October of 1985 as a partnership between the American Cancer Society and the pharmaceutical division of Imperial Chemical Industries (now part of AstraZeneca, producer of several anti-breast cancer drugs).

The aim of the NBCAM from the start has been to promote mammography as the most effective weapon in the fight against breast cancer. (Courtesy of Wikipedia) Early detection is important because when abnormal tissue or cancer is found early, it may be easier to treat.

By the time symptoms appear, cancer may have begun to spread and be harder to treat. Several screening tests have been shown to detect cancer early and to reduce the number of fatalities. Early diagnosis improves cancer outcomes by providing care at the earliest possible stage and is therefore an important public health strategy in all settings.

For some common cancer types, such as cervical, colorectal, lung, and breast cancer, clinical trials have shown that early screening does save lives. Early detection of breast cancer is important as it is associated with an increased number of available treatment options, increased survival, and improved quality of life. While there is no definitive method of preventing breast cancer, early detection provides the best chance of effective treatment.

EARLY WARNING SIGNS OF BREAST CANCER

With so many women being diagnosed with breast cancer unexpectedly, it's important to be aware and proactive with this disease and it's important to get checked out. You don't have to wait until your yearly OB/GYN EXAM, check yourself out now and get checked out! Empowered Women Empower!

Symptoms and early warning signs of breast cancer include:

1. Skin changes, such as swelling, redness, or other visible differences in one or both breasts

2. An increase in size or change in the shape of the breast(s)

3. Changes in the appearance of one or both nipples

4. Nipple discharge other than breast milk

5. General pain in/on any part of the breast

6. Lumps or nodes felt on or inside of the breast

The list goes on and on. There are at least 6 or more breast cancer-type symptoms including male breast cancer symptoms according to the Cancer Treatment Centers of America. If you're anything like me, I'm guilty of running to the internet for self-diagnosis. There are so many websites to help you figure out what ale's you. However, I'm smart enough to know that the internet is not the final answer, especially when you know something is just not right. Some illnesses either major or minor mimic other illnesses so it's always best to make an appointment to see a doctor, the experts will determine whether something you notice is cause for concern, and if there is, they will be able to treat it right away.

SELF-BREAST EXAM CHECK

Use a firm, smooth touch with the first few finger pads of your hand, keeping the fingers flat and together. Use a circular motion, about the size of a quarter. Cover the entire breast from top to bottom, side to side from your collarbone to the top of your abdomen, and from your armpit to your cleavage. Check your breast as often as you can and don't skip yearly exams. ​ ​ For more information regarding breast cancer symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment, please visit...…. https://www.cancercenter.com/cancer-types/breast-cancer/symptoms

Breast Cancer Survivor Queens

Eleanor Davis

&

Mary Ann Neely

Eleanor Davis

I always knew it was coming. Most of the women in my family, as far as I can remember, from my great-grandmother to my grandmother, my mother, and aunts, were diagnosed with breast cancer and passed away during their fight! My diagnosis was at the age of 50. By accident, I hurt my shoulder at work, so my Dr. ordered me an X-ray. That's when she realized I hadn't had a mammogram, so she suggested I do both while I was there. My results showed a mass, and I had to go back for further testing. That's when my Dr. informed me that the mass was cancer.

I Am A Fighter!

I knew right away that it wasn't going to be a death sentence for me. My faith in God has always been strong, and since he brought me through it, I knew he would see me through it.

It's a New Day, It's a New Dawn, and a New life and I'm Feeling Good!

At this point in my life, I changed my way of eating, and I work out daily. On my social media, I started a blog post with videos on vegan and vegetarian meals called Live, Love, and Laugh, Spiritual Food for your Mind, Body, and Soul. God's Mercy and Grace have kept me! I’m not only a breast cancer survivor, I'm a warrior!

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God and Prayer Brought Me Through

In June 1992, at 47 years, I was diagnosed with right breast cancer, and after careful study of my case, it was decided by an oncology team of physicians that I would be given several weeks of radiation treatments. One of the many symptoms is extreme fatigue. However, I was able to tolerate it and continued working without any side effects. In June 1993, breast cancer recurred, and I was devastated. The anxiety and fear of the unknown were very apparent to my husband and I. So, there we were again facing the same crisis, only more intense. This time around, I had to undergo a right breast mastectomy with reconstruction, which involved several tests, MRIs, X-rays, and Acupuncture, which pinpointed the exact location of the cancer, along with five hours of surgery, and finally chemotherapy. To add, the radiation treatment had burned my breast so badly at the surgery site, that it wasn't healing properly. So on top of everything else I had done, they scheduled me to have skin graft surgery. The skin they took from another part of my body was used to repair the burned area.

Several weeks later, I started chemotherapy treatments because my veins were so small. There was a port inserted into the left side of my shoulder, and the scar is still there today. My husband calls them my battle scars. Battle scars, yes there were. As you can imagine, I became very, very ill, and suffered many severe side effects, along with an open wound that needed to be washed with a Saline solution twice daily, extreme nausea, loss of hair on every part of my body, darkening of my skin, weight and appetite loss, also an acute sense of smell. I can’t explain it, but I have developed a nervous agitation to this day. But God and prayer brought me through. I have now been healed of cancer for over 27 years. I give all the Glory and Honor to God. I thank my beloved husband and children, as well as Eternal Life Christian Center, my faithful pastor, and special friends, for all the prayers that went up for me.