Topic: Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Breast Cancer Awareness: Do You Know These 6 Surprising Signs?

It’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and given the fact that over 200,000 American women will be diagnosed with this disease this year alone and nearly 40,000 will die from it, we can’t talk about it enough–especially when it comes to prevention and awareness. Sure, we all know that lumps in the breast or armpit can be a major warning sign, but how much do you know about the other symptoms of breast cancer? There are several that can easily be dismissed or confused with something else going on in our bodies. So, for today, get familiar with the other warning signs–some of them may surprise you. And please don’t ignore any of these:
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‘I Got My Breasts Removed At 35, Even Though I Didn’t Have Breast Cancer’

At 34, Dana Bushman and her husband moved from New York City to the California with plans to start a new, less-stressful life on the west coast. But within days of moving across the country, she got a phone call from her Dad: I just found out that I have a genetic mutation called BRCA1, he told her, and I might have passed it on to you. This set off a chain of events that led her to get her breasts, ovaries, and fallopian tubes removed by the time she was 35, just a couple of months later. Weeks after her second and final surgery, she talked with us about her decision, and what hereditary cancer risk means.
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Become Our Facebook Fan, Enter To Win A Sexy Prize Pack From Pure Romance

We kicked off Breast Cancer Awareness Month with Think Pink Week, but breast cancer has been a topic of conversation here all month, including how feeling sexy again after treatment can empower women who are battling this disease. One company that is committed to supporting breast cancer patients is Pure Romance. Its Sensuality, Sexuality, Survival program, created by CEO Patty Brisben, aims to help cancer survivors recapture their sensual and sexual selves through education and empowerment. Also, Pure Romance’s Pink Ribbon line of products was designed specifically for women following cancer diagnosis and treatment. It includes safe and effective products for women before, during and after cancer treatment. With the color, odor and flavoring removed from some of its top selling lubricants and arousal creams, Pure Romance offers women a safe alternative when they are their most sensitive. To wrap up Breast Cancer Awareness month, Blisstree has a treat for women who want to feel sexy and safe at the same time, whether they are a survivor of cancer or not. One lucky fan of Blisstree on Facebook will win a sexy prize pack of goodies from Pure Romance’s Pink Ribbon line (pictured above). Read on to find out how to enter to win. More »

Giuliana Rancic Discovers Breast Cancer While Attempting Pregnancy

Giuliana Rancic, the reality star, E! red carpet host, author and voice behind the health newsletter FabFitFun, announced that she’s battling breast cancer on NBC’s Today show this morning. She says she discovered her early stage cancer through her efforts to get pregnant—she and her husband, Bill Rancic, have been open about their infertility and attempts to conceive using IVF—and plans to get surgery and receive chemotherapy. More »

Arizona High School Bans Cheerleaders’ Breast Cancer Awareness T-Shirts

Arizona’s Gilbert High School has told its cheerleaders that they can’t wear their pink t-shirts to raise money for breast cancer awareness to school football games, dubbing them “out of bounds” for what’s appropriate in a school setting. The girls say they just want to wear the shirts, which say “Gilbert Cheer” on the front and “Feel for lumps, save your bumps” on the back, to raise money for a good cause, and don’t consider them inappropriate. And frankly, we find it a lot more offensive to ban a discussion of women’s health from high schools than to use the word “bumps.” More »

Study: Battling Cancer Can Result In PTSD In Survivors

Anyone who’s survived cancer will tell you: it’s a battlefield. Which is not to make light of the plight of soldiers;when you spend months or even years in fear for you life, experiencing excruciating pain, persistent discomfort, and constant uncertainty, there are more than a few similarities between a combat situation and cancer treatment. Which the findings of a recent study at should bear no surprise: many of those who have lived through cancer suffer with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. More »

5 Foods That May Fight Cancer (But You Should Eat Regardless)

By now, we all know that there are some aspects of cancer prevention that are simply beyond our control. Breast density, genetics, sometimes even stress–there’s little we can do about some things. But we also know that there’s mounting data that states that there are also things we can do to be proactive in the fight against cancer. Specifically, we can eat healthfully. These foods are considered to be “cancer fighting”. And whether or not they actually can battle potential cancer cells in your system, the fact is, they’re foods you should be eating anyway. More »

Rethink Breast Cancer Presents: Hot Guys Reminding You To Check Your Breasts

Let’s face it: Breast Cancer Awareness Month isn’t usually that funny. But Rethink Breast Cancer has found a clever way to lighten up that annual reminder to check your breasts for lumps and changes: hot guys, basically. The video below is an ad for their new “Your Man Reminder” app (which is free from the iTunes store online) featuring hot guys instructing us how to use “TLC” to administer regular self-exams More »

Folic Acid: How Too Much Of A Good Thing Could Fuel Cancer

What do common breakfast foods like cereal, granola, and toast all have in common? They’re all fortified with folic acid. Which would be great, except that on top of a healthy, balanced diet (and multivitamin, which typically contain 100% daily value on their own), all those fortified foods may lead to excess folic acid intake, something that could fuel pre-cancerous cell growth. More »

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Think Pink: Why Men Need To Get Comfortable Talking About Breasts

Last night, I interviewed an amazing woman for a post in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month (watch for her inspiring story about inheriting the BRCA1 gene on Blisstree next week). I don’t want to give away her story, but it’s powerful, and her biggest message was: Know your family history. Which I don’t. Fired up to heed her advice, I went home and promptly discovered that, surprisingly, it’s really uncomfortable to talk about breast cancer with my dad. Despite all the funding, pink ribbons and media coverage given to breast cancer awareness and prevention, cultural norms prevail: Cancer and breasts are hush-hush topics, especially for men. Which means big problems for breast cancer. So guys, while it’s infinitely easier to show your support by writing a check or buying pink stuff for your girls, I urge you: Please get comfortable talking about breasts. More »

Think Pink: At What Age Should You Start Getting Mammograms? It’s Complicated

At what age should you get your first mammogram? Er … umm … well … The reason I’m stumbling here is that the when-to-get-a-mammogram debate has been a hot one over the past several years, with one camp repeating the old advice that women should start at age 40, and another challenging that idea, claiming most women should wait until age 50. Which advice you follow should take into account your breast cancer risk factors; ultimately, it’s up to you and your doctor. More »

Think Pink: Should The Cost Of Breast Cancer Care Be A Consideration?

Yesterday, I wrote an article about my grandmother’s experience with breast cancer. And it seems the part that struck a chord with most readers wasn’t as much about the emotional toll of the disease–it was the cost. Far and away, cancer survivors and family members who responded echoed the same sentiments that my grandmother expressed: that cancer care is really, really expensive. And yet, few doctors or patients even think to consider the price tag at the time of treatment. Should more doctors consider the price of care? More »

Think Pink: In Which I Ask My Grandmother About Being A Breast Cancer Survivor

During Breast Cancer Awareness Month, there’s a lot of talk about breast cancer, but little talk from breast cancer survivors–survivors who are, often times, not “thinking pink”, but rather, seeing red. Because cancer is infuriating. So I asked my angry grandmother, who is a breast cancer survivor and a woman who underwent a double mastectomy. This is what she had to say. More »

Think Pink: Why Thermograms Might Be The Best Breast Cancer Screening Test

Mammograms and breast self exams get all kinds of media play this time of year, but thermograms, a type of heat imaging test, might be an even better way to test for early signs of breast cancer. According to some doctors—like Dr. Christiane Northrup, who hosted a radio show this afternoon all about breast health—the test may be even more effective than mammograms. Plus, the tests are quick, don’t involve the discomfort or radiation exposure that mammography does. More »

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