Vim & Vigor - Fall 2013 - Parrish Medical Center - (Page 20)

S he was performing a routine clinical breast exam at my annual well-woman appointment and, to answer her question, no, I’d never felt any lump before. “But what would it matter if I had?” I thought. That lump now existed. I obviously had breast cancer. I was panicking. “I’ll schedule you for an ultrasound ﬁrst thing tomorrow morning,” she said briskly. I asked her, point blank, whether it was cancer, even though I knew she wasn’t able to assess that through touch alone. I just wanted to hear her say, “No, don’t worry. It can’t possibly be.” But she replied, “This lump is the size and shape consistent with cancer.” Needless to say, I endured a sleepless night. The next day, my ultrasound revealed I could breathe easy—it was a harmless cyst, not cancer. I practically danced out of the doctor’s ofﬁce. Still, the experience rattled me. How could I have missed a lump that was the size and ﬁrmness of a jelly bean when I was (most always) diligent about performing monthly breast self-exams? What if I’d blown off my annual exam and the lump had been cancer? Would it have been found in time? Early Detection Saves Lives An annual exam, or well-woman exam, as it’s typically called, is a chance to review your overall health, including your weight, body mass index, blood pressure and any changes in lymph nodes. There also are a clinical breast exam, a pelvic exam and possibly a Pap test. And it’s a good time to talk to your doctor about changes in your health that you may have noticed in the past year. 20 FA L L 2 013 This is also a time to talk to your provider about your cancer risk factors. Do you need help to quit smoking? Are you in the correct weight range? Do you have a family history of cancer? “It’s good to alleviate any concerns you have,” says Debbie Saslow, PhD, director of breast and gynecologic cancers for the American Cancer Society (ACS). And if you’re unsure of how to perform a breast selfexam, this is the time to ask for a tutorial. The importance of an annual exam is conﬁrmed when you consider the continuous decrease in breast cancer deaths over the past 15 to 20 years. “About half the explanation is that the treatment is better … and about half of it is us catching it early,” Saslow says. Every Year or Every Three Years? It should be noted that the annual part of an annual exam is up for some debate. For younger women without a family history of breast cancer, the ACS recommends clinical breast exams every three years, then every year starting in your 40s. Similarly, if you’ve had normal results on recent Pap tests, the society says you can go three years until your next one. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Ofﬁce on Women’s Health, recommends these tests at least every two years for women younger than 30

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Vim & Vigor - Fall 2013 - Parrish Medical Center

Vim & Vigor - Fall 2013 - Parrish Medical Center
Contents
Tasty Tips
Opening Thoughts
Community Calendar
Someone to Guide You
Step It Up
Your Mightiest Muscle
Well, Well, Well
Are You Doing More Harm Than Good?
Is Your Shut-Eye Serving You Well?
Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge
Anatomy of an ER Visit
Next-Gen Surgery
Attack from Within
Virtual Health
Community Health
A Love for Helping People
Cruising with a Chronic Condition
Foundation Focus
Ask the Expert

Vim & Vigor - Fall 2013 - Parrish Medical Center