Remember that young women often have breast lumps and very few actually are cancer.
Is doing a breast exam helpful?
Is doing a breast exam helpful?
Women below the age of 20-24 have an incidence of 1 in 100,000 of breast cancer. Only 55% of breast cancer cases have any identifiable risk factor. Your doctor will do a breast exam to check for the lump. If the lump is still present, your doctor will likely order an ultrasound of your breast to check out the lump.
While a breast self exam does not seem to change the outcome of breast cancer, it is up to each woman to decide if she wishes to practice it.
Cervical cancer can be prevented!
If you are a woman
If you have ever had sex and
Immunizations with the Human Papilloma Virus vaccines reduce the risk of cervical cancer by 70%.
What should young women know about breast cancer?
This is a disease that gets more frequent with age. Women below the age of 20-24 have an incidence of 1 in 100,000 of breast cancer. The rate rises as you age: by age 40 the rate is 100 per 100,000. What are the risk factors? Only 55% of breast cancer cases have any identifiable risk factor. Of those that are present many are not modifiable: gender, age, family history of breast cancer and history of radiation treatment to the chest area. There are slight increases in breast cancer incidence in those who are obese, especially after menopause, those who drink alcohol and perhaps, those who have used birth control pills.
The effect of the pill is controversial, with good studies on both sides of the debate. The risk is only slight and reduces so that ten years after you use it the risks are the same as for someone who has never used the pill.
If you are under 35 and you note a lump in your breast, what should you do?
The breast changes with your menstrual cycles - so wait until your next period is finished and reassess your breast, if the lump is still present, come in to Student Health Service to have it checked. Your doctor will do a breast exam to check for the lump. If the lump is still present, your doctor will likely order an ultrasound of your breast to check out the lump. Ultrasound can discern the architecture of the breast better than mammography below the age of 40 years. Your doctor will discuss the results with you and decide how to proceed from there. Remember that young women often have breast lumps and very few actually are cancer, so you must be action before bad condition.
Is doing a breast exam helpful?
While there is no research that supports a reduction in death from breast cancer if you do a breast self exam, some women are interested in knowing how to do the exam, and knowing their body's changes over time. While a breast self exam does not seem to change the outcome of breast cancer, it is up to each woman to decide if she wishes to practice it.
Cervical cancer can be prevented!
The cervix is the entrance to the uterus at the top of the vagina. The cells on the cervix can change to abnormal cells temporarily or on the way to becoming cancerous. Regular pap smears look at the cervical cells and detect abnormalities that can be treated before a cancer develops.
Get a pap smear...
Depending on the results of the pap smear, a woman or mother may need to repeat once a year for three years, and, if all are normal, she can increase the time between pap smears to every 2 years. If the results show atypical cells of undetermined significance or low grade lesions, repeating the pap every 6 months and watching for signs of recovery is the recommended course of action. If changes are persistent for 2 years or more of a high grade, colposcopy is recommended.
In Canada there are about 3.5 per 100,000 people who are diagnosed with cervical cancer by 30 years of age. Immunizations with the Human Papilloma Virus vaccines reduce the risk of cervical cancer by 70%. There are 2 vaccines in Canada: Gardisil ($130.00) and Cervirix ($90.00) that can prevent infection with the common HPV strains that lead to cervical cancer (types 16 and 18) but only Gardisil can also reduce visible genital warts. Get the HPV vaccine at Student Health Service.
While a breast self exam does not seem to change the outcome of breast cancer, it is up to each woman to decide if she wishes to practice it.
Cervical cancer can be prevented!
If you are a woman
If you have ever had sex and
Immunizations with the Human Papilloma Virus vaccines reduce the risk of cervical cancer by 70%.
What should young women know about breast cancer?
This is a disease that gets more frequent with age. Women below the age of 20-24 have an incidence of 1 in 100,000 of breast cancer. The rate rises as you age: by age 40 the rate is 100 per 100,000. What are the risk factors? Only 55% of breast cancer cases have any identifiable risk factor. Of those that are present many are not modifiable: gender, age, family history of breast cancer and history of radiation treatment to the chest area. There are slight increases in breast cancer incidence in those who are obese, especially after menopause, those who drink alcohol and perhaps, those who have used birth control pills.
The effect of the pill is controversial, with good studies on both sides of the debate. The risk is only slight and reduces so that ten years after you use it the risks are the same as for someone who has never used the pill.
If you are under 35 and you note a lump in your breast, what should you do?
The breast changes with your menstrual cycles - so wait until your next period is finished and reassess your breast, if the lump is still present, come in to Student Health Service to have it checked. Your doctor will do a breast exam to check for the lump. If the lump is still present, your doctor will likely order an ultrasound of your breast to check out the lump. Ultrasound can discern the architecture of the breast better than mammography below the age of 40 years. Your doctor will discuss the results with you and decide how to proceed from there. Remember that young women often have breast lumps and very few actually are cancer, so you must be action before bad condition.
Is doing a breast exam helpful?
While there is no research that supports a reduction in death from breast cancer if you do a breast self exam, some women are interested in knowing how to do the exam, and knowing their body's changes over time. While a breast self exam does not seem to change the outcome of breast cancer, it is up to each woman to decide if she wishes to practice it.
Cervical cancer can be prevented!
The cervix is the entrance to the uterus at the top of the vagina. The cells on the cervix can change to abnormal cells temporarily or on the way to becoming cancerous. Regular pap smears look at the cervical cells and detect abnormalities that can be treated before a cancer develops.
Get a pap smear...
Depending on the results of the pap smear, a woman or mother may need to repeat once a year for three years, and, if all are normal, she can increase the time between pap smears to every 2 years. If the results show atypical cells of undetermined significance or low grade lesions, repeating the pap every 6 months and watching for signs of recovery is the recommended course of action. If changes are persistent for 2 years or more of a high grade, colposcopy is recommended.
In Canada there are about 3.5 per 100,000 people who are diagnosed with cervical cancer by 30 years of age. Immunizations with the Human Papilloma Virus vaccines reduce the risk of cervical cancer by 70%. There are 2 vaccines in Canada: Gardisil ($130.00) and Cervirix ($90.00) that can prevent infection with the common HPV strains that lead to cervical cancer (types 16 and 18) but only Gardisil can also reduce visible genital warts. Get the HPV vaccine at Student Health Service.
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