? for the TCS Women, guys you won't know the answer ;)

Although I don't have enough to even matter, my OBGYN examines the lil things once a year. Breast cancer runs in my family so of course they consider me a candidate.

My doc is also extra-vigilant, he always reminds me to make sure while I'm in the shower I feel around & stuff. I don't need to feel the things honestly. The Lord blessed me with a flat chest and a big butt.

Originally Posted by yayi

DES -- Women who took diethylstilbestrol (DES) to prevent miscarriage may have an increased risk of breast cancer. ...

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Actually, it's not the women who took it that are effected, it is the offsprings of the woman that took it that are. My mom took it with all of us girls,and we have all three had a lot of female issues in our lives because of it. It's nasty stuff. It makes the daughters have problems and sterilizes some of the males.

Salix, hissy, and Katherine are all right for starting their self exams in their teens (which is when I started). When your body starts going through such extreme hormonal changes, things can get out of whack. That is a great time for women to get in the habit of doing a self-exam each month!

Originally Posted by rosiemac

Excellent point Barbara

RYAN!, RIGEL! and the rest of you blokes!!

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Uh...? You suggest I`ll make me a test of breast? I`ll neve think about it.

Thank you for think in me Susan!

Originally Posted by Hydroaxe

Well you're right, I don't know the answer, but I know I've been examining breasts for a very long time.

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Are you Doctor Ryan? or made another kind of examinations????

I started doing the self exams in highschool after watching some video. It's not a huge deal and its pretty simple so why not. I get paps once a year but now my dr wants them twice a year but my insurance only covers one a year so I'm dodging the 6 month one... It's wrong I know but my cells are always abnormal thanks to my bf so all of my paps come back bad and all of my biopsies come back ok.

I go once a year to the gynie, whether I want to or not. When I was on birth control, he required twice a year.

All women, AND MEN, should do their exam once a month. Its not difficult, you're in the shower soaping up anyway, so do it! My aunt is a cancer survivor, my best friend is a survivor but her mom was not.

Uh...? You suggest I`ll make me a test of breast? I`ll neve think about it.

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Yes, even you should be "making a test of breast". Men have died from breast cancer since they never think about it!

Originally Posted by Sweets

I go once a year to the gynie, whether I want to or not. When I was on birth control, he required twice a year.

Yes, even you should be "making a test of breast". Men have died from breast cancer since they never think about it!

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Thanks for the Advice Sandy I`ll do it of course not now, need to make a appoinment with the doctor..

Originally Posted by CoolCat

Are you Doctor Ryan?

or made another kind of examinations????

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Originally Posted by CoolCat

Are you Doctor Ryan?

or made another kind of examinations????

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Once a year for the exam and Pap. Like Anna, my insurance only covers one physical per year, so any more than that would have to come out of pocket (deductibles and all that rot...)

Self exam whenever I think about it. Doc told me that you're feeling for something that feels like a frozen pea that's tethered in place. If it doesn't move around, then it's a problem. She wants me to get a baseline mammogram at 35 years old. She said younger than that the tissue is so dense that there are a lot of false positives for tumors, but at 35 it's generally a good time to get the first shots for comparison purposes down the line.

I started when I was 16, and now Jason does mine for me (and in Earnest, too, I'm not kidding) That reminds me I need to schedule that pap again becaus ethe first one missed cells.

I started checking mine occasionally a couple of years ago (I'm 23). I don't expect to find anything, but I do it so that I'll be used to doing it when I get older and it's more important.
On a related subject, I thought you might be interested in this website/calander. It's made in Guelph, Ontario and I got my first one this year. It's really neat and has all kinds of breast advice and information, not to mention some beautiful art.

http://www.breastofcanada.com/

Originally Posted by Sweets

I go once a year to the gynie, whether I want to or not. When I was on birth control, he required twice a year.

All women, AND MEN, should do their exam once a month. Its not difficult, you're in the shower soaping up anyway, so do it! My aunt is a cancer survivor, my best friend is a survivor but her mom was not.



Yes, even you should be "making a test of breast". Men have died from breast cancer since they never think about it!

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Very good point Sweets!
My grandmother lives in an old age community, and a whole bunch of her lady friend's husband's have had breast cancer and either faught it or died from it. I think it's unfortunate that the push isn't there for men to check, because by the time they find it, it's often too late.

Can I just ask... I thought they recently came out and said that self-exams weren't worth doing or helpful for whatever reason?

Ari if my friend who died of it at 33 had examined herself she would probably still be here today!, so ignore whoever said that chick!.

Originally Posted by rosiemac

Ari if my friend who died of it at 33 had examined herself she would probably still be here today!, so ignore whoever said that chick!.

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Really. You have to do self-exams.
I had only a biological mother and my father raised me. I never knew anyting about my mother's medical history for the most part. So it was recommended to me at 20 to get a baseline done for a starting point and then test every 5 years, so I did but now that I am old and craggy I test every year.

Elizabeth does Ari not mean about examining yourself?!.

I check mine every month whereas my friend never examined herself so she never found it until it was too late

i started doing them at 18, i also got my first mammogram at 18(yes i felt very out of place in the waiting area) but i was having a breast reduction and the surgeon required it... i too recently found a lump in my left breast(it was actually august 04)(i am 20 years old)(and believe it or not, my husband found mine to!) if i am laying on my side you can feel it really really well, but if i am standing or sitting you have to feel around for it... i have been going to a surgeon every couple months now and he keeps rechecking it... i had an ultrasound in september and again in november and it is not showing anything, it has not been biopsied(sp?) so it is thought to be benign... plus it kinda hurts when you push on it and it not attached to my chest wall, so he is 99% sure it is nothing... i naturally have really really hard fibrous breast, so i absolutley have to do breast exams, they are not noticably lumpy, but when you push on them and feel around everything feels like a lump, so i have to pay attention to little changes and stuff, and this bump was one of them... as for the ob-gyn, i go once a year for everything... if you are high risk i could see them wanting you to come in every six months...
i am very glad your friends lump was benign! very good news!