Jeannie’s Breast Cancer Survival Tips

By January 17, 2017Preventative

    • If a member of your family had a form of breast cancer, find out what type. For example, invasive lobular carcinoma does not share the same diagnostic characteristics as ductile carcinoma in situ.
    • As mentioned above, knowing your family history will help you make more informed decisions about things like hormone replacement therapy, birth control pills, etc. Some cancers are fueled by estrogen and you should discuss risks with your physician.
    • Know under what type of density your breast tissue is classified. There are 4 medical “types”: fatty, normal, moderately dense and highly dense. If you fall into the moderately to highly dense category, discuss the possibility of getting a 3-D mammogram! My tissue type was considered very dense and my 4 tumors were not detected by the “normal” mammograms.
    • Breast care nurses no longer do manual breast exams at mammogram centers due to state policy BUT they can be done by your OB/GYN if you request them. My cancer was first found by a routine manual breast exam followed by a 3-D mammogram to verify the findings. I feel that the manual breast exam is what allowed my invasive cancer to be found while in Stage 1.
    • If you or a loved one is diagnosed with breast cancer, please know that there is so much hope! Breast cancer research has increased survival of this disease tremendously. Allow the people in your life to share in your journey, help you in daily tasks when you are tired and gain inspiration from you. Truly, new “angels” enter your life in the form of survivors, nurses and doctors, caring co-workers and neighbors. This loving support is part of your treatment.
    • Finally, knowing that breast cancer treatments keep improving, stay positive BUT realize that when the treatment is done, you can greatly increase your health by adopting modifiable lifestyle factors:
      • Diet
        • Mediterranean diet or vegetarian diet
        • Removing white sugar and flour from your diet
        • Intermittent fasting
      • Daily exercise
      • Stress reduction techniques
  • If I can ever be of assistance, I will gladly share my survivor lessons in more detail, as they are too numerous to mention! Consider me an email away at jeanniejaggi@gmail.com.