According to American Cancer Society, breast cancer is a malignant tumor that starts from cells of the?breast.? A malignant tumor is a group of cancer cells that may invade surrounding tissues or spread to distant areas of the body.? Breast cancer occurs almost entirely in woman but men can get it too.
Deanna Favre wasn?t exposed to the risk factors associated with breast cancer.? She didn?t smoke or drink, she was athletic and a healthy eater, yet in 2004 this disease that does not discriminate entered the life of the then 35 year old in an untimely fashion.?Deanna was diagnosed with breast cancer only eight days following a tragic?accident on the Favre?s property that claimed the life of her 24 year old brother, Casey.? One could only imagine the influx of emotions that ran through Deanna during this time in her life.? In her book , Don?t Bet Against Me, Deanna describes the waiting period following the previous day?s biopsy to determine whether or not she had cancer.
The next morning, Brett went to work, Breleigh went to school, and I went to exercise. After I showered and dressed, I didn?t want to be nervously pacing around the house and waiting for the doctor?s call, so I drove to my friend Toni?s house and kept my cell phone within reach.
Every time the phone rang, my heart lurched in my chest. But every time the phone rang that morning, it was Brett on the other end of the line. No matter how many times I told him I didn?t expect to hear anything until after noon, he kept calling. Finally, I told him to hang up and go run some laps or something. ?Study your playbook, sign some autographs, throw
a few footballs. Just don?t call me again until after twelve-thirty.?At five minutes past twelve, my phone rang again. I answered, half-expecting to hear Brett?s voice again, but Dr. Henry was on the line.
I heard my answer in his first word: ?Dear . . .?
No way.
?The biopsy shows that you do, in fact, have breast
cancer.?A trembling rose from somewhere in the marrow of my bones,?chilling my blood and shivering my skin. I felt as if I were standing naked in?twenty-degree weather.
Cancer.
My mind filled with images of bald women?thin-armed,? pale-faced mothers in hospital beds with their husbands and children gathered?around.
A buzzing filled my ears, a sound so loud I could barely?hear the man on the other end of the line. I had to force myself to concentrate?on the phone against my ear.
?We?ll get you an appointment for tomorrow,? Dr.?Henry was saying. ?What time can you get here??
I said I would be there first thing in the morning. I?wanted to get this over with ASAP.
?Fine. Any questions??
I blinked, unable to find the words to answer him. What?could I say? Deb Theine (a nurse that had spoken to Deanna the day prior following the biopsy) had explained all the facts, but none of them had?applied to me, because yesterday I didn?t have cancer.
Unlike so many others, Deanna Favre would win her battle with breast cancer as she was declared cancer free in 2005.? In a 2007 ?On the Record Interview? with Greta Van Susteren, Favre accredits early detection as the key to her victory and wrote her book promote awareness in hopes of helping other?women.
?Early detection was the key for me, and I think that it is
important that women are aware of their breasts and what is going on and any
changes, and just to bring that awareness to women.?And another thing, there were women coming up to me after my diagnosis who were saying, ?You saved my life. Because of you I went in to get an exam and
they found a lump, and I had cancer. Thank you for saving my life.??And so I felt like if I could share this with more women and just really bring
awareness to this disease, it would save other lives.?
Part of early detection are clinical breast exams and breast awareness (as Deanna spoke of) along with self exams.? It was an abnormality discovered during a self exam that prompted Deanna to schedule a clinical examination.
The following examination information is?from the American Cancer Society and is provided for the purpose of promoting awareness.
According to the American Cancer Society, a clinical breast exam (CBE) is an exam of your breasts by a health care professional, such as a doctor, nurse practitioner, nurse, or doctor?s assistant. For this exam, you undress from the waist up. The health care professional will first look at your breasts for? abnormalities in size or shape, or changes in the skin of the breasts or?nipple. Then, using the pads of the fingers, the examiner will gently feel? (palpate) your breasts.
Special attention will be given to? the shape and texture of the breasts, location of any lumps, and whether such? lumps are attached to the skin or to deeper tissues. The area under both arms? will also be examined.
The CBE is a good time for women who?don?t know how to examine their breasts to learn the proper technique from?their health care professionals. Ask your doctor or nurse to teach you and?watch your technique.
Breast?awareness and self exam
Beginning in their 20s, women should?be told about the benefits and limitations of breast self-exam (BSE). Women?should know how their breasts normally look and feel and report any new breast?changes to a health professional as soon as they are found. Finding a breast
change does not necessarily mean there is a cancer.A woman can notice changes by being?aware of how her breasts normally look and feel and by feeling her breasts for?changes (breast awareness), or by choosing to use a step-by-step approach (see?below) and using a specific schedule to examine her breasts.
If you choose to do BSE, the?information below is a step-by-step approach for the exam. The best time for a?woman to examine her breasts is when the breasts are not tender or swollen.
Women who examine their breasts should have their technique reviewed during?their periodic health exams by their health care professional.Women with breast implants can do?BSE, too. It may be helpful to have the surgeon help identify the edges of the?implant so that you know what you are feeling. There is some thought that the?implants push out the breast tissue and may actually make it easier to examine.
Women who are pregnant or breast-feeding can also choose to examine their
breasts regularly.It is acceptable for women to choose?not to do BSE or to do BSE once in a while. Women who choose not to do BSE?should still be aware of the normal look and feel of their breasts and report?any changes to their doctor right away.
How to examine?your breasts
- Lie down and place your right arm behind?your head. The exam is done while lying down, not standing up. This is?because when lying down the breast tissue spreads evenly over the chest?wall and is as thin as possible, making it much easier to feel all the?breast tissue.
- Use the finger pads of the 3 middle?fingers on your left hand to feel for lumps in the right breast. Use?overlapping dime-sized circular motions of the finger pads to feel the
breast tissue.
?
- Use 3 different levels of pressure to?feel all the breast tissue. Light pressure is needed to feel the tissue?closest to the skin; medium pressure to feel a little deeper; and firm pressure?to feel the tissue closest to the chest and ribs. It is normal to feel a?firm ridge in the lower curve of each breast, but you should tell your?doctor if you feel anything else out of the ordinary. If you?re not sure?how hard to press, talk with your doctor or nurse. Use each pressure level?to feel the breast tissue before moving on to the next spot.
- Move around the breast in an up and down?pattern starting at an imaginary line drawn straight down your side from?the underarm and moving across the breast to the middle of the chest bone?(sternum or breastbone). Be sure to check the entire breast area going
down until you feel only ribs and up to the neck or collar bone?(clavicle).
- There is some evidence to suggest that?the up-and-down pattern (sometimes called the vertical pattern) is the?most effective pattern for covering the entire breast, without missing any?breast tissue.
- Repeat the exam on your left breast,?putting your left arm behind your head and using the finger pads of your?right hand to do the exam.
- While standing in front of a mirror with?your hands pressing firmly down on your hips, look at your breasts for any?changes of size, shape, contour, or dimpling, or redness or scaliness of
the nipple or breast skin. (The pressing down on the hips position
contracts the chest wall muscles and enhances any breast changes.)- Examine each underarm while sitting up?or standing and with your arm only slightly raised so you can easily feel?in this area. Raising your arm straight up tightens the tissue in this?area and makes it harder to examine.
This procedure for doing breast self?exam is different from previous? recommendations. These changes represent an?extensive review of the medical literature and input from an expert?advisory?group. There is evidence that this position (lying down), the area felt,?pattern of coverage of the breast, and use of different amounts of pressure? increase a woman?s ability to find abnormal areas.
Deanna Favre was one of the fortunate ones.? Her early detection made her fight against breast cancer plausible but many are not?as lucky.? According the the American Cancer Society this year alone over 230, 000 women will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer and almost 40,000 will lose their lives to this deadly disease.? Today, Deanna continues?to promote?breast cancer?awareness through the Deanna Favre Hope Foundation.? The foundation focuses on early detection through awareness and funding care for some of those who are incapable.? If you?re a woman over 20 years old and have never had a breast examine do yourself a favor and schedule one today.? Your future may be? depending on it.
All medical information is provided via the American Cancer Society.
Aaron Moon is a Featured Journalist for The Penalty Flag. An active duty Navy Chief and
talented writer, Aaron is a lifelong Bears? fan who writes about his team from a critics? point of view. You can contact Aaron on Facebook or follow him on Twitter @DA_Bear_Truth.? Contact Aaron directly by emailing him at amoon@thepenaltyflagblog.com.
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Source: http://thepenaltyflagblog.com/throwing-flag-breast-cancer-deanna-favre
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