How I Saved My Breasts (& My Life): 6 Things You Should Be Doing NOW
Here’s the bad news: One in eight women in the United States will develop breast cancer in her lifetime.
And I'm one of those women. I was diagnosed with breast cancer a few days after my 29th birthday, and as I write this, I am in the middle of my first cycle of chemotherapy.
Odds are good that you know someone like me. Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women. Worse, it is the leading cause of cancer-related death among young women. So, for ladies in our 20s, a breast cancer diagnosis can be a death sentence.
While these terrifying statistics are not what the newly diagnosed patient wants to hear, I wanted to share them with you because in the three months since my diagnosis, I have never once been told that my prognosis was anything other than recovery. I don’t even need a mastectomy. Why? Because of a combination of early detection and the giant leaps and bounds that we've made in the treatment of the disease in the past two decades.
But, despite all this pink everywhere, there is still confusion about taking care of our breasts, especially among young women. So, what can you be doing, right now, to save your breasts? Read on.
Photo: Courtesy of Dena Stern
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