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The Breast Self-Examination Beaded Necklace - An Inexpensive and Effective Teaching ToolOct 26 '09 (Updated Oct 27 '09) Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line Five dollars is a small amount of money to help improve your skills with early detection of breast cancer. May you never hear the dreaded phrases from your physician.
Phrases you don't want to hear in your lifetime include "you have breast cancer" or "you have a lump approximately 37 mm that we need to look at--when was the last time you conducted a self exam of your breasts." A breast self-exam (BSE) helps women become familiar with the lumps and morphology of our bodies and scrutinize changes. When paired with routine mammography women can better monitor their health. Several years ago my sister, a breast cancer survivor, sent me the most unusual necklace, a Breast Self-examination Beaded Necklace. This unique tool makes it possible for women to use touch to become familiar with what to look for during an exam. When the doctor says conduct self examinations you may or may not always know what to expect. This necklace consists of six different sizes of wood beads (two each except for the largest bead): 3 mm, 7 mm, 9 mm, 13 mm, 25 mm, and 37 mm. These can be strung on a cord (provided) although I've simply kept them loose and in a silky bag (not provided). Each bead is associated with a statement. The "beads on this necklace represent the size of a lump that might be found" under varying conditions: • 3 mm bead represents the size of lump first found by a woman receiving a mammogram every year or two. • 7 mm bead represents the size of a lump found on a woman's first mammogram (if she had been procrastinating) • 9 mm represents the size of a lump found by a health care provider giving a clinical breast exam (Probably Stage I tumor) • 13 mm found by a woman who performs BSE's every month (this can still be considered a Stage I tumor) • 25 mm found by a woman who occasionally performs a self exam (Most likely a Stage II tumor) • 37 mm found by a woman who rarely or never performs a self exam. While there seems to be a little confusion in the information provided, the important message is that a routine annual mammogram will detect the smaller lumps, even before the woman who conducts monthly BSE's. The lump found by the woman who conducts monthly exams will be smaller than the woman who rarely or never performs a self exam and I might add, who also doesn't have periodic mammograms. Stage I cancers remain contained and haven't spread to lymph glands. In using this, I find it most valuable to place the bead under a T-shirt or soft fabric to get a better sense of how it might feel under skin and breast tissue. Everyone knows that early detection saves lives. This is one simple tool that can be used to assist with early detection. The Breast Cancer Awareness Necklace Kit (Item 23341) appears to only be available through Health Edco (www.healthedco.com) - it's inexpensive. If your doctor doesn't have one you should suggest that she consider this an inexpensive investment in helping educate their patients. Organizations that specialize in breast cancer awareness will also have realistic breast models with palpable lumps but these tend to be too expensive for personal use. (Regarding these beads, since men can develop breast cancer this can help them recognize what to detect during their own self examinations.) This kit was developed by the University of North Carolina Breast Cancer screening program at the University of Notch Carolina's Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. While a breast self exam won't detect the smallest lumps, routine exams may prevent really large lumps and they may catch the cancer before it becomes aggressive or before they require more invasive treatments. In addition to conducting self exams become familiar with your risks. Visit the various cancer information sites. My favorites (in order of favorite sites) include Susan G. Komen for the Cure (www.komen.org), National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (www.nbcam.org), and National Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc (www.nationalbreastcancer.org). These all provide valuable information for understanding early detection. May you never hear these words from your doctor, "You have breast cancer" but if you do, hopefully you've been diligent with self exams and mammograms and the doctor says it's either at Stage 0 and confined to the ducts or it's no more than 10 mm and still Stage I. This costs $5 and worth every cent. Get one and share it with your friends and with your daughter and nieces and all of their friends. (This is not in the database. For an image see: http://tinyurl.com/yjo42yh) ......................... This is a contribution to laurashrti's third Breast Cancer Awareness Write-Off. Please read this year's entries as well as the previous two and support Breast Cancer Awareness (we all know somebody who has been touched by Breast Cancer and none of us wants to know of any more friends or family members being diagnosed with this disease).  |
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