October is breast cancer awareness month and the world over there are many events that are organised to raise funds to search for the cure and just to raise awareness of the disease. It seems that, these days you see more and more women surviving this disease especially in the developed countries. I think this has to do with easy access to health care providers compared with the rest of the world.
In Zimbabwe, breast cancer is not something that is talked about openly, mostly because our culture encourages us not to talk about what happens in our personal lives. I have lost loved ones and as families we do not talk about it all, as painful as it is, opening up would make more people learn about this disease and what can be done. Growing up people always used to say that cancer was a rich man’s disease, so many people suffer in silence and misinformation.
I am not health care professional in any way or format but from reading around I have learnt that early detection makes it better. The lumps can be detected and removed early. Every year I get checked by my doctor and so far I am in the clear. I encourage every woman to do it, I think we owe it to ourselves and families. I realize not everyone will be able to go to a doctor for a check up but the good news is you can check for yourself at home. It takes less than five minutes. There are many videos online and you you can use this pictorial as a guide. If you see any of this go to your doctor or clinic.
Image courtesy of http://www.breakthrough.org.uk
Like I said I am not a health care professional, but I have heard and read that if someone in your lineage suffered from breast cancer you may carry the gene – this can be your mother, grandmother, sister or aunt. This makes you at a higher risk for having breast cancer so it would be good to get checked out. Early detection increases your chance of survival. Here in Bermuda, they encourage you to have a mammogram at age 40 and every other year. Its different for every country so check with the healthcare professionals. In Zimbabwe you can check with the Cancer Association of Zimbabwe for more information or just just go to the nearest clinic.
Hope this information was helpful for someone, let me know other things that people can do to fight this disease in the comments section below.