Be Sure, Make a Plan

What's the best way to make sure you're doing everything you can to protect yourself? Make a plan and follow it. A pink plan that is.


Check out MyPinkPlan for tools to set up your very own plan for protection.

There Won't Always Be a Lump

Have you heard about a rare form of breast cancer that goes undetected by breast exams and even mammograms? Did you know that this cancer accounts for 2%-5% of all cases of diagnosed breast cancer but that it accounts for 25% of breast cancer related deaths because the diagnosis came too late?

Dear readers, the cancer I'm referring to is called Inflammatory Breast Cancer or IBC. It is the fastest growing breast cancer and it claims so many lives each year. The worst part is that nothing that you know about breast cancer prepares you for IBC; You're not going to find a lump.

The general rule of thumb for breast cancer survivability is early detection, ideally before any symptoms are noticed. Sadly, this isn't the case for IBC, because most of the time, symptoms are what leads to it's diagnosis.

The problem with IBC is that it's symptoms mimic and are often confused with much more commom ailments such as mastitis or infection. And while your doctors attempt to treat these other problems, critical time is lost and the real treatment is delayed.

Here's the lowdown on IBC:


Signs/Symptoms:

• Swelling and tenderness
• Itching and unusual warmth
• Inverted nipple
• Crusted or dimpled skin on the breast or nipple
• Enlarged lymph nodes
• Discoloration

Treatment

• The first line of defense against IBC is chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is done to limit the growth of this fast growing cancer and hopefully kill it. Once chemotherapy is complete, "a mastectomy with lymph node removal is the preferred surgery. Unfortunately, since there isn’t usually a lump and since the cancer is in the skin, a lumpectomy is not possible." (HealthCentral.com)
  

Prognosis:

• With treatment, the five-year survival rate of IBC is roughly 50% while the ten-year survival rate is only about 30%.

What disturbs me the most is the lack of information available on this deadly disease. It took a lot of searching to turn up even the most basic of statistics, most of which are outdated. Right now, the most important thing is to get awareness out there. If you suspect that anything is wrong with your breasts, toss out the possibility of breast cancer to your doctor. It may not be breast cancer, but at least you will know for sure.

Here is an amazing video about IBC

Note: The table image and the quote are both from the book Inflammatory Breast Cancer: A Breast Disease Book by G. Owen Johnson.

Kick off October, Pink Style

October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month has come around again. We at Pink Ribbon Crusade, urge you to make this month count!

So to kick off this month, pink style, I've rounded up several ways that you can help in the fight against breast cancer. The best part, each one of these are free!

• Stop by The Breast Cancer Site once a day to click the pink button. There is also a quick and painless feature that you sign up for allowing The Breast Cancer Site to email you daily reminders to stop by and click the button. 100% of the donations come from site sponsors and go toward free mammograms to those in need. Since 2000, they have "funded free mammograms for more than 11,000 women in need."
• Sign up for Army of Women. There are many studies that you can participate in to further breast cancer research. And you don't have to have breast cancer to participate. Just click on the "current projects" link and browse around. You're sure to find one that you can participate in.
• Wear pink. And tell people why you choose to wear it.
  
• Link to resources. This is great way to get word around. If you find a site that you want to tell people about, go ahead and tell people. You can:link to them on your blog or website, even your myspace and facebook pages, you can twitter about them. It doesn't matter what you do, as long as you are getting the message out there.
  

Make Strides Against Breast Cancer

Yep, it's almost October, which means it's almost Breast Cancer Awareness Month. This means it's time to decide what you're going to do this month for breast cancer awareness.

You can start by visiting the American Cancer Society and check out Making Strides Against Breast Cancer, the ACS walk. You can click on your state to view scheduled walks in your neighborhood.

Sign up for a walk and every step you take will help increase breast cancer awareness.

Video on Risk Factors

Check out this great interactive video/slide show on the statistics and risk factors of breast cancer.


Click here for the video

Staging Breast Cancer

For those who have been diagnosed with breast cancer, staging of the cancer is quite important. Staging provides a way to track where the cancer is and how fast it's growing. This in turn affects both treatment options and survival rates.

See below for a wonderful video from CancerQuest with a description on staging and diagnosing breast cancer.




Watch Breast Cancer Pathology in Educational | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

It's Time To Vote

That's right readers, it's Friday, which means it's time to cast your vote on the Love/Avon Army of Women PSA video contest. Follow the link and you can view all four videos of the week, if you haven't already, and then you can vote on which you think is the best.