Abstractions Art posted a photo:

Every year I give myself a Valentine gift. First a visit to the Screening Mammography Clinic, then I go shopping for something nice. This was visit #17 or 18 or maybe 19 (at high risk, I started sometime around age 30).

If you are a woman over 40 (or a high risk woman over 30), please go. If you care about a woman over 40, please convince her to go.

Discomfort is one of the main reasons women put off this important visit. While it is somewhat uncomfortable for about 5 seconds, I would rather have it done than have:
a paper cut
a dental cleaning
blisters
Do you see what I'm getting at? : )

Waiting for results isn't pleasant, but if and when, I want to know as early as possible rather than find out when it's too late.


Mammography links:
British Columbia Cancer Society
Canadian Cancer Society
American Cancer Society

Hormone Replacement Therapy - Know The Risks Before You Say Yes!


It wasn't until 2002 that the true health risks of hormone replacement therapy were discovered and communicated openly. Up until that time, doctors routinely prescribed HRT to women who were experiencing any sort of menopause symptoms. The most common symptoms where HRT was used were for severe hot flashes and vaginal discomfort. Hot flashes for some women can be extreme where visible sweating occurs while the body attempts to cool it self off. Hot flashes tend to be most severe during the late evening and early in the morning. There are often accompanied by night sweats.

Before women agree to hormone replacement therapy, they need to be fully aware of the health risks associated with this treatment. The combination of estrogen and progestin, a popular HRT, can result in heart disease, blood clots, strokes, breast cancer and dementia. In fact, if you are a breast cancer survivor, any sort of hormone replacement therapy is discouraged strongly even if you suffer from severe menopause symptoms.

HRT is effective at reducing the severity of menopause symptoms as well as decreasing the risk of hip fractures from osteoporosis and colorectal cancer. If you opt to participate in HRT treatment, it is recommended that you go for the smallest dosage possible for the shortest length of time to reduce your risk of the above side effects.

If you don't want to participate in hormone replacement therapy while going through menopause, there are some things that you can do to help alleviate some of the symptoms. First, change your diet and eliminate any processed foods. Eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. Hot flashes can be brought on by hot, spicy food so limiting these can definitely help. Limiting alcohol and caffeine will also help you sleep better and reduce hot flashes, insomnia, anxiety and mood swings. If you smoke, it may be time to consider stopping for a number of health reasons. Make sure to get plenty of rest and finally, exercise you be the most important thing you can do to help reduce or eliminate symptoms. Walking is great, so are running, golfing, swimming, biking, hiking and weight lifting. The more active you are, the easier it will be getting through menopause.

There are a number of menopause herbal supplements on the market that make big claims. Before taking anything, it is recommended you speak to your doctor to ensure they are right for you and wont cause other side effects.

By: Lindsay Wagner
Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Lindsay Wagner is an expert author on health issues and a regular contributor to www.menopausesymptomsinfo.com/index.html Find out everything your need to know about menopause, perimenopause and hormone replacement therapy at: www.menopausesymptomsinfo.com/Hormone-Replace-Therapy.html

What you need to know about hrt

As an individual ages he or she is gripped by many physical problems. These problems have different origins. But most of the age-old troubles are a consequence of weak functioning or one can say retirement of the internal organs of the body. So as the individual plans his or her retirement from work, the body organs too propose their retreat. However, studies have revealed that women are more prone to old age problems. The foremost reason of this their menopause that occurs at the age of 45 to 54. In some cases it might be a little later than that too.

Menopause is the term that refers to the cessation of the menstruation cycle of a woman. Once menopause occurs, the woman's tendency to conceive expires. So she cannot reproduce any more. But as the onset of menstruation is marked with numerous hormonal changes within a girl's body; similarly an end to these monthly periods is simultaneous to innumerable hormonal alterations.

But the pre menopause symptoms are unbearable for many women. The basic reason for this is the growing age and a increasing fragility of the body. The symptoms come with pain in the lower abdomen, irregular periods, irritating mood, night sweats, burning feeling and so forth. Many women are scared by the very thought of these indications. In fact they can be really petrifying and too troublesome at times.

So in order to minimize the threat of these pre -menopause signals, doctors devised the HRT or the Hormone Replacement Therapy. The HRT works with the aid of two basic hormones- Estrogen and Progesterone. These are naturally produced within a woman's body. They help in regulating her menstrual cycle. When the level of these two hormones get disturbed due to age, the pre menopause symptoms start becoming evident. So, the HRT proposes to treat the imbalance of these two hormones via medicines. This therapy thus makes it easy for a woman to manage herself in those crucial times of pain and uneasiness. DES or diethylstilbestrol is a commonly known and eminent drug in this area. It is an artificial form of the estrogen hormone. Wen DES goes in the body and mixes with blood, it tries to balance the disturbed levels of estrogen and progesterone. Ths reduces the uneasiness and pain to a great extent. HRT does not just functions in its respective area. It has many uses besides this too. For instance it manages the cholesterol by reducing the bad cholesterol level in the body and incrementing the good one. It minimizes the amount of fibrinogen (that enables blood clotting) in the body. This prevents the lady from many perils such as the risk of heart attack and brain hemorrhage and the like.

But unfortunately it is not easy to opt for the HRT. There are many factors that have to be considered before going for this treatment. If the woman has a history of heart ailment, breast cancer or osteoporosis etc. she may not be able to be undertake the therapy. The lady's age, family background, immunity system, eating and drinking habits, whether she smokes, takes drugs∑many such issues have to be considered before prescribing the HRT to her. For HRT too like other therapies has a bunch of positive and negative effects and so it is not meant for every woman

By: Mansi Gupta
Article Directory:http://www.articledashboard.com

Mansi Gupta writes about hormone replacement therapy topics.

Hormone Replacement Therapy

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