littlek--
You're so sweet!
You mean I've lost enough weight that you can see my best blacksnake whip behind my back?
ehBeth--
Good woman! Seriously, I'm a breast cancer survivor. Indignity can be early warning.
I recall that, Miss Noddy.
I listened to what you had to say.
And mine too, and hurry up, you need a baseline, it matters, she frowns.
That is, at the age I think I know ehBeth is.
For me it mattered a lot, re early diagnosis, and ease of treatment, there was a past xray record, those dots meant something... and they did. I was real lucky they were very wee dots, close together.
Ack! Boobsqueezing freaks me out too!
Did you two survivors have a family history before you had cancer?
Both my parents died of cancer. Before breast cancer, I'd had a go-round with cancer of the cervix. Unless I'm murdered, I know what "Cause of Death" will be listed on the coroner's paperwork.
I used to feel safe about having zero cancer in my family. Then my dad had prostate cancer which really doesn't pertain to me, but it was still cancer. And, after that I started reading that the majority of breast cancer patients had no previous family history.
So, now I'm trying to wrap my brain around the idea that mammograming is a good thing instead of a thing exposing me to uneccessary radiation.
Wrap, wrap, warp your brain.
Quite possibly a goodly number of breast cancers are caused by being on top of the food chain. All those toxins we ingest lurk in fatty tissue--and react on fatty tissue.
I'd rather go to the circus than have a mammogram, but I'd rather have a mammogram than another go-round with chemo.
Does it help that I'm a vegitarian, organic vegitable eating, vinegar cleaning with kinda gal?
Maybe yes, maybe no--only your OB/GYN and your mammogram technican and the radiologist know for sure.
Call, get a referral and make an appointment.
Gotta watch the soy intake. It's a bit on the right and wrong side of things. Helps some cancers grow, may prevent others.
Okiedokie Noddy.
Beth - soy is indeed tricky, it seems.
You are 37, little k, w/ zero family history, just start having the mammos when your obgyn suggests. What docs recommend in the forties seems to vary; I had them from about 45, and glad I did.
Er, people who didn't rush right out when I first told them have since been diag'd with much larger baubles than I was.
Me, I have no family history of cancer at all. Alzheimer's yes, cancer, no.
A mammogram, getting your boobs squeezed, please, get over it, open your eyes. Dying of breast cancer and other sorts are much more unpleasant.
I'm 36! I think. <counting>
Yeah, I think the base line should be somewhere in the early 40s.
Re soy and bc, tis a bit of a no if you've been diagnosed. What I wonder about are all those women wandering around undiagnosed. However, my very smart surgeon, Ellen Mahoney, has told me that that warning is mostly to those with diag bc who chugalug great gobs of soy, as in the powders, etc.
I eat tofu once in a while, but in moderation, said to be ok. I purposefully keep the amount down.
Sorry, I am mixing you up with the Kick, agewise.
Eh, it's just a year, I was kidding.
An ageof 36years is young for a menopause. I'd suggest you visit a GYN for a thorough examination
of ovaries, uterus, and hormone levels.
Are you having any neurological problems?
Interesting thread.
It got me thinking about my Mom and how she is handling it. She has such a sweet disposition all the time. I always heard that women going through menopause were extremely moody. So I asked her yesterday.
She doesn't have the dry hair problem yet. As far as her skin goes...she has always been a fan of lotions. She has seperate ones for her face.....her feet....her hands.....and the rest of her body. She has always used them since her youth.
She is not on any hormone replacement therapy. Her doctor told her that as long as her body is doing such a good job of dealing with it...none is needed.
As far as moods.......she said about the only thing that has really bothered her are the night sweats.
She still has her periods but they are erratic. She can skip a few and then she will have one again. Although now she says that they are getting farther and fewer between.
As far as weight gain........none.
Which leads me to this question. Why do some women not seem to be bothered by it....and others have a difficult time?
Some women have better hormone systems. I guess it's half genetic and half lifestyle. Does your mother excersize regularly?