Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month
Several years ago I lost a darling friend, Karen Huckle, to ovarian cancer. The most frightening part of that experience was how far along the cancer was when we discovered it.
Karen, who was proactive in her health, and fight against the cancer, did all she could to strengthen her body, and kill the cancer. This included fortnightly reflexology sessions with me. It was an honour and an utter privilege to be asked to be part of Karen’s fight, despite our knowledge of the outcome.
There is no early detection test, and few clear early warning signs, so know your family medical history & get regular checks with your GP. <y request? Check out FROCKTOBER or https://www.ovariancancer.net.au/ online to with funds and awareness so we can save more women we love.
Jennifer Cook
Director
health@thewestsider.com.au
Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Sadly 1 in 8 women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime. Knowing how to properly perform a self-breast exam is a critical skill for early detection. There are two components to a self breast exam, looking and feeling.
- Begin by looking at your breasts in the mirror with your shoulders straight and your arms on your hips, examine if there are any differences between the two breasts such as redness, swelling, unusual rashes or inversion of the nipple.
- Next, lean forwards and turn from side to side to see if there are any changes or lumps with movement.
- Thirdly, raise your arms above your head while standing and look for any dimpling, puckering or bulging of the skin.
- To feel for any abnormalities, lie down on your back with one hand behind your head. Use the pads of three fingers to feel all areas of the breast, including areas towards your armpit and sternum. It is important to use three finger pads, as using one or two fingers can separate tissue.
- Look for any changes in your breast tissue, areas that feel dissimilar to other parts of the breast, or lumps that feel like a pea, marble or walnut.
Self breast exams should be performed monthly, so that you can get to know what is normal for you and catch anything abnormal early.
Alice Lamont
Bad Habits
In light of “Ocsober” October, here are some help for giving up a bad habit..
- Think of all the bad impacts that bad habit is having on you and others
- List all the benefits you and others might experience when you have made your change
- In your mind, minimise any importance of the bad habit
- In your mind, maximise the importance of the change you want, your belief in your resilience, and your belief in your ability to change
- Ask yourself “What do I want instead?” and define it specifically, “How would I know when I have achieved it?”
- Make a plan of how you might like to make the change and when
- Tell others you’re going to change
- Seek some professional assistance with changing if you struggle with it on your own
Garth Bennett
Psychologist
