Archive for November, 2009

Mammogram Guideline Confusion

**Since I published this, there have now been back and forth debates between a president-appointed health adviser, Kathleen Sebelius, and the government appointed panel’s recommendations to not get mammograms til your fifty. The long and short of it?  Just get them when it’s right for you, or consult your doctor to figure out what is right for you, considering your family history, and ALWAYS do your self exams.

These days, apparently the guidelines differ as to when you should start getting mammograms, depending on who you happen to ask.  The American Cancer Society still recommends that women begin getting them done in their forties, and now a new government panel/task force has done some research and recommended that these guidelines be revised to starting them when you are fifty, and getting them every two years thereafter.  The American Cancer Society has stook by their 40 recommendation steadfastly and even refutes the idea that 50 years of age is the right time to start worrying about breast cancer.

Some are concerned that this recommendation may lead to more confusion than clarification when it comes to women who are in their forties, since it really tends to gloss over the fact that a lot of women now are getting breast cancer in their earlier age. It’s not clear though, if many of these breast cancers that are caught on women in their forties, are more often than not life threatening. In fact, the reason the panel came to the decision they did was because they said that comparatively, women in their forties getting mammograms leads to more misdiagnoses and unnecessary biopsies and worry than it does to successfully catching and treating truly life threatening cancer.

What is also under review is the fact that self examinations have come under scrutiny for being basically useless.  Many women totally disagree with this assertion, and I happen to disagree with it as well.  I know too many women and have heard too many stories of women who have discovered what turned out to be cancerous lumps in their breasts, by doing the breast self examination regularly.  These women certainly wouldn’t tell you that a self exam is worthless, if you ask me!

In the end, no matter who is making whatever recommendation, the decision is up to you.  You should also check into what is covered under your medical program or insurance, to see if mammograms would be covered for certain ages or with certain family backgrounds.  I myself found out that my insurance company through my employer will cover a mammogram for me, and I’m only 35 years old.  They just changed their guidelines to allow that, by the way, because younger patients are getting more agressive breast cancers and doctors are becoming concerned with prevention at an earlier age, especially when a family history exists on the female side, as I have on my side of the family.

Women Faking Cancer for Breast Implants

Well, this may be one of the more disgusting, pathetic stories I’ve heard in a while.  I’ve heard various stories on and off about people faking serious illness and disease, mostly for sympathy, sometimes because they have an actually psychiatric condition where they can’t stop lying about being sick, or they actually make their children sick to gain sympathy from people, or some people simply use their supposed “disease” as a con to get people to pay for their surgeries, or their treatments, which are often totally fabricated and the “patient” is making off with sometimes thousands of dollars in donations, preying on the generosity and concern of strangers and friends and family alike.

The 24 year old Texas women lied and said she had breast cancer and that she did not have any health coverage, and so could not afford the necessary medical cancer treatments that would help her beat the cancer.  People felt bad, and they arranged a large benefit at a local saloon, where they raised about ten thousand dollars for the woman’s supposed cancer treatment.  They later found out, after the woman had used their money to get herself a $6800 breast implant job, that they had been totally faked out and that all she really wanted was larger breasts.

She did not have breast cancer at all.  She convinced everyone further by shaving her head to make it look like she was going through breast cancer treatment, so she went to lengths to conceal her made up story.  When some of the people who donated found out, they obviously felt betrayed, one woman a business owner who contributed out of the kindness of her heart because she had family members who had suffered from the common disease and she wanted to help a young woman out of the predicament of not having any health coverage.

The benefit was actually advertised on local radio stations too, who swear that they will now unfortunately have to be more vigilant in doing background checks to check the legitamicy of people’s claims before they actually start to promote any type of fundraising event.

Did Nicole Kidman Get Breast Implants?

I wouldn’t doubt that rumors may start circulating with the question of whether or not redhead, talented actress Nicole Kidman got work done on her breasts (especially since her facial features have remained suspiciously frozen, and there is talk that she may have also had a nose job and her lips enhanced as well), after pictures surfaced of her recently busting out of a bright pink, too tight dress alongside her country crooner hubbie Keith Urban at the Country Music Awards.  After looking at them, it’s hard to say if she had breast implants or not, or if maybe they have just remained suspiciously voluptuous after she gave birth to her baby girl Sunday Rose a while ago.

It does happen once in a while, that women who gain a lot of cup size during pregnancy and right after, may maintain that cup growth, but most do not, and their breasts literally deflate, which is why a lot of women who have had children opt for breasts lifts or they may choose to help lift and firm them through exercise or otherwise natural means of enhancing them to restore their former bounce, lift and firmness.

In the pictures though, I’m kind of tempted to say she may not have had them done, she may have just really squeezed those puppies way up high, and worn a very tight fitting bodice to get them to erupt out of her dress that way.  However, her lips are suspiciously a lot plumper than they used to be . I think she is beautiful, yes, but I thought she was even more beautiful before she started doing too many things to her face.  She may be one of those actresses who really starts to look strange rather than beautiful soon if she doesn’t soon stop her suspected plastic surgeries and enhancements.

Women May Soon Be Able to Grow New Breasts

Well, this is certainly news and research that is worth writing about, especially since it intersects two common themes we write about here at BreastNews, breast cancer prevention, treatment and news, and natural and surgical breast enlargement methods.  So, shall we begin talking about this exciting new development, which explores how women who have had mastectomies or double mastectomies may have different options other than to either not get breast surgery to replace her breasts, or leave them as they are, and feel self conscious about them, may now have a totally different option soon.  Not just an option, but one that sounds downright like something from a science fiction novel.

In a good way, of course, sometimes that kind of news could be construed as scary.  Here’s the scoop on the new research that comes from Australian research. They think they have found a way to implant pig fat cells into the breast wall area, and form a sort of shape around them so that they grow within this shape, which happens to be the shape of the female breasts, and form new breast tissue essentially.  It involves also the manipulation of a blood vessel as well, which is essentially sew around the new pig fat cells, which allows the pig fat cells to round up and grow more fat cells, and shape and form a new breast, or new breast tissue.

This news is not only good for breast cancer survivors who may want different options between artificial breast implants to reconstruct realistic looking breasts, but it may also some day have implications in the plastic surgery industry, which of course enjoys hefty profits from women who want larger, natural looking breasts, but can’t exactly always get what they want with the current breast implant options available.  So, it could also some day be a common place breast implant alternative, but of course the future remains to be seen on how stable this might be in the human body and if it has any potential contraindications or side effects that might be undesirable.

This could be a huge boon for the reconstructive and corrective side of plastic surgery, and would obviously be preferred for many women who want better shaped or larger breasts, but who don’t want to get breast implants. For more natural breast implant alternatives that you don’t have to visit a surgeon for, you definitely should look into herbal and other natural methods of natural breast enlargement.

Most Requested Celebrities for Breast Implants?

There are always requests for plastic surgery outcomes to look like certain Hollywood stars, that has not changed. Many times patients will go to their plastic surgeon and request noses like certain celebrities, like Jennifer Lopez or Diane Lane for example (I’m just pulling names out of thin air, I don’t know how often those noses are really requested,  but they both have nice noses I think) or perhaps they may ask for lips that look like Angeline Jolies (even though lips that large are only really going to look right on certain faces, I think they could look almost freakish on some people!), or perhaps Catherine Zeta Jones (I love her lips).

It’s no different for breast implants.  I’m sure you can think of a few female celebrities who have great breasts that you’d like to emulate if you could.  For me personally, I think Spanish actress Salma Hayak and Uma Thurman have some of the best natural breasts I’ve ever seen on screen. Who could forget the topless scenes in Desperado with Salma Hayak’s bountiful breasts spilling allover the place in all their natural glory? Yes, girls notice this too, not just guys!  Or who could forget Uma Thurman’s topless scene in one of my favorite movies of all times, Dangerous Liaisons?

And what if you could make your breasts look somewhat like that from breast implants? You would, wouldn’t you?  I know I would!  There are three actresses that I have heard about being requested the most often.  They probably won’t surprise you, as they all have great natural breasts. At least I’m pretty sure they’re natural. If they’re not, they’re some of the best breast implant alternatives or best breast implants I’ve ever seen!

Those actresses are Salma Hayak (no big shock there, she was actually one of my picks too, as I’m sure she would be for a lot or women requesting breast implants), Jessica Simpson (even her dad, yuck, has boasted about his daughter’s ample natural chest), and I think Angelina Jolie gets requested for just about everything, since she is perceived to have nearly flawless proportions when it comes to both her body and face.

With all the celebrity choices out there for ample enhanced or non enhanced assets, it’s a wonder that we don’t have a world full of Salma Hayak and Jessica Simpson breasts out there!  One thing’s for sure, breast augmentation is still one of the most requested plastic surgeries out there, and it’s no wonder that it’s not slowing down as our obsession with perfect, big boobs is still lingering.

Want Bouncier, Softer Breast Implants?

A lot of women with breast implants like them, however the usual common complaint is that they sometimes feel hard, and not too natural.  This is because breast implants can feel different at different times, depending on how cold the person is and how tense their muscles are contracting around the implants, or conversely, how warm they are.  The warmer you are usually, the softer your implants will feel.

They can be different with the day, with them feeling really hard one day and really soft the next, and most women really want them to feel a lot softer and “bouncier” to mimic real breast tissue better.  Sure, they can look fabulous, but now women are really looking to also get a great feel from them as well, a better “drop” look, and more bounce and softness.  They also happen to look a little better when they are in a softer state. Most women SHOULD be instructed to massage their breasts daily when they have breast implants.

If you fail to do this, this can contribute to them hardening. In fact, just one day with no massage at all can yield a slightly harder feeling breast.  Also, massaging them, which involves kind of pushing them together for at least 30 seconds at a time, makes them have more cleavage, because it prevents them from spreading too far apart, so it gives them more softness and bounce, while also increasing how naturally they can press together and give you cleavage.

If your doctor did not instruct you of this importance, then he or she really should have, because daily breast massage is important in maintaining them and helping to prevent scar tissue from forming and contributing to the painful issue called capsular contrapture, where scar tissue encases the breast implant and it becomes very hard feeling. It can cause a lot of pain and discomfort, and at it’s worst, it can involve the necessity to remove the implant.

Of course, women with implants who want more bounce and softness can also try any number of natural breast implant alternative options, which is actually quite common for women with implants who want to add more natural tissue to their breasts over their implants.  This way, they have the implant still giving them that initial bump in size which is usually quite substantial, and of course instant, and they also have the potential of adding to their already existing breast tissue that is layered on top of their breasts.

Alarming Rise in Breast Cancer Cases in Young Girls

One thing that is alarming the medical and cancer treatment community is that they are starting to see a lot more very young women, meaning around the age of 11 or so, with breast cancer.  This is especially alarming because breast cancer typically does not strike women until they are going through the stage of menopause, so it’s counter to the intuitive notion that we don’t really need to worry about agressive screenings and self exams until we are over 40 at least.

Researchers say that breast tissue is extremely susceptible to problems because it is one of the few body parts that we are not actually born with. The cells combine to grow breasts because of hormones, namely estrogen, and estrogen has been pegged as one of the potential fueling chemicals behind the growth of breast cancer.  When you look at possible reasons for the disease’s increasing presence in the younger population of girls, you might find a few different reasons this could be.

Scientists have long speculated that the abundance of natural estrogens and hormone interfering chemicals in our food supply, and even our water supply and meat supply, might be to blame for young girls maturing sexually faster these days. Then again, that could also be simply a function of human evolution, there’s just no way to know for sure.

One thing parents of young girls might want to do as a precautionary measure just in case, which is actually a good idea on many levels, not just to help prevent cancerous growths that may be hormone related, is to have their youngsters drink only purified water, and eat only non hormone treated dairy and meat products, and to minimize processed foods that are made with a soybean base or processed soy products, just to be sure there are not too many artificial, potentially harmful chemicals floating around that might spur hormonally related cancers.

Ohio Couple Both Have Breast Cancer

Men don’t ever think that it will happen to them, because it’s largely been dubbed a disease of women, and granted, it mostly is a disease that belongs to the female sex, however, men can also get breast cancer as well, it’s just not nearly as common.  Men don’t have the same volume of tissue on their breasts, and they also don’t have the volume of the female hormone estrogen in their body, which is believe to largely fuel most types of breast cancer, or at the very least, make them worse once they occur.  However, just because a disease mostly belongs to one demographic or another, that never means that you should rule it out if you don’t belong to that demographic.

That’s exactly what happened when the male part of an Ohio couple who’d been married for five years, found out that he had breast cancer, not long after his wife had to undergo treatment for her breast cancer.  It was hard enough having his wife undergo chemotherapy and radiation, but imagine his surprise when he too was diagnosed with male breast cancer after thinking he had pulled a muscle near his breast area from doing yardwork.

He went to get a mammogram at the request of his doctor, and lo and behold, it was discovered that he had breast cancer.  By the way, he does mention that mammograms are definitely not designed for men, as the process was extremely uncomfortable for him.  I have yet to have one, in fact, I’m going to get my first one at the request of my general practitioner doctor, because she thinks that at the age of 35, and with a female family member dying of breast cancer on my mom’s side, I should start getting them a little earlier than most women might start getting them done.

Apparently she’s also been spooked by a couple of cases she was intimate with where women that were younger had breast cancer.  Obviously, it’s not a good thing that this Ohio couple both got this dreaded cancer, however, now they can genuinely support eachother and understand what the other is going through. The prognosis for both of them is pretty good, and they say that humor and their companionship has helped them get through the challenges a lot more easily. They sounded like a really wonderful couple who loves and supports eachother, and when you are battling cancer, there’s nothing better than great, supporting relationships.

Somali Women Whipped, Humiliated Over a Bra

Boy, just when you think that there’s problems here in America, when you read about other countries and how they still treat some like second class citizens, and how naturally cruel they are, it makes you eternally grateful for living in such a place as America, where, sure there are problems, there’s no denying that, but compared to some places where freedoms are restricted every day that we don’t even think twice about, America is a Utopia.

What I’m speaking of is an apalling story that comes out of Somalia recently, where there is an insurgent occupancy (see these occupancies don’t even happen over here, another good reason to stay put).  There is a strict religion and culture there, and the insurgents are actually rounding up women who are suspected as wearing bras, which is against only the strictest interpretation of their religion and culture, and whipping them for wearing what we take for granted every day.

Not only that, as if whipping weren’t bad enough, or just being taken against your will, they were forced to disrobe and shake their breasts in front of armed soldiers.  Women there have said they’ve been seeing this happened more often, with their friends and family being taken away simply for being under suspicion of wearing a bra, because their breasts look suspiciously firm.  They say that the new “bra” is a stiff piece of fabric that is worn against the chest, as it is believed that breasts should be firm naturally, and that if they aren’t they should just lay flat.

Really, when I read shocking stories like these, it makes me think twice when I complain about anything in my life. Overall, I have it pretty darn good, and I wish that every woman in the world could have that same freedom and comfort.