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A breast exam is part of your annual women’s health checkup, but when should you begin breast cancer screening with a mammogram? It’s a question that has split government health officials, healthcare providers and cancer experts. For women with an average risk of breast cancer, the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force guidelines recommend that breast cancer screening begin at age 50 and continue at two-year intervals. The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommends offering annual screening starting at age 40 but not later than 50. The American Cancer Society says yearly mammograms should be an option for women ages 40 to 44 and are recommended beginning at age 45.
We know menopause as a time of hot flashes, night sweats, vaginal dryness and mood changes. But you’re experiencing some of this now and you’re not in your 50’s. It can’t be menopause, right? Medically speaking, it’s not menopause yet. When most women talk about “going through menopause” they’re describing the experience of perimenopause. Menopause is when the ovaries have ceased to function, and you’ve gone a year without a period. Perimenopause is when a woman’s body changes before menstruation ends and can last for up to 10 years.
Ovarian cancer is rare in women younger than 40. Most ovarian cancers develop after menopause and half of all ovarian cancers are found in women 63 years of age or older. The most common symptoms of ovarian cancer are pelvic or abdominal pain; trouble eating or feeling full quickly or feeling the need to urinate urgently or often. Some women may experience fatigue; an upset stomach or heartburn; back pain; pain during sex, constipation or menstrual changes.
It’s important to know that a chemical pregnancy isn’t anyone’s fault and you can’t intervene to stop it.
August is National Breastfeeding Awareness Month and it’s important to understand more about breastfeeding as you decide how to feed your baby. Not everyone can breastfeed, and no one should feel ashamed for using formula. But if you are considering it, here are some of the benefits of breastfeeding. |
This year, more than 22,000 women in the United States will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer and about 14,000 women will die from it. Early detection can be the key to survival and that’s why every woman should know the warning signs of ovarian cancer.
If you suffered a miscarriage just after learning that you were pregnant, you had what is known as a chemical pregnancy. The term refers to a miscarriage that occurs within a few weeks of conception and is detected through the level of the pregnancy hormone hCG.
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