Just because Breast Cancer Awareness Month 2018 is over doesn’t mean that active awareness should end. Before BCAM, we acknowledged that passive ‘awareness’ – such as retweeting a breast cancer statistic – doesn’t do much to help the cause – but active awareness, like participating in a breast cancer walk or making a healthy change in our diet, does.
We encouraged you to indulge in mindful moments every day during BCAM, and
we hope you integrate those new positive habits into your life on a regular basis.
Here are some additional mindful actions you can take to lower your risk for developing breast cancer:
Know your normal – While monthly breast self-exams are no longer recommended, it’s still important to check in with yourself, and make sure everything is ‘normal’. If you find bumps, lumps, or sore spots – on or near your breasts – or experience abnormal nipple discharge, make sure to discuss it with your doctor.
Make time for movement – A sedentary lifestyle is associated with a higher risk for breast cancer and other diseases. Challenge yourself to do some form of exercise in 10 minute increments, two to three times a day, to establish a routine. Before you know it, working out will become the best habit you ever picked up.
Plan for your mammogram – Whether you and your doctor decide to start screening mammograms at age 45 – as recommended by the American Cancer Society – or at age 50 – as recommended by the American College of Radiology – pick and stick with it. Mammograms save lives by catching breast cancer in its earliest stages.