Advocates from across the globe come up with new and creative ways to raise awareness for breast cancer in October — #BreastCancerAwarenessMonth — and an NYC-based artist named Whitney Zelig recently came up with a very unique (and hilarious) campaign herself. Zelig put on a low cut top and hid a camera in her cleavage. As she walked down the streets of Manhattan, the camera captured all the people who took a glance at her chest — and there were quite a few.
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Read MoreZelig, 29, said that the motivation for the video came from her mom’s own experience with breast cancer. “I just want people to get checked!,” she told SurvivorNet. “My mom got checked right in time and she’s still alive.” Zelig explained that her mother is a two-time breast cancer survivor, so the issue is “near and dear to [her] heart.”
“She is the strongest woman I know,” Zelig said of her mom. “Not once did I hear her complain. She hid it very well. Her journey inspired her to further her studies as a Registered Nurse to an IV Therapy/Oncology nurse who would administer chemotherapy to patients. She was even voted ‘Employee of the Year’ because she is so kind to everyone.”
Breast Cancer Prevention — What Can I Do?
Screening awareness is one of the goals of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. This means making women aware of what symptoms they should be aware of in their own bodies, and when the proper time to begin annual screening is. A huge number of breast cancers are detected every year because women doing self exams felt something unusual in their breasts. According to physicians who focus on breast cancer, a big step in the prevention process is women being aware of what their breasts feel and look like normally.
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Doctors say that, for some women, understanding what’s “normal” may involve going to their doctor and walking through a self breast exam, so that they know what normal breast tissue feels like. After this kind of candid conversation, if something is abnormal — whether it’s a lump or discharge from the nipple — women are then more equipped to know what to ask.
Breast cancer experts tell SurvivorNet that women should perform self breast exams every month or so. The best time to perform a breast exam is after your period — and women should make sure to feel the area around their armpits in addition to their breasts, because lumps there could be indicators of cancer as well.
As far as breast cancer screening goes, there is a wide consensus that women should have annual mammograms between the ages of 45 and 54. But there is some disagreement among doctors as to whether mammograms are beneficial for women between the ages of 40 and 45. Some women with a higher risk of developing breast cancer may even want to consider getting mammograms before age 40.
Breast Cancer Screening
- Women ages 45 to 54 should have annual mammograms
- Women between the ages of 40 and 45 may choose to have annual mammograms as well — it’s a decision a woman can make with her doctor
- Some high risk women may need to begin mammograms before age 40
- Women over age 55 can reduce the frequency of their mammograms, or continue annually
If you're older than 55, you can choose to continue your annual mammograms or opt to have one every two years, Dr. Connie Lehman, Chief of the Breast Imaging Clinic at Massachusetts General Hospital, told SurvivorNet in a previous conversation. If you're post-menopausal, Dr. Lehman says you may be able to reduce the frequency of your mammograms to every other year.
The name of the game this month — and all year-round — is to make women aware of their breast cancer risk (there is a 1 in 8 chance that a woman in the U.S. will develop breast cancer in her lifetime) and to encourage them to be aware, and advocate for their own health. Zelig’s awareness video already has over 8,000 views and counting on YouTube — people (including us!) are definitely getting behind using cheeky humor to spread such a crucial message.
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