Awareness campaigns can be powerful, no doubt. But as October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, gets underway, we recognize that we need more. We need access to scientific data on breast health; to build up our clinical literacy, and to become our own best advocates.
The Clinical Realities of Breast Health
Breast health covers a range of areas that women and men need to consider when approaching their breast care. These include differentiating between benign and malignant conditions, understanding our baseline biologies, challenging our healthcare disparities, and always, growing a sense of strong self-advocacy.
One of the greatest anxieties in breast health is finding an unexpected lump or tender area. Without context, it’s common to panic. However, the majority of breast changes are benign and most commonly are fibrocystic breast condition. This condition affects over 50% of women during their lives.
Fibrocystic breast changes are benign (non-cancerous) tissue variations, affected by fluctuating estrogen and progesterone. This tissue tends to feel dense, rope-like, or cystic, and commonly is swollen or tender before a menstrual cycle begins. These lumps are typically movable, bilateral, and fluctuate with our hormonal shifts. Even though fibrocystic changes may be harmless, if you notice new, persistent, or changing lumps, you should always get a clinical evaluation.
By contrast, breast cancer tissue may present as an individual, firm lump with irregular borders that doesn’t move much under the skin. It typically does not fluctuate with a menstrual cycle and is usually painless. Other indicators for breast cancer growths include localized skin dimpling, inverted nipples, and/or spontaneous discharge.
Pain Isn’t Your Friend
As the saying goes, pain isn’t your friend, but it is a messenger. Increasing your health literacy means getting to know your body. This way, you have a better chance at knowing when something is wrong and can advocate for yourself with informed data.
The need to be vigilant on breast care is increasingly relevant. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that breast cancer diagnoses among women under 45 across all racial and ethnic groups has increased over the past two decades. There is also the issue of medical bias.
Since there is a persistent belief that breast cancer is an ‘older woman’s’ disease, when younger women present with breast lump or pain symptoms, they are often passed over for proper diagnostic treatment. This dismissal contributes to a clinical gap in early detection for breast cancer cases.
For women of color, particularly Black women, exam room barriers are made worse by systemic discrimination. Black women have a 40% higher breast cancer mortality rate than do white women and are more likely to be diagnosed at a distant stage of the disease. The National Institutes of Health report these higher mortality rates “and poorer survival among Black women are attributable to multiple factors stemming from systemic racism including socioeconomic inequality, delays in diagnosis, and inadequate access to timely quality cancer treatment.”
Being ignored at your provider’s office demands that you, as the patient, request a referral to another doctor, continue trusting yourself and your experience, and use your clinical knowledge to advocate for your health needs and the care you are entitled to.
Be Your Best Ally: A Checklist
What does being your best ally look like when we are talking about breast health and breast care? Let’s break it down with evidence-backed data.
- Nutritional & Metabolic Support: Eat an anti-inflammatory diet (whole foods, cruciferous vegetables, fiber) to support healthy estrogen metabolism.
- Decrease Alcohol: Clinical data shows a correlation between consistent alcohol consumption and an increased risk for breast cancer. Be mindful of how you imbibe.
- Daily Movement: Consistent cardiovascular exercise decreases systemic inflammation and supports our hormonal equilibrium.
- High-Quality Supplements: To support your microbiome, go for cGMP-manufactured, pharmaceutical-grade formulations like our Mia Vita® Women’s Probiotic.
Self-Advocacy, Your Most Potent Tool
Building self-advocacy around breast health starts out simply: prioritize taking care of you. Yes, stay on top of making and going to your annual gynecological appointment, but do more than that.
Remember, the more informed you are, the stronger you can advocate for your health. Make a gynecologist and a primary care physician appointment and sign releases, so they can communicate with each other about your health and health plan.
Before you show up to your appointments, get your data together, including symptoms you’ve made note of, questions you have, and medical research you’ve read that you have questions about and/or want more information on. If you have a lump, track whether it changes shape and size across your cycle, pinpoint its location, and write down how long you’ve experienced the discomfort. Start your appointments from a place of data-centered power.
Remember, your health is always in your hands. A physical breast exam is usually the first step towards diagnosing your lump. When you don’t see the diagnostic work progressing, ask for what you want (e.g., a bilateral mammogram, an advanced ultrasound). If your provider won’t provide a script, ask them to refer you to someone else. Should they refuse either request, ask them to document the refusal so it becomes a permanent part of your (and their) medical file.
Teaching is Learning
Learning and standing up for our bodies is a continuous process. Education and communication is key! Talk to the people in your lives about the pressing issues regarding breast health. Share clinical facts, refocusing the conversation from awareness-based to data-based.
You will always give the best and truest account on what your body is experiencing. When something is wrong, speak up. By doing so, you become part of a movement of “speaking ups” which, in mass, becomes a community standing up for their health and the care we all deserve.
Sources
Breast Cancer Among Women Youhttps://www.cdc.gov/united-states-cancer-statistics/publications/breast-cancer-among-young-women.htmlnger Than 45. CDC
Torres JM, Sodipo MO, Hopkins MF, Chandler PD, Warner ET. Racial Differences in Breast Cancer Survival Between Black and White Women According to Tumor Subtype: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. J Clin Oncol. 2024 Nov 10;42(32):3867-3879. doi: 10.1200/JCO.23.02311. Epub 2024 Sep 17. PMID: 39288352; PMCID: PMC11540747.