As our children get ready to gorge on buckets of Halloween treats this week, I’ve been thinking a lot about the tricks of navigating my own breast health in a broken healthcare system.
6 months ago, I thought everything was fine with my breast health because my first 3 mammograms came back clear and “normal.” Now that I know better, I can stay on top of it and keep myself healthy and alive for the long run! So, in honor and support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I want to share more about my journey and the proactive steps I’m taking to ensure my breast health. I’m also over on my Substack sharing more about my recent scare with breast cancer and the 10 essential steps I’ve learned about advocating for breast health.
But first, some facts about why this should matter not only to us moms, but to everyone who has females in their lives whom they care about:
- More than 43,000 women will die from breast cancer in 2024 (one every 13 minutes).
- A woman has a 1 in 8 chance of being diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in her lifetime.
- Breast Cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in the U.S.
- New Hampshire has some of the highest rates of breast cancer incidence in the United States.
- Hawaii has the highest screening rate in the country.
- Hawaii also has the highest breast cancer survival rate (coincidence between these last 2 facts? I think not!)
To be clear, I am, by no means, a medical professional; I’m just an average mom who is doing her best and will stop at nothing to ensure I’m here for as many of my kid’s lifetime moments as possible.
After undergoing a series of advanced diagnostic imaging appointments, reality started to sink in — I was left with the rather overwhelming knowledge that I’m likely to receive a breast cancer diagnosis in my lifetime. That led me down the rabbit hole of just what I can do to prevent it from forming in the first place — not just for myself, but for women everywhere.
This list is by no means exhaustive, but I felt moved to share the resources I’ve found so far in the Seacoast area. I’m also constantly reminding myself that I don’t need to (scratch that: I CAN’T) do it all at once, but every small step matters!
Holistic Services on the Seacoast to Support your Preventive Breast Health:
- Blackfeather Healing Center, Hampton, NH
Tuesday Orluk is a Board Certified Aromatherapist, Holistic Health Nutritionist, Hypnotist and Intuitive Energy worker with a Masters degree in community and health development. Tuesday is also certified in Shamanic Healing Work, Reiki, yoga, oils and natural supplements. She also leads a pretty kickass monthly book club, which is how I met her and an amazing group of other women who are committed to their personal growth. - Lifestyles By Noor: Data-driven Midlife Care, Exeter, NH
Board-Certified Family Physician, Dr. Noor Al-Humaidhi provides an interdisciplinary approach to wellness. Her extensive evidence-based care fills in the massive gap in perimenopause and menopause symptom management including diagnostic lab testing, meditation, life coaching, tailored nutrition services, individual fitness plans, hormone replacement therapy (HRT), weight loss medication, body analysis, and bone density scanning. Dr. Noor is the next person on my list to schedule an appointment with! I actually learned about her from a stranger who was sat next to me at a nail salon; she shared her personal health journey, and intuitively sensed that I too could benefit from Dr. Noor. We teach our children that sharing is caring, so why do we withhold sharing information from others when the act of being vulnerable is proven to keep us connected to each other and quite literally save lives?“I didn’t need a doctor by this point to understand that vulnerability can be not only life-changing, it can be lifesaving as well.” ~Brooke Baldwin, Former CNN Anchor and author of Huddle: How Women Unlock Their Collective Power.
This is precisely why I’m talking openly about my experience and the lessons I’ve been learning along the way. I encourage you and your loved ones to do the same.
- Dan’s Natural Healing Center, Newburyport, MA
The very same stranger at the nail salon also told me about Dr. Daniel A. Eyink who’s Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Medical Acupuncture. He and his team provide services such as Nutrition Response Testing (a non-invasive system of analyzing the body to determine the underlying causes of ill or poor health), Morphogenic Field Technique (addressing individualized nutritional needs at the cellular level), acupuncture, and cancer support services. - High Risk Breast Health Program, Exeter, NH
If you’ve been identified as high risk for breast cancer, you may qualify for this program, which includes a personalized risk assessment and surveillance plan, counseling on strategies to prevent and reduce your risk of breast cancer, referrals to diagnostic procedures imaging and other services such as genetic testing and counseling, nutrition, and access to breast cancer prevention clinical trials. Did any of the medical professionals involved in the diagnostic process that identified me as high risk inform me of this program? NO! But I happened to come across it myself as I started digging for preventive services, and I’m now sharing it with anyone reading this who is also at high risk for breast cancer.
Have you, or someone you know, received a breast cancer diagnosis?
This list is meant to serve as examples of the holistic services that can help prevent breast cancer, but if you or someone you love does end up with a cancer diagnosis, in addition to your medical treatment plan, I highly recommend:
- My Breast Cancer Support
This is a Seacoast area nonprofit dedicated to supporting local patients and their families who are going through one of the hardest journeys of their lives. Founded by my friend and breast cancer survivor, Wendy McCoole, who understand the importance of connection and community support between loved ones and fellow patients. Since then, it’s evolved into an organization that has helped hundreds of patients throughout the Greater Seacoast NH/ME area to stay on a path toward wellness. They provide a wide array of programs from Patient Assistant Grants, Hope Chests filled with gift cards, new patient bags, and a private online support group. They partner with hospitals and cancer centers in the Greater Seacoast area to provide support programs to their breast cancer patients.
As a mom, I often find myself exerting a large percentage of my time, energy, and thought on what I can do to help support my child to live her best life. But alas, this whole experience was a wakeup call to me that I’m no good to anyone if, first and foremost, I’m not taking care of myself.
To that end, please do click through to read more about the steps I learned that you can take to advocate for your breast health. In addition to the reasons why family medical history, genetic testing, and your breast density is vital information, you may also be as pleasantly surprised as I was to learn about some of the research-backed recommendations that are linked to breast health. Spoiler alert: this includes factors like the importance of your female friendships, and learning to trust yourself above all else!
If you have any questions or resonate with any of this, please don’t hesitate to reach out, and comment if you have more tips and breast health professionals in the Seacoast area that you’d personally recommend! As I discovered through this process, the strongest villages include strangers who show up for you in your time of need.
Lastly, if this helps you, and/or could help someone you know, please share. You never know whose life you could help save by spreading awareness on this topic.
