Breast Health Awareness Month

Breast Health Awareness Month

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, and it reminds us of the importance of breast health throughout the year. As a breast specialist, Dr. Tebbetts is especially sensitive to this issue.

As you've probably already heard, October
is Breast Health Awareness Month. They used to call it Breast Cancer Awareness
Month, but I think a lot of people thought, me? Think about cancer? This month? I don't think so. So they worked in the term Breast Health Awareness
Month so that more of us would think proactively about taking good care of ourselves instead
of being scared of the word cancer. So October is the month where you see lots
of 10K's, lots of mobile mammogram units, and lots of fundraising efforts in an attempt
to raise more money for breast cancer research, but also to encourage women to have regular
mammograms. Between the ages of 35 and 40, your doctor's
going to recommend that you have a mammogram. The thought is still out on how old you should
be when you go, so you'll see them recommended it anywhere in that range, from 35 to 40. However, in our specialty, breast augmentation,
Dr. Tebbetts wants every woman who's thinking about changing the landscape of her breasts,
whether it's an implant, a mastopexy, or a breast reduction to have a baseline mammogram,
30 and older, so that there's a clean, pretty picture of the breast before we operate on
that breast. That way, when it's time for you to have regular
mammograms, there's a clean, pretty picture, or that baseline, to compare back to. We always recommend that our patients not
only send the report to us, their plastic surgeon, but also send it to your ObGyn or
your internist as well. That way, your records are kept in more than
just one place. It's just good business. I think mammograms have gotten a really bad
rap over the last several years, maybe all their lives, everybody's always heard how
terrible a mammogram is. I had my first mammogram before my implants
14 years ago, and I was scared too, but honestly, it was really nothing. I think it's more of a mental thing because
you worry about having to bare it all to some stranger and then having them push and pull
on you a little bit. I mean, it's awkward. You feel a little bit vulnerable, but it's
certainly not painful. And if you get a good tech, they make you
feel really comfortable and at ease, and in no time, literally 15 minutes, it's over. So 15 minutes of awkward to safe your life? Yeah, I think that's worth it. So don't let the rumors scare you off because
it's really not that bad. Now once you've had breast implants and you
hit 40, then you'll have to go have a mammogram every year, and a lot of times, I think patients
are scared to have the tests done with implants. They're worried about what a mammogram might
do to their implants. Don't let that scare you either because, again,
it's really nothing. They'll view the regular mammogram views,
and then they'll also do something called the Eklund technique, or the mammogram techs
often call it push-back views. It's literally where they're taking the regular
views of the mammogram and then they're pushing your breast tissue away from the implant so
that they can image around the implant. A radiologist needs those views to truly get
a good picture of what your breast is like because neither saline or silicone implants
are radiolucent. You can't X-ray through them, so they have
to image around them, and that's what those push-back views allow them to do. I think the most important thing about having
a mammogram with implants is that you have to tell them you have implants. A lot of times, they don't know. You'll write it on your intake paperwork,
but make sure to tell the tech when you meet her as well so that
mammograms are used to detect breast cancer, but if you have breast implants, they can
also give you a sneak peek at how your implants are doing too. So whenever I go in for my regular screenings,
I always pray that there's no hint of breast cancer, but I also hope that they can see
the edges of my implants and see an intact breast implant too. So keeping up with your regular screenings
is also important to your breast implant health. So this month, when you see all the pink ribbons,
and you see the 10Ks going on, and you see those mobile mammogram trucks, let those be
an inspiration to you. Don't let them scare you. Call and make your mammogram appointment today. If you'd like to learn more about breast augmentation,
breast implants, and breast health, visit our website, thebestbreast.com.

#Breast #Health #Awareness #Month

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