3 Healthy Things to Know About Breasts
I started to study and educate women on breast health almost five years ago and the more I learn, the simpler what I teach becomes. Most women do not conduct a self-breast exam, they have no idea what a self-breast massage is and most women are not comfortable with touching their breasts.
With so much attention and focus on breast cancer, how is this possible? We are inundated with pink ribbons and pink products to honour “The Cure.” There are a plethora of walks, runs and fundraising events happening. With all this attention, should it not be that breast cancer rates are falling? It would be amazing if it worked this way but sadly, it does not.
We need to focus on prevention
The real problem is education; women are not taught prevention. There is no money in prevention, so there is no bandwagon to promote. For one second, imagine a world where all those women contributing to Pink campaigns stopped and took that time, energy and money and put it on themselves and their own breasts.
What if women learned to properly do a self-breast exam? What if women bought a bra that was healthier for them? What if women bought a natural deodorant? What if women took a few minutes at the end of the day and massaged their own breasts? Then we would actually see a shift from cancer to health!
Having a mammogram and seeing your physician once per year for a breast exam is not enough. Women are not conducting a self-breast exam simply because they are afraid to find something. All this media and Pink attention has given us the false sense that we have done something toward our own breast health and the permission to avoid the fear we feel.
Don’t be an avoider
We all avoid some things in our lives; mine was balancing my chequebook, but the amount of energy I wasted not knowing my balance was insurmountable. The day I made myself sit down and just do it was the day I started to feel free. It didn’t even matter whether I had more or less money than I thought; I was no longer sticking my head in the sand in avoidance.
Women need to stop ostrich-ing over their own breast health! I have never had breast cancer although I did have a scare about 10 years ago. I found a lump and was fast tracked through a mammogram, ultrasound then a fine needle biopsy. It turned out to be just a cyst. This still was not enough to scare me into paying any attention to my healthy breasts. Human nature dictates we do not take action until something goes wrong. So here we sit in fear of finding something all the while not even paying attention to the health we already have.
I want to be the first of many women to teach and promote health with a totally healthy body. Let’s honour our health, notice it and keep it that way.
Simple step to self-breast exam
One easy step: take your bra off and touch your breasts — it is that simple. I recommend doing this at the end of your day. When you walk in the door, take your shoes off, then your bra. Grasp both your breasts move them around, give them a shake simply to revitalize them after being in a bra all day. This is the first step to getting comfortable with touching your breasts.
All women are highly intuitive, in fact all human beings are, but we are not taught to trust this side of ourselves. We place our health in other people’s hands first. Physicians and tests are important and essential, but should be used in addition to our own skills.
Once you get comfortable with the feel of your own breasts, you will notice changes, long before a physician or mammogram can pick it up. Put your breast health back into your hands literally, it is that simple.
About the Author: Dawn Leonard’s mission is to inspire you to embody your own health and happiness. To enhance your perspective on self-healing and self-care, while reminding your body of its natural, innate knowledge. She’s a graduate of West Coast College of Massage Therapy with more than 19 years’ experience as a registered massage therapist, a dancer for more than 20 years, a lifelong student learning different aspects of healing, and most recently a breast health speaker. Through her businesses Nartana Massage Therapy and Luv Your Boobs, her passion is helping people thrive through a unique style of treatment that comes from studying Ayervedic yoga massage, Thai massage, lymphatic drainage and many styles of fascial treatment. Learn more at www.dawnleonard.com.
