Survivor advises about disease

By Jennifer Umaña
Daily Forty-Niner

The importance of performing regular breast self-examinations was stressed Tuesday by Dr. Brownsyn Braud at a Pink October Workshop.

The workshop was held in the Cal State Long Beach Health Resource Center as part of Breast Cancer Awareness month.

"Most women tend to have lumpy, bumpy breasts," said Braud, a staff physician with the University Student Health Center.
It is important to check yourself monthly so that you know what is normal, she added.

When doing the breast self-exam, it is important to never take the hand off the breast, she said.

Braud also emphasized that women must check the area around the clavicle and under the armpits in addition to the breasts.

"You have to be responsible for your body," she said. "Your body is your temple."

Braud speaks from experience. Next month, she will be a seven-year breast cancer survivor.

She had been having pain in her breast but she was told that it was nothing to worry about. Braud put up with the pain for a couple of months until she decided to have it checked out again.

"It was the best thing I ever did in my life," she said. "Had I waitedÖI probably wouldn't be here today."

Breast cancer is the number one diagnosed cancer in the United States, she said.  There are many risk factors involved with the disease, including age and family history, but every woman is at risk.

"The older you get, the more likely you can get breast cancer," she said.

Also, having a mother, sister or aunt who had the disease can increase a woman's risk of getting breast cancer two to three times, Braud said.

Although many factors play a role in getting the disease, Braud emphasized that all women are at risk of being victims to breast cancer, no matter what the individual's circumstances are.

"Don't assume 'I'm young, it's not in the family so it's not a problem,'" she said.

Depending on the individual's circumstances, Braud advised that women should begin receiving annual mammograms beginning at the ages of 35 to 40.

There are women who cannot afford mammograms and Braud said that they should be able to receive mammograms for free.

"A free mammogram per woman per year," she said. "I don't think that's asking too much."

During the workshop, Braud also detailed the stages of breast cancer, what the correlation is between birth control and breast cancer, breast cancer in males and other topics concerning this disease.

To receive more information on breast cancer, the workshop will be repeated Wednesday at noon in the Women's Resource Center LA-3 room 105.  Dr. Rebecca Wills, chief physician at the Student Health Center, is scheduled to facilitate the workshop.  Pamphlets explaining how to do breast self-examinations, facts and figure on the disease and resources for help will be available.