A Guide to Breast Screening: Your Health
We all want to be healthy, no one wants to be sick.
Q. What does healthy mean?
A. To be healthy means to have all parts of our body working well.
Q. Can you think of some different parts of the body?
A. Arms, legs, eyes, ears, heart, lungs, tummy, breasts.
It is very important for each of us to look after our health.
Q. How can you look after your health?
A. Eat healthy food
2. Sleep well
3. Take exercise
4. Check our bodies
If ever you feel a pain or soreness you should tell someone.
It is important to look at your body when you are having a bath or shower to check that it is healthy. If you see anything unusual e.g. a rash, a mark or a lump make sure to tell somebody.
Q. Who would you tell?
A. You could tell a parent or house parent, someone in your family or a doctor.
There are many types of sickness that make people feel unwell.
Q. Can you think of any?
A. Cold, flu, broken leg, heart attack, cancer.
You may know someone who has had cancer.
Q. What is cancer?
A. Cancer is a disease which people can get in different parts of the body. It stops that part of the body working properly and it can be painful.
When a woman is between 50 and 64 years old, a part of her body that can get cancer is her breasts.
This only happens to about one in every hundred women.
Cancer of the breast can be treated by the doctor. The treatment is very successful if the cancer is found quickly before the woman becomes very sick.
Q. How can cancer be found quickly?
A. BreastCheck can help.
What you should do to look after your breasts.
To keep your breasts healthy, you should do the following things:
- Look out for any changes in your breasts
One important thing you should do is look at your breasts regularly. If you know what your breasts look like, it will be much easier to notice any changes. A handy time to look at your breasts in the mirror is when you have finished drying yourself after a bath or a shower. The sort of changes you should look out for are:
1. Any dimple or pull of the skin.
2. Any redness of the skin.
3. Any changes in the nipple. It may look flattened or pulled in.
4. Any change in the shape or size of your breasts.
5. Any noticable difference between one breast and the other.
6. A swelling or lump in any part of your breast or under your arm.
7. Any pain or soreness in your breast or under your arm. - Look after your general health
Look after your general health by:
1. Eating healthy food.
2. Taking regular exercise.
3. Watch your weight.
4. Do not drink too much alcohol. - Go for your BreastCheck Appointment every two years, when you receive your letter, until you are 65 years old.
Table of Contents
Information for Carers, Family, Friends and Medical Guardians of Care
- Information on BreastCheck
- Information on Attending Screening
The Screening Story
- Your Health
- Your Invitation From BreastCheck
- Your Screening
- Getting Your Result