Women Health Issues

Statistics are based on estimates made by the American Cancer Society (www.cancer.org), and refer to the 2002 United States population.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths among women.  There are two types: small cell lung cancer and non-small cell lung cancer.  As with any type of cancer, the earlier it is detected, the better chance it can be cured.

Risk Factors: Cigarette smoking or cigar or pipe smoking, exposure to secondhand smoke, exposure to radon, asbestos, pollution lung diseases, medical history

What can you do about risk factors?  Since smoking causes 90% or more of lung cancer cases, quitting smoking would be beneficial, even after a diagnosis of lung cancer.

Symptoms: Sudden shortness of breath, a cough that doesn’t go away and gets worse over time, pneumonia or bronchitis occurring more than usual, constant chest pain. Pain in the upper back that remains in one place and is constant for several days or weeks, loss of appetite or weight loss, coughing up of blood, and fatigue

These are symptoms of lung cancer in its later stages but can also be caused by less serious conditions.  Please check with a doctor to be sure.

Screening: At this point there is no standard screening process for early stages of lung cancer, so it is hard to detect.  Women with high risk factors should still take such detection tests as chest x-rays and sputum tests.  Clinical trials are now taking place to test and improve early detection methods and the benefit of CT scans are now being studied for lung cancer screening on current and former smokers.

Diagnosis: A doctor will want to check a person’s medical, smoking and family histories and other risk factors a person may have been exposed to.  A chest x-ray or a biopsy will determine more.

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among women.  Once it occurs it can spread quickly to other parts of the body and become even more life threatening.  Once again, early detection is the key to saving a life.

Risk factors: being a woman, being over the age of 50, having had breast cancer in the past, having a female relative with breast cancer, being over age 30 and not having given birth, being white (this puts you at a higher risk of getting breast cancer: being black puts you at a higher risk of dying from it), being physically inactive, eating a diet high in saturated fat

Symptoms: a lump or thickening in or near your breast or under your arm, a change in the size or shape of your breast, nipple discharge, tenderness, or inversion, meaning the nipple pulls back into your breast, or a change in the way the skin of your breast, areola, or nipple looks or feels

Screening: this includes a combination of breast self-exams, clinical breast exams and mammography.  These three used together can complement each other, improving the odds of catching it early.

Diagnosis: If you have symptoms your doctor will want to follow up by gathering information on medical and family history and any exposure to other risk factors.  Also breast self-exams, clinical exams and mammography may be used.

Colorectal cancer starts in either the colon or the rectum.  Most tumors begin as a polyp, or abnormal growth of tissue, which can grow into cancer if left alone.  Again, early detection is the important.

Risk factors: being over age 50, having an immediate family member who has had it, having had colorectal cancer before, polyps in the colon or rectum, smoking, having uterine, ovarian or breast cancer, being overweight, eating a lot of red meat, having Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

Symptoms: any change in bowel habits lasting more than a few days, bright red or very dark blood in your stool, constant tiredness, stools that are thinner than usual or appear slimy, persistent gas pains, bloating fullness or cramps, unexplained weight loss, vomiting, yellow skin

Screening: digital rectal exam, barium enema, sigmoidoscopy (the doctor inserts a thin, lighted tube through the rectum into the sigmoid colon), colonoscopy (the thin lighted tube goes through the entire colon)

Diagnosis: Your doctor will want to review any medical history, family history of cancer, and lifestyle habits.  He may also want to perform any of the above tests to check for colorectal cancer. 

Prevention: For any of these types of cancer includes regular exercise, eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables and not smoking.  Everyone should know their family history and the warning sins and symptoms of cancer so any problems can be detected and treated early.  Early detection is the key to saving lives.